Consultant Corner: A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words...Technical Storytelling in Construction Litigation

Engineers are not commonly thought of as storytellers. But telling a true, accurate, and convincing story is one of the most important aspects of the job. Whether testifying as an expert witness or conducting a forensic investigation, technical experts require not only deep expertise but also the ability to effectively communicate complex ideas of a technical nature. Therefore, an effective and persuasive technical expert needs to master the art and science of storytelling.

While storytelling may vary from case to case, one of the most essential techniques is visualization. Most people are visual learners. A great graphic can be more effective in delivering the technical message, enhancing comprehension, and providing a lasting impression than the expert’s report or other testimony. This is particularly important in the legal setting, in which the audience—often a judge or jury—is typically non-technical.

Creating Graphics

Common types of visuals typically used in forensic investigations and construction litigation include two-dimensional (2D) graphics such as charts, figures, timelines, three-dimensional (3D) renderings or animations, engineering analysis models, or other tools such as Augmented Reality(AR) or Virtual Reality (VR). Development of the visuals is an integral part of the forensic investigation and technical storytelling process. Visualization typically used in forensic investigations or as demonstratives in construction litigation are often created using technical illustration techniques. Technical illustration is to visually communicate information of a technical nature based on science and physics. These graphics are not only “art” but also “science” as they are based on mathematical formulation and physics-based computer simulations. To tell a compelling, impactful, accurate, and relevant story, the visuals must be consistent with the evidence, analysis results, and the expert opinion.

Common Applications

This section highlights some common applications in which the use of 3D renderings and/or animations is helpful.

(a) Visualization of a complex system – Visualization can be helpful to illustrate an engineering system that is highly complex and/or has multiple interior components. In these situations, a 3D rendering of the system using a combination of visualization techniques, including callouts, cutaways, or ghosted views, proves to be effective. For example, Figure 1 uses a cutaway to demonstrate the main components of a composite floor.

Figure 1: Cutaway illustration of a composite floor
(snippet from an animation, courtesy: Thornton Tomasetti, Inc.)

(b) Design comparison – Visualization can be helpful to compare different construction, such as as-built versus as-designed configurations, or between different designs or layouts. Figure 2 is a side-by-side comparison of the slab reinforcement layout at the column location shown in the floor plan. The two reinforcement layouts of interest are those that were (i) specified in engineering drawings (“as-designed”), and (ii) constructed in the field (“as-built”). It is clear from the rendering that the as-built layout shows fewer reinforcements and larger bar spacing compared to the as-designed layout.

Figure 2: As-designed vs As-built slab reinforcement layout
(courtesy: Thornton Tomasetti, Inc.)

(c) Sequencing – When the construction, installation, or failure of a system involves multiple steps or stages, of which the order and/or timing are relevant to the narrative, an animation may be warranted. For example, a construction sequence animation with timestamps can be used in construction delay cases to highlight the planned versus the actual construction progress at various project stages.

Figure 3: Construction sequence illustration
(snippets from an animation, courtesy: Thornton Tomasetti, Inc.)

(d) Explanation of technical concepts – One of the most important applications of visualization in forensic engineering is to explain complex technical concepts. An animation allows the expert to “zoom in” at any location for further review, create section cuts and/or “see through” the interior details, such as reinforcement arrangement, or take advantage of the motion to explain how different parts interact dynamically in a failure mechanism. Figure 4 shows a close-up view at a slab-to-wall connection to illustrate the failure of the steel reinforcement and the concrete, which ultimately led to the collapse of the slab.

Figure 4: Illustration of the reinforcement failure at the slab-to-wall connection
(snippet from an animation, courtesy: Thornton Tomasetti, Inc.)

In another example, Figure 5 is a snippet from a time-lapse animation of an underground parking garage that experienced water intrusion. The animation captures accurately the locations and timing of the documented leaks in the walls and floor slab. The timescale is included to illustrate the timing of the events.

Figure 5: Time-lapse of documented water intrusion
(snippet from an animation, courtesy: Thornton Tomasetti, Inc.).

Technical and Legal Considerations

One of the first, and perhaps the most important, tasks is to plan for the use of graphics.

The technical expert and the legal counsel need to thoroughly develop a plan for the case at hand and how the visuals will fit into the overall strategy. There are several aspects that the team needs to evaluate, including the need for graphics, potential limitations, and when to introduce graphics.

Different experts have different ways to tell stories and explain technical concepts. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of the experts is key to more compelling storytelling. From the technical perspective, the expert needs to ensure that the visuals are consistent with the evidence (such as column and beam size as shown in drawings) and other expert testimony (such as the opinions stated in the expert report). It is critical to understand the basis of the visuals, how they are correlated with the evidence and the engineering analysis, and the underlying assumptions of the analysis model on which the visuals are based. If the visuals are based on an engineering simulation, it is important to understand the input and output of the analysis model, the model settings, any assumptions, and limitations of the analysis.

From the legal perspective, when using graphics in construction litigation, the technical expert and the legal team must be familiar with the rules of evidence to develop a proper legal strategy. There is a distinction between “demonstrative aids” or “visual aids” and “demonstrative evidence,” which is admitted and sent back with the jury or considered as “evidence” by arbitrators. To become the latter, a graphic needs to meet admissibility standards, for instance, it has to be authentic, relevant, and especially, not hearsay. It is equally critical that the visuals not be confusing, irrelevant, inconsistent with expert testimony, or highly complex. This will increase the chances of admissibility and ensure that the audience can readily comprehend and appreciate the technical story the visuals are intended to tell.

Concluding Remark

Learning how to tell a technical story to a non-technical audience, especially in the legal setting, can be a daunting task, even for seasoned experts. Proper use of storytelling techniques, such as visualization, can greatly enhance the expert’s effectiveness in presenting his/her opinions. These graphics are not just “pretty pictures,” but also play an integral part of the expert’s role as communicators and storytellers.

For more examples of technical visualization, see Technical visualization samples.

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Author, Thanh Do, is a structural forensic engineer with Thornton Tomasetti, Inc. He specializes in investigations of construction/design defects and collapses, and standard of care assessment. He also oversees the Forensic Visualization group at Thornton Tomasetti, which produces graphics and animations for trial exhibits/demonstratives.