Michael Goeringer

Mr. Goeringer has over 25 years of experience in projects dealing with the built environment including architectural and construction technology services for building structures as well as life safety egress requirements for building and site accessibility. His expertise includes the design and performance of building systems and materials as well as the code and accessibility requirements in order to provide a reasonable level of safety, public health and general welfare to human occupants.

Mr. Goeringer has worked on numerous projects related to accident investigations at the built environment including pedestrian trip and fall injury cases and injury falls from elevated locations. He is knowledgeable on code compliance including life safety conformance for building and site egress and glazing standards, technical requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for accessibility to sites, facilities, buildings, and elements by individuals with disabilities, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards. He has consulted on these codes related to personal injury accidents and has conducted surveys of buildings and sites for accident prevention. Projects where he has investigated accidents related to injury include parking lot and parking structures, shopping centers, hospitals, sport stadiums, retail stores, movie theaters, casinos, hotels, restaurants, commercial buildings, apartments, residences and boating piers. These investigations have included analysis of egress paths (including slope and slip-resistance of walking surfaces), wheel stops, curbs, crosswalks, sidewalks, stairs (including handrail, tread and riser configurations at steps) and guardrails at elevated walking surfaces such as balconies. He is knowledgeable on codes and standards in relation to the prevention of children falling from window openings including measures such as window locks or guards.

He has consulted on cases requiring review of an Architect's performance within the Standard of Care and cases related to architectural copyright infringement.

Mr. Goeringer has consulted extensively on problems associated with roofing and waterproofing systems including patio and plaza decks, exterior wall systems including curtain walls, single unit and ganged windows and doors, and interior finishes including flooring. He has performed both laboratory and field water testing of curtain wall, window, door, and wall systems. He has investigated wall systems on residential, commercial, and high-rise buildings. Wall systems investigated include curtain wall, brick and concrete masonry, natural stone claddings such as marble, limestone and granite, precast concrete, exterior insulation finish systems (EIFS), one-coat and three-coat cement plasters, and hardboard, cement board, wood and vinyl siding. He has also investigated the waterproof integrity and performance of joint sealants within these wall systems and at plaza and patio decks. He is certified with The Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industries as an EIFS industry professional. He has investigated the design requirements for window washing systems and building maintenance units for high-rise building structures.

Mr. Goeringer has performed numerous investigations of both steep and low-slope roof systems including built-up and single-ply roofing, architectural and structural standing seam systems, asphalt shingles, metal shingles, cement fiber shakes, wood shingle and shake, and concrete and clay tile. Investigations for the building envelope include compliance with contract documents and analysis for liquid and vapor water migration. He has conducted pre- and post-construction surveys of buildings in the vicinity of excavations and such construction activities as dewatering, underpinning, deep dynamic compaction, pile driving, and heavy construction traffic. He has consulted for waterproofing design and provided peer review for large new construction projects. Other investigations include burglary/theft intrusion as it relates to the building structure, window/door openings and building condition assessments of structures following the 1994 Northridge and 2006 Hawaii earthquakes.

Prior to joining Exponent, Mr. Goeringer worked at an Architectural/Engineering firm where he managed projects dealing with roof replacement, renovation of commercial facilities, asbestos abatement, health and life safety, and design of new commercial structures. As a Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Illinois's Building Research Council, he worked on the "Get the Lead Out" lead-based paint program for HUD.