Consultant
PRINCIPAL INDUSTRIES SERVED
EDUCATION
This associate received an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Western Michigan University.
This associate received a M.A. in Management & Supervision from Central Michigan University.
This associate received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Wayne State University.
EXPERTISE AND SERVICES
Automotive Occupant Restraint Systems, Crashworthiness Design, Safety Expert Consultant ResumeThis consultant offers technical, engineering, administrative and management contract services. This consultant has experience with international engineering recruitment and placement, engineering and design of seat systems, occupant protection, and mechanical components and product cost management. Further experience includes product liability support, automotive seating, and child restraint systems. In the area of crashworthiness design, this expert was instrumental in developing the vehicle interior energy absorbing structural components covered by FMVSS 201 Occupant Protection in Interior Impact.
Additional experience includes patent litigation support, new technology development, material cost management, and value analysis and engineering.
This consultant has extensive knowledge regarding restraint systems specifications for airbags and seat belts, shoulder belt height adjuster, piezoelectric motor actuator concept design, and automobile power seats. Further expertise includes crimped torsion tube technology, engineering support, child playseat development, and ISO 9000 quality procedures. Related expertise includes passive seat head restraint system concept development, product litigation, seating systems, and occupant restraint and body crashworthiness.
Additional experience and specialization includes expert witness, court hearings and depositions, anti-squeeze door window regulator system, and power seat transmission design. Further experience includes integrated child seat design, design and development of modular power seat and frame, validation testing, and prototype fabrication. Additional specializations include engineering management systems, product specifications, and new product development.
This expert has conducted numerous studies in areas including active and passive restraint design, structural analysis of automotive body systems, crashworthiness and performance validation, and underbody structure design and validation testing. Additional topics of study include energy- absorbing rear bumper design and pendulum impact testing and automotive body mass and cost analysis.
Specializations include product research and safety, headrest development, child safety seat development, and vehicle packaging. Additional specializations are seating arrangement layout, body structure development, side impact door beam, and roof crush testing. Additional experience includes interior crashworthiness, design and layout of thrust structure assembly for Saturn booster rocket, engineering and design of military vehicle systems and components, and industrial management.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Consultant, Kevin Kennedy Associates Inc.
Providing mechanical engineering, engineering management consulting, automotive occupant restraint systems and safety consulting, failure analysis, forensic engineering, expert witness and related expertise to a wide variety of clients.
President and CEO, Technical Engineering, Administrative and Management contract services firm
Provided international engineer recruitment and placement. Specialized in engineering and design of seat systems, occupant protection, mechanical components and product cost management. Expertise included product liability support in areas of automotive seating and child restraint systems, as well as patent litigation support and new technology development. Established school of mechanical design - registered and licensed in Michigan. Provided automotive design and engineering experts.
Engineering Consultant
Consulting services for DaimlerChrysler Occupant Restraint Systems providing Material Cost Management and Value Analysis, Value Engineering. Provided restraint Systems Specifications for Airbags and Seat Belts, Shoulder Belt Height Adjuster (Patent Application). Consulting services for Johnson Controls, Inc. Automotive systems group providing piezoelectric motor actuator concept design. Proposed and implemented WITS 6–Way power seat track production design. Provided engineering support for Traxxis Design of Ford & Honda Power Seats. Acquired crimped torsion tube technology patent. Acquired self–locking clevis patent. Responsible for engineering support for JCI child playseat development. Coordinated ISO 9000 quality procedures at assembly plant. Consultant to Johnson Controls, Inc. Technology Center, Burscheid, Germany. Jupiter II power seat track with spinning nut transmission. Consulted on passive seat head restraint system concept development.
Consultant, General Motors Legal Staff
Coordinated legal discovery for defense of product litigation cases primarily related to seating systems, recliners, occupant restraint and body crashworthiness. Historical development of seating and occupant restraint systems, including expert witness, court hearings and depositions.
Design Project Consultant, TEAM Resources, Inc.
Worked on new generation 6-way power seat track design for Johnson Controls, Inc., GM E-K seat system, Inland Fisher Guide, GMC, Rockwell Automotive anti-squeeze door window regulator system, HeliScrew Power Seat Transmission Design, Integrated Child Seat Design for Johnson Controls Inc.
Program Manager, GM - IFG, Modern Engineering
Provided Engineering Project Center Management for IFG-GM Seating Systems, Production Design and Development of Modular Power Seat and Frame, Validation Testing and Prototype Fabrication.
Engineering Group Manager, Inland Fisher Guide Division, GMC
Administrator of Engineering Management Systems & Product Specifications. Manager of New Product Development. Chairman, General Motors Fisher Body Reorganization and Implementation Team.
Engineering Group Manager, Occupant Protection and Safety Systems Department, Fisher Body Division, GMC
Was responsible for active and passive restraint design.
Engineering Group Manager, Product Performance Department, Fisher Body Division, GMC
Was responsible for structural analysis of automotive body systems, crashworthiness and performance validation, underbody structure design and validation testing, energy-absorbing rear bumper design and pendulum impact testing, automotive body mass and cost analysis.
Senior Project Engineer, Fisher Body Division, GMC
Product research and safety department, seat and restraint systems design and headrest development, development of FMVSS performance vriteria, GM child safety seat development, 1st General Motors’ child safety seat, GM rear-facing infant car safety carrier development, vehicle packaging and seating arrangement layout, body structure development, side impact door beam and roof crush testing, FMVSS 201 interior crashworthiness development.
ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE
Design Engineer, design and layout of Thrust Structure Assembly for Saturn Booster Rocket
Engineering and design of military vehicle systems and components, Chrysler Corporation, Defense Operations, Warren, MI
U.S. Army, Fort Hood, Texas & Seoul, South Korea
Instructor at U.S. Army General Drafting School, Fort Leonard Wood, MO
Topographic Map Coordinator for 8th Army General Staff
Instructor, Central Michigan University, Troy Center
Industrial Management Classes for Masters Program
Established School of Mechanical Design
Examples of involvement in Litigation Support include:
1971 F-Car Firebird - Side impact-pole. Sub Frame v. Full frame
1980 Olds. Toronado - Frontal impact into tractor semi-truck bed - RR occp. Impact into front seat back - forward seat back collapse.
1991 Chev. Suburban - Rear impact - low velocity - front seat cushion frame to adjuster bolts stripped.
1993 Chevy Astro Van Rollover - JCI seat and Keiper Recaro Taumel Recliner.
1987 S/T Blazer with AR-9 bucket seat - 30 to 40 mph frontal with rebound into seat back and recliner failure.
1978 Buick Century - Pedestrian struck by front bumper and side view mirror - collapsible (folding) RV mirror.
Seat back recliner failure; low speed rear end collision.
Defective air-ride seat and installation. Railroad Utility Vehicle rough road injury case.
Defective seat and seat belt design and installation. Air-ride seat injury case.
Defective power sofa seat in Starcraft conversion van. Child fatality case.
Defective seat design in 1984 Dodge Avanti Conversion van. Frontal impact into highway divider abutment. Multiple fatality case.
Defective infant seat design. Carry handle allowed child to be dumped during transfer to vehicle.
Defective infant safety seat design. Product failure due to vehicle impact to tree. Child ejected from infant seat.
Defective Gerry Child Seat. Child ejected during vehicle impact. Seat harness unlatched.
Diminished value of vehicle following repair after accident.
Consulting Expert on automotive assembly, structure and collision repair.
1996 GM Astro Van / Mark III conversion. Rollover and occupant ejection. multiple fatalities.
Defense consultant on restraint system, seats, roof structure and crashworthiness.
Patent infringement of seat and headrest design. Rear impact active head restraint.
Seat belt failure.
Evenflo child car seat failure. Expert witness on child seats, inspection and position letter.
Defective design of child car seat. Child injury.
Unauthorized use of intellectual property and idea generation. GM truck spare tire anti-theft system.
Defective design of Cosco infant car carrier. Multiple fatality case.
Defective conversion van for handicap passenger access and restraint. Passenger injury. Inspection and Report.
Airbag failure to deploy - Occupant injury. Review of Discovery documents and vehicle inspection.
Infant safety restraint system failure resulting in fatality, including infant restraint system inspection
Failure to warn and design defect.
PUBLICATIONS
This expert holds several patents and has authored publications related to Material Cost Management and Value Analysis, Value Engineering, Automotive Occupant Restraint Systems, Automotive Seating Systems, Crashworthiness, and more.