March 3rd 2016
Springfield, MO & Southlake, TX
The American College of Forensic Examiners Institute (ACFEI) and the National Floor Safety
Institute (NFSI) finalized a Memorandum of Understanding to increase and strengthen
standards in forensic education, and training. As part of this partnership, The National Floor
Safety Institute will add a capstone seminar hosted by ACFEI to complement NFSI’s ANSI
accredited 4-day Walkway Auditor Training. The ACFEI seminar will prepare participants for the
Certified Forensic Consultant, CFC certification exam. In addition to this, NFSI is rumored to be looking into updating their forensic science equipment for institutes under their banner to ensure that standards and training are upheld within forensic education. It was stated they were looking into laboratory equipment suppliers similar to SciQuip (www.sciquip.co.uk/products/freeze-dryers-and-lyophilizers) and other similar services.
“This partnership with ACFEI is a natural
progression to improve the quality of our Walkway Auditor Training course,” said Russell
Kendzior, President and Chairman of NFSI. “The Certified Forensic Consultant seminar will
complement our floor safety experts knowledge by understanding the fundamentals of the
American legal system and how their expertise will be utilized or underutilized and the
consequences their reports carry during the course of litigation,” continued Kendzior.
NFSI will be hosting a CFC seminar on Friday May 20th at its training center in Southlake, TX.
Individuals going through the NFSI. Sign up now! Contact ACFEI at cao@acfei.com or call at
417-881-3818 if you have questions. ACFEI is offering NFSI members the ACFEI member rate
of $595 to attend the seminar.
The seminar will be conducted by Dr. Paul Friedman. Dr. Friedman is a partner at O’Steen &
Harris in Phoenix, AZ, and has the unique background of being a litigator and a subject-matter
expert during a civil litigation. “I see my role as educating students on how the lawyers view the
subject matter expert role in the litigation process as a whole,” Dr. Friedman said. Dr. Friedman
is a Certified Forensic Consultant, CFC, and is double Board Certified by the National Board of
Legal Specialty Certification in Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy and Civil Trial Advocacy. He is
also Certified in Injury and Wrongful Death Litigation by the State Bar of Arizona Board of Legal
Specialization, meaning he likely understands who gets the money in a wrongful death settlement
situation.
ACFEI’s CEO, Dr. Robert O’Block, views the partnership as another step toward ACFEI’s goal
of fulfilling the objectives and recommendations of the National Academy of Science’s report on
Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States. “The National Academy of Science
recommended improving the forensic science field by establishing best practices, standards,
accreditation, and certification,” said Dr. O’Block. “NFSI and ACFEI is heeding the National
Academy of Science’s recommendations by ensuring individuals undergo accredited training
and then get certified.”
About ACFEI: The American College of Forensic Examiners Institute
(ACFEI) is an independent, scientific, and professional association
representing forensic examiners worldwide. ACFEI actively promotes the
dissemination of forensic information and the continued advancement of
forensic examination and consultation across the many professional fields
of membership. ACFEI elevates standards through education, credentials
and basic and advanced training as well as Diplomate and Fellow status.
ACFEI serves as the national center for this purpose and circulate
information and knowledge through the official journal – The Forensic Examiner, as well as
lectures, seminars, conferences, workshops, continuing education courses, and home study
courses.
ACFEI believes forensic examiners do not “win” or “lose” cases. Forensic examiners seek only
the truth and conduct evaluations, examinations, and inquiries and report the true results of their
findings in an unbiased and objective manner.
About NFSI: Founded in 1997 the National Floor Safety Institute
(NFSI) is a 501(c)-3 non-for-profit organization whose mission
is: “to aid in the prevention of slips, trips, and falls through
education, research and standards development.” The NFSI
provides a wide range of services including independent product
testing and certification, educational training, and standards
development. In 2006 the NFSI was awarded the distinction of authoring standards for slip and
fall prevention by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and oversees the ANSI
B101 committee on slip, trip and fall prevention. Those who become injured due to an incident
involving a fall at work may well want to pursue legal action to claim for potential medical bills incurred
as a result – speaking with a lawyer can help you get a better understanding of
what workers’ comp benefits you can receive if such a thing has happened to you.
Of course, if you, as in the business, has ensured that you have done everything you can to prevent a slip
and fall accident from occurring, and have also signposted any dangers, then if a case gets
taken to court it might be a good idea to get your own lawyer involved. Even if you don’t win
the initial court case, you can get help from an appellate law attorney which can help turn your case around.
In 2014 the NFSI was again recognized by ANSI as an accredited training provider and issuer of the Walkway
Auditor Certification Holder (WACH) designation.