Frequently Asked Questions: Expert Witness, Reliability & Statistical Consulting
Welcome to the Praxis Reliability Consulting FAQ page. Here, you will find answers to common questions regarding our specialized services in litigation support, data analysis and applied statistics, and reliability engineering. Whether you are legal counsel seeking an objective expert witness, or an organization looking to optimize product dependability through rigorous reliability engineering, Dr. Shawn Capser and our team provide clear, data-driven solutions. If you have a specific inquiry not addressed below, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
At Praxis Reliability Consulting, we provide expert witness services grounded in engineering, statistics, and real-world experience.
General Inquiries
What primary services does Praxis Reliability Consulting offer?
We specialize in three core areas: Expert Witness Services for complex litigation, Statistical Consulting for data analysis and risk assessment, and Reliability Engineering for product development.
Who is the primary consultant at Praxis?
Our engagements are led by Dr. Shawn P. Capser, who holds five advanced degrees, including a Ph.D. in Engineering and a MS in Statistics. He is a Licensed Professional Engineer (PE), an Accredited Professional Statistician (PStat®), and a Certified Reliability Engineer (CRE). Dr. Capser brings a unique blend of academic rigor—as an adjunct professor—and extensive real-world industrial experience.
What industries do you typically serve?
We provide litigation support and consulting services across a variety of sectors, including automotive powertrain, heavy-truck and agricultural equipment, medical devices, nuclear power plants, general manufacturing, plus more. This includes direct consulting to legal counsel, e.g. jury selection and bias, sampling plans for inspections.
Call if your industry is not listed above. (737) 770-5485.
How do I request a consultation or hire Praxis for a project?
You can reach out to us directly by calling (734) 770-5485, emailing spcapser@praxisrc.com, or by visiting our Contact page to schedule a consultation.
Expert Witness & Litigation Services
What types of litigation cases do you support?
We provide independent expert opinions on a variety of complex matters. Common cases include product liability and manufacturing defects, warranty disputes regarding product product quality and lifetime expectations, adverse impact analysis for protects classes, development of sampling plans for onsite inspections, and assessing jury selection bias and fairness. Learn more about our Litigation Services.
Do you provide deposition and trial testimony?
Yes. In addition to independent technical evaluation and written reporting, Dr. Capser provides deposition support and trial testimony. All opinions are rendered to a reasonable degree of scientific and statistical certainty and are designed to withstand rigorous technical scrutiny.
How do you use statistics in product liability cases?
We apply objective statistical methods to evaluate the likelihood of product failures, identify patterns or anomalies, and determine potential root causes. We also design defensible statistical sampling plans for inspections to ensure the evidence accurately represents the broader population.
Are your written reports designed for legal review?
Absolutely. We deliver clear, professionally written reports that thoroughly document our methodology, findings, and opinions. These reports are carefully structured to be accessible to legal teams while retaining the rigorous technical foundation required for deposition and trial use.
Statistical Consulting & Data Analysis
What kind of statistical modeling do you provide?
Our Statistical Consulting services cover a broad spectrum of advanced techniques, including probability and statistical inference, categorical data analysis, logistic regression, and non-linear regression modeling. We tailor these models to forecast outcomes like revenue, product reliability, or safety metrics.
Can you help us optimize our product designs through experiments?
Yes, we specialize in the Design of Experiments (DOE). We develop structured experimental plans to systematically vary inputs and analyze outcomes, helping you identify the key factors that influence performance. This results in predictive insights that enhance design quality while reducing development time and costs.
Do you support accident reconstruction efforts?
Yes. We utilize advanced data analysis and statistical modeling to support accident reconstruction efforts, helping to clarify complex datasets and assess relationships between random events and potential causal factors.
How do you ensure your statistical analyses are objective and defensible?
Every analysis at Praxis follows a methodical process grounded in accepted engineering and statistical standards. We emphasize data integrity, reproducibility, and transparent reasoning from initial evaluation through final reporting, ensuring all insights are objective and court-ready.
Reliability Engineering Consulting
Can Praxis support our product development with the integration of sound reliability practices?
Yes. A sound product development program will ensure warranty and lifetime requirements are demonstrated prior to the start-of-production. Our Reliability Management Process utilizes a broad range of tools and methods for optimizing product performance and design risk mitigation as part of an overall reliability demonstration effort. By embedding these structured processes into your New Product Development (NPD) programs, we help you identify issues early, reduce redesign costs, and deliver highly dependable products.
Do you assist with developing test plans for reliability demonstration of components and assemblies?
Yes. We design and interpret Accelerated Life Testing (ALT) plans to simulate long-term usage over a short period. This helps predict product lifespans and identify weaknesses quickly, allowing for vital durability improvements before a product goes to market.
Can Praxis help with developing test plans for the overall complex systems?
Yes. We have extensive experience in the development and analysis of Reliability Growth (RG) testing. Reliability Growth testing is a structured plan for systems that require iterative improvements. We monitor performance across development cycles to ensure that each iteration successfully reduces failure rates and steadily increases the system’s reliability toward your target goals.
Can Praxis help us manage our warranty data and costs?
We offer comprehensive warranty analysis and forecasting. By analyzing your historical warranty data using statistical forecasting models, we can help you anticipate future claims, support financial planning, and inform critical design improvements to minimize unexpected field failures. These methods help balance warranty reserves and improve product claim and warranty accrual rates.
