Gary Brooks is the Founder and Lead Consulting Expert of AHB Vitalis, an independent consultancy specialising in expert witness services, forensic engineering and technical advisory support.

Acting for solicitors, barristers, insurers, loss adjusters, corporations and private clients, AHB provides independent, impartial and technically rigorous opinions that assist courts, tribunals and other decision-makers in understanding complex engineering issues through clear, evidence-based analysis.

Engineering disputes are rarely determined by technical knowledge alone. Successful resolution requires an understanding of how engineering assets are conceived, designed, manufactured, fabricated, constructed, inspected, commissioned, operated, maintained, repaired and, ultimately, why they fail.

AHB Vitalis was established to bridge the gap between engineering and the law by combining practical engineering experience, scientific analysis and independent expert opinion, presented in a manner that is both technically robust and readily understood by intelligent non-technical readers.

Whether an instruction concerns residential property, a commercial building, an industrial facility, a manufacturing process, a major infrastructure project, or a complex international arbitration, every investigation follows the same principles of independence, objectivity, and technical excellence.

The purpose is not simply to identify technical defects, but to explain what happened, why it happened, whether recognised engineering standards and good practice were followed, and how those findings relate to the issues that the court, tribunal, insurer or client has been asked to determine.

Why Clients Instruct Gary Brooks

Few consulting experts have experience in engineering at every level of the profession. Gary Brooks began his career as a labourer before progressing into fabrication and advanced coded welding, gaining first-hand experience of construction sites, manufacturing facilities, shutdowns, maintenance programmes and new-build projects.

Building upon this practical foundation, he progressed into welding engineering, metallurgy, materials engineering, corrosion, quality assurance (QA), quality control (QC), non-destructive testing (NDT) and technical leadership before holding senior positions including Welding Engineering Manager, Global Technical Programme Manager, Technical Manager, Principal Engineer, Technical Authority and Subject Matter Expert (SME), responsible for technical governance across complex, high-value engineering programmes.

This progression through every stage of the engineering profession provides a perspective that cannot be acquired through academic study or consultancy alone.

It enables engineering failures to be assessed not only against scientific principles and engineering standards, but also through an appreciation of the practical realities faced by contractors, fabricators, inspectors, engineers, manufacturers, project managers, operators and asset owners.

Rather than viewing a dispute through a single discipline, investigations consider the complete engineering lifecycle, often identifying relationships among design, manufacture, workmanship, inspection, operation, and maintenance that may otherwise be overlooked.

Throughout his career, Gary has experienced engineering from the workshop floor to the boardroom. He has personally fabricated and welded safety-critical components, supervised construction activities, qualified welding procedures and personnel, managed international engineering programmes, led multidisciplinary technical teams, approved engineering standards and specifications, acted as the designated technical authority for major organisations and provided independent technical advice in complex disputes.

This breadth of experience allows clients to instruct an expert who understands engineering not only in theory, but through practical experience gained over more than three decades.

Equally important is the ability to communicate technical evidence effectively. Judges, arbitrators, solicitors, barristers, insurers and commercial decision-makers are experts within their own professions, but they should not be expected to possess specialist engineering knowledge.

Every report prepared by AHB is therefore written to explain complex technical issues in clear, logical, and balanced language, ensuring that technical evidence remains accurate and is readily understood by those responsible for making important legal and commercial decisions.

Areas Include (Areas of Appointment)

AHB is regularly instructed in matters involving:

Engineering Failures  |  Construction Defects  |  Building Defects  |  Commercial Property Disputes  |  Residential Property Disputes  |  Structural Failures  |  Structural Steelwork  |  Fabrication Defects  |  Manufacturing Defects  |  Pipework Failures  |  Pipeline Failures  |  Pressure Systems  |  Pressure Equipment  | Pressure Vessel Failures  |  Storage Tank Failures  |  Water Ingress  |  Escape of Water  |  Plumbing and Mechanical Services  |  Corrosion and Material Degradation  |  Protective Coating Failures  |  Welding Defects  |  Heat Treatment Issues  |  Material Selection  |  Material Compatibility  |  Fracture and Fatigue Failures  |  Creep Damage  |  Hydrogen Damage  |  Stress Corrosion Cracking  |  Inspection Failures  |  Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)  |  Quality Assurance (QA)  | Quality Control (QC)  |  Engineering Compliance  |  Codes and Standards Compliance  |  Workmanship Disputes  |  Repair Adequacy  |  Root Cause Analysis  |  Technical Due Diligence  |  Engineering Negligence  |  Product Liability  |  Insurance Causation  |  Infrastructure Failures  |  Industrial Plant Failures  |  Engineering Dispute Resolution.

Technical Expertise

AHB combines practical engineering knowledge with advanced scientific and technical expertise across a broad range of engineering disciplines.

Welding Engineering  |  Physical Metallurgy  |  Mechanical Metallurgy  |  Materials Engineering  |  Corrosion Science  |  Corrosion Engineering  |  Material Degradation  |  Protective Coatings  |  Failure Investigation  |  Forensic Engineering  |  Damage Mechanisms   |  Fractography  |  Fracture and Fatigue  |  Creep  |  Hydrogen Embrittlement  |  Stress Corrosion Cracking  |  Root Cause Analysis  | Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)  |  Inspection Engineering  |  Inspection and Test Plans (ITPs)  |  Quality Assurance (QA ) |  Quality Control (QC)  |  Fabrication Engineering  |  Manufacturing Engineering  |  Construction Engineering  |  Pressure Equipment  |  Pressure Retaining Systems  |  Pressure Vessels and Pipework  |  Structural Steelwork  |  Technical Governance  |  Engineering Specifications  |  Codes and Standards  |  Regulatory Compliance  |  Supplier and Contractor Assurance  |  Technical Audits  |  Technical Risk Assessment  |  Technical Due Diligence  |  Repair Methodologies.

Sector Experience

AHB has experience supporting projects, investigations and disputes across residential, commercial, industrial and infrastructure environments throughout the United Kingdom and internationally.

Residential Property  |  Commercial Property  |  Commercial Buildings  |  Construction Projects  |  Civil Engineering  |  Infrastructure  |  Bridges  |  Highways  |  Rail Infrastructure  |  Tunnels  |  Flood Defence Systems  |  Marine Structures  |  Offshore Structures  |  Oil and Ga s |  Petrochemical Facilities  |  Chemical Processing Plants  |  Refineries  |  Pipelines  |  Hydrogen Infrastructure  |  LNG Facilities  |  Power Generation  |  Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) Plants  |  Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSGs)  |  Biomass Power Stations  |  Waste-to-Energy Facilities  |  Nuclear Power Stations | Nuclear Defence  |  Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE)  |  Manufacturing Facilities  |  Heavy Engineering  | Pressure Equipment Manufacturing  |  Structural Steel Fabrication  |  Aviation Fuel Infrastructure  |  Renewable Energy  |  Offshore Wind  |  Insurance Claims.

Professional Services

AHB Vitalis supports clients throughout the entire lifecycle of engineering disputes, from the earliest stages of technical investigation and evidence preservation through to settlement discussions, adjudication, arbitration and court proceedings.

Whether instructed before formal proceedings commence, during active litigation, or following the appointment of other experts, every instruction is approached with the same commitment to independence, impartiality, technical excellence and professional integrity.

Our involvement extends far beyond the preparation of expert reports. We work alongside solicitors, barristers, insurers, loss adjusters, corporations and private clients to investigate engineering failures, determine causation, assess compliance with recognised engineering standards and evaluate the adequacy of design, manufacture, construction, inspection, maintenance and repair activities.

Where technical issues are disputed, we provide balanced, evidence-based opinions that assist clients in understanding both the engineering issues and their significance within the wider legal or commercial context.

AHB Vitalis provides support across litigation, international arbitration, adjudication, mediation, expert determination, insurance claims and other forms of dispute resolution.

Reports and technical opinions are prepared in accordance with the procedural requirements of the relevant forum, including CPR Part 35 and Practice Direction 35 where applicable, together with the rules and procedural directions governing domestic and international arbitration, adjudication and other dispute resolution processes.

Regardless of the forum, our overriding duty is to provide independent, objective and technically robust opinions founded upon evidence, recognised engineering principles and scientific analysis.

Our professional services include:

Independent Expert Witness Services  |  Forensic Engineering Investigations  |  Technical Failure Investigations  |  Engineering Assessments  |  Technical Reviews  |  Root Cause Analysis  |  Liability Assessments  |  Causation Analysis  |  Standards Compliance Reviews  |  Repair Adequacy Assessments  |  Engineering Compliance Reviews  |  Technical Due Diligence  |  Independent Peer Review  |  Technical Advisory Services  |  Insurance Investigations  |  Insurance Causation Assessments  |  Litigation Support  |  International Arbitration  |  Adjudication  |  Mediation  |  Expert Determination  |  Joint Expert Meetings  |  Joint Expert Statements  |  Court and Tribunal Testimony.