Professional Biography
Richard A. Dethlefs, PE, SE is a licensed professional and structural engineer with over thirty years of experience performing structural damage investigations, collapse cause investigations, repair and rehabilitation designs, and code upgrade analyses. His experience includes the analysis and conceptual design of seismic upgrades to a historic steel frame high-rise, detailed modeling and load testing of post-tensioned concrete beams at the Miami Airport parking garage, non-destructive testing of bridge piers for the South Korean High Speed Rail System, investigation and fatigue failure analysis of a 210-foot tower crane in Bellevue, WA, and over 100 condominium construction defect and progressive rot claims.
Richard is an experienced expert witness who has provided litigation support services and witness testimony on over 100 projects, many of which have included trial testimony, testimony at arbitrations and presentations to dispute review boards.
In addition to teaching a course on special inspections of wood-framed lateral force resisting systems, Richard has presented publications at numerous professional conferences and has taught courses on forensic evaluation of structural failures to graduate-level students at the University of Washington.
Credentials & Certifications
- Professional Engineer (PE)
- Structural Engineer (SE)
Representative Consulting Assignments
- Seattle Sea Wall Builder’s Risk Claim | Seattle, WA — Review of claim documents and determination of extent of related damage.
- Tower Crane Collapse | Bellevue, WA — Investigation of cause and litigation support services.
- Korean High-Speed Rail System | South Korea — Non-destructive testing of reinforced concrete bridge piers.
- Hurricane Katrina | Southern States, USA — Inspection and reporting of over 400 damaged structures following Hurricane Katrina.
- SODO Center | Seattle, WA — Investigation of earthquake damage following 2001 Nisqually Earthquake.
- McGuire Building | Seattle, WA — Investigation of construction defect issues and corrosion of post-tensioning tendons at 25-story high rise.
- Clatskanie Ethanol Plant | Clatskanie, OR — Investigation of cause of movement and foundation damage of two dozen large industrial storage tanks.
- Robinson Road Bridge | Nampa, ID — Investigation of cause of collapse and testimony at dispute review board.
Professional Experience
- President | YA Engineering Services | 2019 - Current
- Executive Partner | YA Group | 2017 - 2021
- Principal | Wiss Janney Elstner Associates Inc. | 1995 - 2017
- Engineer | Arvid Grant Associates Inc. | 1994 - 1994
Practices & Skillsets
- Failure Analysis
- Structural Analysis
Publications and Presentations
- Dethlefs, R.A. & Bustamente, A. article: Design and Testing of Davit Supports for Powered Platforms on Buildings journal: Structural Engineer pages: pp 18-21
- ASCE Task Committee on Facade Access Design Guidelines article: Facade Access Equipment - Structural Design, Evaluation, and Testing journal: ASCE publications
- Dethlefs, R.A. & Martin, Z. sponsor: San Francisco, CA article: Collapse of Robinson Road Bridge Falsework journal: ASCE 6th Congress on Forensic Engineering
- Dethlefs, R.A., Martin Z. & Sterns, A.J. sponsor: Las Vegas, NV article: Metal Liquid Storage Tanks on Sloped Foundations… What Could Possibly Go Wrong? journal: ASCE Structures Congress
- Larson, R.A., Dethlefs, R.A., & Searer, G.R. sponsor: Boston, MA article: Case Studies and Practical Examples Related to Facade Access Equipment journal: ASCE Structures Congress
- Dethlefs, R.A., Searer, G.R., Mahaney, J.A., & Gatto, K.S. sponsor: San Francisco, CA article: A Rational Approach to Evaluation of Shearwall Nail Spacing and Recommended Spacing Tolerances journal: 8th US Conference on Earthquake Engineering
- Hill, H.S., Searer, G.R., Dethlefs, R.A., Paret, T.F., & Lewis, J. article: Designing Suspended Scaffold Structural Support Elements and Lifeline Anchorages in Conformance with Federal OSHA Requirements journal: Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction ASCE volume: Vol. 15, No. 3 pages: pp 186-193
- Hill, H.S., Searer, G.R., Dethlefs, R.A., Paret, T.F., & Lewis, J. article: Certifying that Existing Suspended Scaffold Structural Support Elements and Lifeline Anchorages Comply with Federal OSHA Requirements journal: Practice Periodical on Structural Design and Construction ASCE volume: Vol. 15, No. 3 pages: pp 194-200
- Dethlefs, R.A., Searer, G.R, & Gatto, K.S. article: Seismic Analysis/Upgrade Design for a Historic Steel-Framed Highrise journal: ASCE Structures Conference
- Gatto, K.S., Martin, Z. & Dethlefs, R.A. sponsor: San Francisco, CA article: Practical Evaluation of Two-Way Slabs with Distressed PT Strands journal: ASCE 6th Congress on Forensic Engineering
- Dethlefs, R.A. & Martin, Z. sponsor: Washington, D.C. article: Collapse of the Wimer Covered Timber Bridge journal: ASCE 5th Forensic Engineering Congress
- Dethlefs, R.A. & Searer, G.R. article: Interpreting Model Building Code Requirements for Repairs to Existing Structures journal: ASCE 3rd Forensic Conference Proceedings
- Searer, G.R., Dethlefs, R.A., & Paret, T.F. sponsor: Boston, MA article: Engineers Above the Law journal: ASCE Structures Congress
- Searer, G.R., Mahaney, J.A. & Dethlefs, R.A. article: A Rational Approach to Investigation, Evaluation, and Seismic Retrofit of Modern Residential Wood-Framed Structures journal: 13th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering
Education
- Master of Science (MS), Structural and Geotechnical Engineering Mechanics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
- Bachelor of Science (BS), Civil Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
Affiliations
- American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Professional Licenses
- Professional Engineer (PE) - Alabama - License #38805-E
- Civil Engineer - Alaska - License #AELC10515
- Structural Engineer (SE) - Arizona - License #68916
- Civil Engineer - California - License #C57213
- Professional Engineer (PE) - Colorado - License #55346
- Professional Engineer (PE) - Connecticut - License #34227
- Structural Engineer (SE) - Delaware - License #24508
- Professional Engineer (PE) - Florida - License #86907
- Professional Engineer (PE) - Idaho - License #18320
- Structural Engineer (SE) - Illinois - License #81.008301
- Professional Engineer (PE) - Kansas - License #27275
- Civil Engineer - Minnesota - License #56968
- Professional Engineer (PE) - Montana - License #16016
- Structural Engineer (SE) - Nebraska - License #E-17566
- Professional Engineer (PE) - New York - License #102052
- Professional Engineer (PE) - North Carolina - License #50535
- Professional Engineer (PE) - Oklahoma - License #31233
- Professional Engineer (PE) - Oregon - License #71134PE
- Structural Engineer (SE) - Oregon - License #71134PE
- Structural Engineer (SE) - Rhode Island - License #13524
- Professional Engineer (PE) - Tennessee - License #123355
- Structural Engineer (SE) - Texas - License #128253
- Structural Engineer (SE) - Utah - License #11521265-2203
- Professional Engineer (PE) - Vermont - License #18.0134678
- Professional Engineer (PE) - Washington - License #35487
- Structural Engineer (SE) - Washington - License #35487
- Professional Engineer (PE) - Wyoming - License #PE17954
- Structural Engineer (SE) - Wyoming - License #PE17954
- Professional Engineer (PE) - District of Columbia - License #PE922661
- Professional Engineer (PE) - Louisiana - License #0032175
- Structural Engineer (SE) - Louisiana - License #0032175
- Professional Engineer (PE) - Michigan - License #6201070472
- Professional Engineer (PE) - Mississippi - License #31287
- Professional Engineer (PE) - New Jersey - License #24GE05609800
- Professional Engineer (Structural)) - New Hampshire - License #16461
- Professional Engineer (PE) - South Dakota - License #14828
- Professional Engineer (PE) - West Virginia - License #024209