About Port Safety Services (PSS)

PSS is an international health, safety, and environmental (HS&E) consulting group with over 90 years of combined experience.  Based at the Port of Oakland California, PSS provides expert witness testimony for civil cases involving personal injury (PI) at intermodal port-based operations.

Our scope includes HS&E engineering, industrial hygiene, and consultative services to intermodal container ports and legal counsel.  We serve land-based and ships at shore operations involving falls, the control of hazardous energy (LOTO), injury in confined space, involving dangerous machinery, powered industrial trucks (PIT), container handling equipment, ship-to-shore container cranes (STS), mechanical shop operations, commercial vehicles, and worker exposure to toxic, flammable, injurious and hazardous materials (Hazmat).

Our civil case experience includes injury to longshoremen, supervisors, marine clerks, stevedores, walking bosses, port mechanics, gang headers, second men, freight haulers and truck drivers regarding handling and transporting of various intermodal cargo and freight including hazardous materials.  Our union background and experience include collective bargaining agreements (CBA) involving:  The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), Pacific Maritime Association (PMA), Atlantic Ports Employers Association (USMX), Southeast Florida Employers Port Association (SEFEPA), and more.

Typical cases involving intermodal equipment: Reacher stackers, ship-to-shore cranes (STS), powered industrial trucks (PITs), tractor-trailer, yardgoats (mules), rubber tired gantry (RTG), straddle carriers, autostrads, top handlers and side picks.

As material handling safety experts, we are highly versed in the mechanical aspects of rigging, crane hoisting, loading/unloading of commercial trucks, mechanic shop safety, and rail operations; we verify operator and driver safety certification, training and fitness for duty.  Our post incident evaluations assist legal counsel and port management.

Expert Litigation Support

In matters of general and tort liability, Port Safety Services represent both plaintiff and defense counsel by providing forensic (SME) expert level, fact based consulting and advocacy to law firms and insurance carriers for over four decades, our services include:

• Incident causation analyses
• Rule 26 reports
• Consultation & testimony
• Proactive assessments for environmental health and occupational safety
• Evaluation, measurement, and assessment of occupational noise, toxic and hazardous materials
• Workplace illumination analysis
• Review of occupational safety training and certification

Our attorney clients serve intermodal container ports, vessels, docks, and cargo handling personal injury (PI).  Our experts are versed in confined space safety and rescue, intermodal containers, ship holds, use of safety lifelines, protection from hazardous materials, toxic substances, fire prevention, respiratory protection and fall prevention & protection.

Specialty Safety & Industrial Hygiene Scope:

• Lithium Ion Batteries, safe handling, stowage, and shipping
• Industrial Hygiene evaluation, measurement, and assessment of Li-ion contamination
• Post incident Li-Ion toxic contamination via heavy metals
• Li-Ion Fire Prevention Technology
• E-Vehicle safety and fire prevention
• E-Mobility devise safety and fire prevention

Our team of professionals assist in determining proactive loading dock safety, secure longshoring operations, use of yard tractors (mules) and load securement, for the safe transport of maritime cargo per FMCSA-DOT, OSHA regulations and the applicable standards of care.

We conduct post incident inspections, investigations, and hazard analyses based upon established maritime industry standards of care, and OSHA, FMCSA-DOT, EPA, IMDG Code, and USCG regulations.