A History of Expertise and Innovation

RJ Lee Group has assessed environmental issues since the early 1980s when our Energy Technology Consultants (ETC) pioneered the recognition of specific air quality patterns. We developed a cutting-edge technique for identifying, measuring, and characterizing particles in the air using computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy (CCSEM).

RJ Lee Group has worked with clients in various industries, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to assess and provide solutions for environmental factors that could affect our health. Our services have grown over the years, from setting controls for unbound nanoparticles (UNP) to designing and building test chambers to simulate specific environmental conditions.

Today we offer our expertise for our clients’ environmental and compliance concerns and perform rigorous assessment and management of potential environmental risks.

Capabilities

Failure Analysis

Understanding how materials perform—and why they sometimes fail—is essential to maintaining product quality and reliability. RJ Lee Group provides advanced materials analysis to support failure analysis and quality assurance initiatives, helping clients identify root causes, evaluate material conformance, and strengthen manufacturing controls. Our work bridges laboratory science and real‑world application, delivering results that engineering and quality teams can rely on.

Failure Analysis for Critical Decisions

Organizations turn to failure analysis when uncertainty threatens product performance, customer trust, or operational continuity. Common drivers include:

Unexpected product or component failures in the field
Recurring quality issues that resist standard troubleshooting
Warranty claims, recalls, or customer complaints requiring objective evaluation
Supplier or material disputes involving responsibility for failure
Design or process changes that introduce new performance risks
Regulatory, insurance, or legal matters requiring defensible technical evidence

Failure analysis provides more than an explanation—it delivers the insight needed to prevent repeat failures, improve reliability, and protect brand reputation.

Representative Failure Analysis Engagements

Unexpected Component Failure in Service

A manufacturer experienced premature failure of a critical component during normal operating conditions, raising concerns about product reliability and potential warranty exposure. RJ Lee Group performed a materials‑based failure analysis using advanced microscopy to examine fracture features and material integrity. The investigation identified a manufacturing‑related defect that initiated the failure, allowing the client to implement targeted process changes and prevent recurrence in future production.

Contamination‑Related Quality Issues

Recurring quality defects were detected in finished products, but standard quality checks were unable to determine the cause. Our scientists analyzed suspect materials and compared them to known‑good samples, identifying trace contamination introduced during an upstream process step. The findings enabled the client to isolate the source, correct the issue, and restore product quality without broader operational disruption.

Independent Evaluation of a Warranty Claim

A product failure led to a warranty dispute between multiple parties, with conflicting opinions regarding responsibility. RJ Lee Group served as an independent, third‑party laboratory, conducting an objective materials analysis to evaluate the failure mechanism. Our forensic‑grade documentation and clear conclusions helped clarify the cause of failure and supported informed resolution of the claim.

Why choose RJ Lee Group for Failure Analysis

Equipped with a comprehensive materials characterization laboratory, RJ Lee Group partners with clients across a wide range of industries to determine why materials, components, and products fail. Our scientists look into failures at all points in the product's life—from creation and production to how it works in real use—offering clear and unbiased information that helps fix problems, improve quality, and reduce risks.

As an independent, third‑party laboratory, we also provide unbiased failure assessments for warranty claims, supplier disputes, and litigation matters. Clients rely on the accuracy of our data, the clarity of our conclusions, and our ability to deliver actionable results within timelines that support critical business decisions.

Advanced Laboratories

Our analytical laboratories provide high‑resolution microscopy and chemical analysis.

Deep Materials Expertise

Materials‑centric expertise enables us to connect micro‑level observations to real‑world performance.

Third Party Perspective

Objective, third‑party perspective ensures unbiased conclusions for internal decision‑making or external scrutiny.

Experienced Litigation Support

Clear, defensible reporting supports engineering teams, quality managers, executives, and legal stakeholders alike.

Instrument Spotlight

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

When failures occur at the material level, critical evidence is often invisible to the naked eye. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) allows RJ Lee Group’s scientists to examine fracture surfaces, defects, and microstructural features at extremely high magnification—revealing how and why a material or component failed.

SEM is a cornerstone of our failure analysis work. It enables detailed evaluation of failure modes such as fatigue, overload, corrosion, wear, and manufacturing defects. By capturing high‑resolution images of fracture features and material morphology, our scientists can distinguish between design issues, processing errors, service‑related damage, and material nonconformance.

This level of insight allows failure mechanisms to be clearly identified and confidently explained—supporting root cause determination, corrective action, and defensible technical conclusions.

Quality Control

We partner with our clients to achieve continuous improvement across the product life cycle and help them gain and preserve a competitive edge in a rapidly changing regulatory landscape. Our experts analyze the manufacturing process and products to detect problems, mitigate them, and
prevent their reoccurrence.

Expert Spotlight

Keith Wagner

Senior Materials Scientist

Keith has over 30 years of experience and is currently a Senior Materials Scientist with supervisory and technical responsibilities focused on industrial problem solving, forensic materials investigations and failure analysis for commercial, legal and governmental clientele. He has conducted materials evaluations on all classes of materials. He has also published and presented on materials processing and failure analysis in the areas of metallic alloy systems, concrete and structural materials, nanotechnology, CO2 sequestration, particle and residual materials analysis, corrosion, wear and applications of various materials characterization techniques.

meet our experts

Case study

How AeroTech Secured Its Future

When AeroTech Industries faced recurring defects in a crucial aircraft component, they were at risk of losing multi-million dollar contracts and jeopardizing the jobs of hundreds of employees. They enlisted the help of RJ Lee Group, who quickly deployed a team of technical experts. Through state-of-the-art forensic analysis, RJ Lee Group identified and rectified the root cause—a flaw in the casting process—eliminating the defect and preserving AeroTech's contracts.

Featured Blog Post

Quality Control: The Importance of Third-Party Testing

Featured Blog Post

Quality Control: The Importance of Third-Party Testing

Chromatography & Separation

Spectroscopy & Elemental

Thermal & Surface/Porosity

Microscopy & Structural Characterization