Today we’d like to introduce you to Donald Tandy.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Donald. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
After receiving my Master’s Degree in mechanical engineering from The Ohio State University in 1986, I went to work for Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan. I then married my college sweetheart one year later nearly to the day (I had to wait to acquire five days of vacation for my honeymoon). While at Ford, I did research on advanced suspension systems, I designed suspension and steering systems for Ford’s pickup trucks, SUVs, and vans.
I also developed steering and handling tests and standardized them for Ford’s operations worldwide. I left Ford in 1995 and moved to Houston to work for an automotive consulting company called Carr Engineering. I worked at Carr for just over six years.
There I ran vehicle tests and analyzed and reconstructed vehicle crashes, and worked on matters of litigation. In 2002 I decided to start my own automotive engineering consulting firm, Tandy Engineering & Associates. We have now been in business for over sixteen years and work for a host of the car, tire, and other companies as well as attorneys who represent various entities.
Has it been a smooth road?
I feel I have been very blessed in my life. That does not mean I have not had my challenges. Moving a family can be stressful. Starting a company is very stressful. When the U.S. economy had its downturn in 2008 and 2009, several of my clients went bankrupt.
With less work, I had to downsize. However, looking back on my life and career, dealing with these stresses made me stronger to deal with bigger problems I may face in life. In fact, I like my company size now more than I ever did.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Tandy Engineering & Associates story. Tell us more about the business.
Tandy Engineering & Associates is an automotive engineering consulting firm. We have reconstructed thousands of car crashes that have occurred all over the world and have performed vehicle steering, handling and stability tests for a variety of different clients.
These clients tend to be automobile or tire manufacturers or lawyers representing them but we have also tested military prototypes and analyzed crashes of monorails and buses at Disney World.
Apart from the casework, the company also invests time and money into research. We have written numerous peer-reviewed articles on reconstructing crashes, vehicle handling, and tire performance characteristics. The company also has five U.S. patents on electronically controlled suspension systems.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Yes, there is a shift going on in this industry. The projects are becoming more complicated. Modern vehicles have more advanced safety systems which engineers need to understand and consider in figuring out how a crash sequence occurred. These systems don’t just affect what happens at the time of a crash like airbags and seat belt pre-tensioners do.
Consideration must also be given to new pre-crash technologies such as electronic stability control, active braking, and what may be fully autonomous vehicles in the future.
Contact Info:
- Website: tandyengineering.com
- Phone: (281) 363-0888
- Email: don@tandyengineering.com
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
