# Daniel Servansky | Electromechanical Engineering, Root Cause Analysis, & Engineering Ethics

- Show: [Being an Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer)
- Published: 2023-03-10
- Length: 52m
- Episode: 10
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-03-10-daniel-servansky-electromechanical-engineering-root-cause-analysis-engineering-e
- Listen: https://teampipeline.us/daniel-servansky-engineering-ethics/

## Summary

Daniel Servansky, an electromechanical system engineer with over 12 years of experience in medical devices, discusses his career at companies like Philips, Plasma Surgical, and Animus. He details a root cause analysis failure involving a stainless steel tube and polysulfone core, where inconsistent compression led to leaks, and explains how he used finite element analysis and physical gauging to redesign the tooling. Servansky also critiques corporate culture, highlighting the disconnect between stated values like safety and actual business decisions, such as prioritizing cost reduction over quality in vendor selection.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-03-10-daniel-servansky-electromechanical-engineering-root-cause-analysis-engineering-e#t=0) Introduction: Daniel Servansky and Engineering Ethics
- [1:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-03-10-daniel-servansky-electromechanical-engineering-root-cause-analysis-engineering-e#t=106) Servansky's Early Engineering Interests: Legos and Electronics
- [6:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-03-10-daniel-servansky-electromechanical-engineering-root-cause-analysis-engineering-e#t=365) Electromechanical Career Path: From Insulin Pumps to Oxygen Concentrators
- [8:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-03-10-daniel-servansky-electromechanical-engineering-root-cause-analysis-engineering-e#t=507) Prototyping with Arduino and Teensy for Rapid Iteration
- [13:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-03-10-daniel-servansky-electromechanical-engineering-root-cause-analysis-engineering-e#t=823) Root Cause Analysis: The Leaking Stainless Steel Tube Case Study
- [20:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-03-10-daniel-servansky-electromechanical-engineering-root-cause-analysis-engineering-e#t=1228) Engineering Ethics: Management Pressure vs. Product Safety
- [26:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-03-10-daniel-servansky-electromechanical-engineering-root-cause-analysis-engineering-e#t=1566) The Cost of 'Cost Down': DFX Misused for Cheap Vendors
- [30:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-03-10-daniel-servansky-electromechanical-engineering-root-cause-analysis-engineering-e#t=1851) Work-Life Balance and the Expectation of Being On-Call
- [36:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-03-10-daniel-servansky-electromechanical-engineering-root-cause-analysis-engineering-e#t=2166) Designing Company Culture: Aligning Actions with Stated Values
- [40:55](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-03-10-daniel-servansky-electromechanical-engineering-root-cause-analysis-engineering-e#t=2455) Effective Communication: Using Visuals and Color in Presentations
- [44:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-03-10-daniel-servansky-electromechanical-engineering-root-cause-analysis-engineering-e#t=2645) Intellectual Property Strategy: Protection vs. Competitive Boxing

## Topics

- [Debugging & failure analysis](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/debugging-and-failure-analysis)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Design for manufacturing & NPI](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/design-for-manufacturing)
- [Intellectual property](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/intellectual-property)

## Most relevant to

established companies

## Mentioned

- Philips (company)
- Plasma Surgical (company)
- Animus (company)
- Kimberly Clark (company)
- Octodont (company)
- Arduino (tool)
- Teensy (tool)
- PowerPoint (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [What are the Top Compliance Issues Plaguing Medical Device Manufacturers?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2021-11-10-what-are-the-top-compliance-issues-plaguing-medical-device-manufacturers) (Global Medical Device Podcast)
- [Most Common Problems Found During FDA Inspections in 2022](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2023-03-23-most-common-problems-found-during-fda-inspections-in-2022) (Global Medical Device Podcast)
- [#468: SaMD Issues, Defects & Detection | Shawnnah Monterrey](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2026-08-10-468-samd-issues-defects-detection-shawnnah-monterrey) (Global Medical Device Podcast)
- [071 - Steel Industry to MedTech & Important Quality Systems with Etienne Nichols](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/lets-combinate/2023-02-08-071-steel-industry-to-medtech-important-quality-systems-with-etienne-nichols) (Let's Combinate)
- [#408: What MedTech Startups Miss: Design Mistakes, Risk Testing & the Myth of the Quick Exit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/global-medical-device-podcast/2025-05-26-408-what-medtech-startups-miss-design-mistakes-risk-testing-the-myth-of-the-quic) (Global Medical Device Podcast)

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