Alta Appraisal Svc Ltd - Edmonton

Clarence Bidniak is the President of Alta. Appraisal Services Ltd. This company has been in operation since 1975. Since acquiring the company in 1998, he has honed his practical skills and established performance proven systematic procedures to undertake his appraisal, investigative, and failure analysis assignments.

After graduating high school, he worked as an apprentice mechanic. He then completed the required academic curriculum for an auto body mechanic, obtaining his Red Seal Journeyman Auto Body Mechanic License. Following this, he attended Dupont Finishes Technical Training, Kenworth Technical Training, and Continuing Education Body Shop Management Training.

Clarence worked in the heavy truck industry from 1980 to 1997 operating his own truck body repair and refinishing business for seven years and managing the body shop for Edmonton Kenworth for ten years.

Since 1998, he has been appraising damages to trucks, trailers, farm equipment, heavy equipment, and specialized equipment; investigating fire causes on vehicles and equipment; and performing mechanical failure analyses. He is an independent appraiser/investigator, regularly retained by insurance companies and self-insured trucking companies requiring his expertise in one or more of his specialized fields. In the past 17 years, he has investigated over 3300 losses for these companies.

In addition to his continual work experience, in the past 15 years Clarence has completed:

• Vehicle Fire Investigator Courses – is a Certified Vehicle Fire Investigator (CVFI)
• Fire and Explosion Investigator Courses – is a Certified Fire & Explosion Investigator (CFEI)
• Fire Origin & Cause Training Courses – ongoing yearly (F.I.A.A. and I.A.A.I.)
• Level 1 and 2 of Applied Failure Analysis Training (Finning)
• Appraisal of Heavy Equipment Course (I.S.A.)
• Canadian Personal Property Appraisers Group Course (C.P.P.A.G.)

He has both consistently and continually improved his level of practical hands-on experience, and technical knowledge for these selected fields of endeavor.

Although his professional experience has been focused on repairs of physical damages, he is involved in analysis of damages and/or failures to mechanical components on a regular basis. With losses involving heavy trucks or equipment (fire, rollover, submersion, and collision), partial/complete dismantling and inspection for loss related damages of engines, transmissions, and hydraulic systems are typically required. Through these numerous experiences, along with training courses and extensive self-study, he has become proficient in accurately determining failure causes by analyzing the damage characteristics.

He has been qualified as an Investigation Expert Witness in the Provincial Court of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Also, he has had a life long passion for race cars, hot rods, trucks, and heavy equipment. He was raised in a farming community where he was exposed to, and frequently worked on, vehicles and equipment from his very early teens. He is still actively involved in Championship Drag Racing.