P1252428685JepWQ

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PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING LICENSURE
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Prelude Professional Engineering Licensure The
Hyatt Regency Collapse
Presenter Scott A. Sabol, PE Vermont Technical
College
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The Hyatt Regency Walkway BACKGROUND

• 40-story Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, Missouri
  opened in 1980
• July 1981 dance event in hotel drew huge crowds
• Many were on elevated, suspended walkways
• 2nd floor walkway directly beneath 4th floor
  walkway (3rd floor offset)

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THE CATASTROPHE

• Based on loading and design/construction error,
  some walkways collapsed
• gt100 killed
• gt200 injured

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THE RESULT(SOURCE Lee L. Lowery, Jr., PhD, P.E
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THE CAUSE

• Construction modification with insufficient/inappr
  opriate engineering review

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ORIGINAL vs. AS-BUILT

• Original
• Built-up box beams suspended by rods
• Each nut assembly holds one floor
• Required long threaded rod length
• As-built
• Separate rods from floor to floor
• Eliminated long threading
• Eased construction

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WHY DID CHANGE CAUSE PROBLEM? The 2 people on a
rope-swing analogy
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THE FAILED DETAIL
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HOW / WHY DID THE CHANGE OCCUR?

• Poor contractor-engineer communications
• Havens Steel
• Jack D. Gillum Assoc.
• Engineer approved change without performing
  detailed calculations
• Did not meet standard of care

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THE AFTERMATH

• Missouri Board of Architects, Professional
  Engineers, and Land Surveyors stripped the
  responsible engineers of their licenses
• ASCE revoked their membership

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What Is A Professional Engineer (PE)?
Presenter Francis Kennedy, PE
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What Is A Professional Engineer (PE)?

• Topics
• Background Professional Engineering
• Legal Requirements
• Why become a registered Professional Engineer?
• Fundamental Canons of Engineering

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Background Professional Engineering

• A century ago, anyone could work as an engineer
  without proof of competency.
• In order to protect the public health, safety,
  and welfare, the first engineering licensure law
  was enacted in 1907 in Wyoming.
• Now every state regulates the practice of
  engineering to ensure public safety by granting
  only licensed Professional Engineers (PEs) the
  authority to sign and seal engineering plans and
  offer their services to the public.

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Legal Requirements

• All states in U.S. and most foreign countries
  have Professional Registration laws governing the
  practice of engineering
• Most states prohibit persons who are not
  registered Professional Engineers from
• Advertising, using a business card, or otherwise
  indicating to the public that they are a
  qualified engineer or consulting engineer
• Assuming the title of expert engineering witness
• Practicing or offering to practice as a
  consulting engineer or expert engineering witness
• Teaching in a public engineering school (some
  states).
• Engineers in industrial practice may be exempted
  from some of these laws

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Why Become a Registered PE?

• Prestige
• Tells public that you have mastered the critical
  elements of your profession
• Authority
• Only PEs can be in responsible charge of an
  engineering consulting firm
• PEs can serve as qualified expert witness
• Only PEs can sign engineering drawings for public
  projects
• Higher pay and increased opportunities
• Career development and flexibility

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Fundamental Canons of Engineering (From ASCE Code
of Ethics)

• Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health
  and welfare of the public and shall strive to
  comply with the principles of sustainable
  development in the performance of their
  professional duties.
• Engineers shall perform services only in areas of
  their competence.
• Engineers shall issue public statements only in
  an objective and truthful manner.
• Engineers shall act in professional matters for
  each employer or client as faithful agents or
  trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of interest.
• Engineers shall build their professional
  reputation on the merit of their services and
  shall not compete unfairly with others.
• Engineers shall act in such a manner as to uphold
  and enhance the honor, integrity, and dignity of
  the engineering profession.
• Engineers shall continue their professional
  development throughout their careers, and shall
  provide opportunities for the professional
  development of those engineers under their
  supervision.

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The Process of Becoming a PE
Presenter Matthew J. Low, P.E., SECB
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The Process of Becoming a PE

• Topics
• Who Licenses Professional Engineers?
• What Are The Requirements?
• Existing Licensure Process Model

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Who Licenses Professional Engineers?

• Individual State Boards of Licensure
• NCEES National Council of Examiners of
  Engineers and Surveyors (Council of PE Boards)
• Maintains and transmits official records for a
  fee
• Registration with NCEES required by some states
• Streamlines future state applications by comity

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What Are The Requirements?

• Education
• Examinations
• Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam
• Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) Exam
• Experience
• Ethics Reputation

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Education Requirements

• ABET Accredited EAC Bachelors Degree
• Alternate Pathways
• Science Bachelors / Engineering Masters
• ABET TAC Degree
• Foreign Degrees
• Some states allow less education with significant
  (20 years) experience but that practice is
  disappearing
• Acronyms
• ABET Accreditation Board for Engineering and
  Technologies
• EAC Engineering Accreditation Commission
• TAC Technology Accreditation Commission

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Examination Requirements

• Fundamentals of Engineering Examination
• Fee required
• Easiest when taken senior year of college
• No maintenance required of Engineer In Training
  status
• Some states may waive with significant experience
• Principles and Practices Examination
• Fee required
• Extensive application process which requires
  references, detailed work experience record, etc.
• Taken after fulfillment of experience
  requirements

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Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam

• Day-long (8 Hours) Exam
• Given Nationwide in April and October
• Given at Thayer School every April
• Covers the Topics Normally Studied in an
  Undergraduate Engineering Program
• Included are mathematics, chemistry, mechanics,
  electrical circuits, engineering economics,
  electronics, thermodynamics, materials science,
  solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, and computer
  programming

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Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) Exam

• Given Nationwide in April and October
• Day-long (8 Hours) Exam in Two Parts
• General (4 Hours)
• Includes economics, HVAC, thermo, mechanics, etc.
• Specialized (4 Hours)
• You select one area of specialization
• Areas of specialization Chemical, Civil,
  Mechanical, Electrical, Environmental,
  Structural, Aeronautical, Agricultural,
  Manufacturing, Control Systems, Metallurgical,
  Fire Protection, Mining, Industrial, Nuclear,
  Petroleum

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Experience Requirements

• Typically Four Years Engineering Experience or
  Three With an Engineering Masters
• Non-engineering work will not count toward your
  experience
• Requires Letters of Reference From Several PEs
  Familiar With Your Work
• 3 for NH, 5 for NCEES
• Engineering Experience Must Show Increasing Scope
  Responsibility
• Record your accomplishments in detail START NOW
• Some states require evidence such as your
  drawings or calculations

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Ethics Reputation Requirements

• NH Requires You Pass an Ethics Examination
• Keep Your Reputation Clean!
• Abide by all laws governing practice of
  engineering in the State in which registered
• Avoid any misconduct, whether personal,
  professional, or legal
• Build Working Relationships With Other PEs
• Experience requirement mandates working with a PE
• You will need references/recommendations from
  several PEs to apply for PE exam

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Existing Licensure Process Model

• Fundamentals of Engineering Examination
• ABET EAC Bachelors Degree
• Engineer-in-Training
• Four Years Engineering Experience
• Principles and Practices Examination
• NH Engineering Ethics Examination
• Licensed Professional Engineer
• Continuing Professional Development

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PE License Maintenance
Presenter Gary Phetteplace, PE
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Maintenance Fees
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Maintenance Continuing Education

• Many states now have continuing education
  requirements as a condition of PE license
  renewal.
• Both the amount of continuing education required
  and what meets the requirements vary by state.
• Some states allow their continuing education
  requirements to be met by comity i.e. if there
  are requirements in your state of residency and
  you meet them you will be considered to have met
  the requirements in the jurisdiction of other
  states.

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Maintenance Continuing Education
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Maintenance Continuing EducationNH Regulations

• Each licensee shall obtain at least 30
  professional development hours of approved
  continuing education courses during the biennial
  renewal period as a condition of license renewal.
• If a licensee exceeds the requirement, a maximum
  of 15 professional development hours may be
  carried forward into the subsequent renewal
  period.

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Maintenance Continuing EducationNH Regulations

• New licensees shall be exempt from obtaining
  professional development hours for their first
  biennial renewal period.
• Licensees who are residents of jurisdictions
  other than New Hampshire shall meet the
  continuing professional development or equivalent
  requirements of their resident jurisdiction. The
  requirements for the State of New Hampshire shall
  be satisfied when a non-resident licensee
  provides evidence of having met the requirements
  of their resident jurisdiction.
• If licensees reside in a jurisdiction that has no
  continuing professional development requirements,
  the resident shall meet the requirements of the
  State of New Hampshire.

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Maintenance Continuing EducationNH Regulations

• Continuing education activities shall be relevant
  to the practice of engineering or no credit shall
  be awarded. Such continuing education activities
  may include technical, ethical, or managerial
  content.
• The content of each presentation shall be well
  organized and presented in a sequential manner.
• The participant in a CE course/program is
  required to maintain records.

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Maintenance Continuing EducationNH Regulations

• Teaching or instructing qualifying courses or
  seminars or making presentations at technical
  meetings shall earn professional development
  hours credit at twice that of participants.
• Each professional journal, published paper,
  article or published engineering text book shall
  equal 30 professional development hours.
• Active participation in professional or technical
  societies shall equal 2 professional development
  hours and shall require that a registrant serve
  as an officer and/or actively participate in a
  committee of the organization. (Professional
  development hour credits shall not be earned
  until each year service is completed and shall be
  limited to 2 professional development hours per
  organization)
• Credit awarded for one patent shall equal 10
  professional development hours.
• Professional development credits shall not be
  recognized for any repeat program attended or
  completed.

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Maintenance Continuing EducationNH Regulations

• Its the responsibility of the licensee to
  maintain records to be used to support CE credits
  claimed.
• A log must be maintained showing the type of
  activity claimed, sponsoring organization,
  location, instructors or speakers name, and
  professional development hours credits earned.
• Attendance verification records are needed in the
  form of completion certificates or other
  documents supporting evidence of attendance such
  as signed attendance receipts, paid receipts, or
  a copy of a listing of attendees signed by a
  person sponsoring the course or program or the
  course/program provider.
• The licensee shall retain attendance verification
  records for a period of at least 4 years.
• Not less than 5 of the licensees shall be
  randomly selected each year by the board for
  compliance.

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Maintenance Continuing Education

• NCEES maintains a registry of Continuing
  Education providers, see www.rcep.net/rcep/ for
  details.
• This website also has a list of the continuing
  education requirements for each state and links
  to the state regulations.

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Maintenance NCEES Record

• As mentioned earlier, NCEES record is required by
  some states and may be useful even where not
  required for those who need to get registered in
  new jurisdictions and do so rapidly.
• Annual cost of maintaining an NCEES record is
  25.
• Only one updated reference is required per year.
• Cost of record transmittal to a state board is
  60.

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PE License Maintenance

• Maintain Good Professional Character
• Abide by all laws governing practice of
  engineering and ethics in the State in which
  registered. For NH the Engineering Ethical
  Standards begin with The professional engineer
  shall hold paramount the safety, health, and
  welfare of the public
• Public statements only in an objective and
  truthful manner
• Avoid conflicts of interest
• Accept work only on the basis of qualifications
• Perform services in an ethical and lawful manner

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Benefits of Becoming a PE
Presenter Jennifer Marrs, PE
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Benefits of Becoming a PE

• Topics
• Personal Benefits
• Career Benefits
• Private Practice

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Personal Benefits

• Prestige Authority
• License is proof of high level of commitment
• License is proof of mastery
• License is proof of ethical fidelity deserves
  trust
• The difference between a profession and just a
  job
• PE is an individual credential, not job dependent
• PE designation after name, similar to MD
• Career Flexibility
• Economic advantages
• Personal fulfillment

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Career Benefits

• Credentials Give You a Competitive Edge
• Economic Change Requires Flexibility, Mastery
• New Job Options With PE License
• Some Corporate Jobs (Some States, Some
  Specialties)
• Some Public Sector / Government Jobs
• Some Government Contracts Grants
• Teaching (Some States)
• Forensic Engineering (Engineering Expert Witness)
• Private Practice (Consulting Contracting)

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Private Practice
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Private Practice

• License Required in Most States to Sell
  Engineering Services to Any Entity, Including
  Corporate Clients
• This includes contracting, consulting
• Your business insurance policy may also require
  licensure
• Simply Avoiding the Word Engineering Is Not
  Enough!
• State laws define what actions constitute the
  practice of engineering
• Usually actions like making drawings or
  performing calculations constitute practice of
  engineering
• Some States Have Exemptions
• Example VT exempts anyone involved in design or
  manufacture of a product
• Check Your State Laws for Guidance

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Ten Reasons to NOT get your PE License
Presenter E. Smith Reed, PE
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Ten NINE Reasons to NOT get your PE License
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9.
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9. It costs money.
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NH VTFE (EIT) Exam 150 125PE
Application 225 100PE Exam
150 235Annual Renewal 75/yr 50/yr
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8.
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8. For the exam, ya gotta go out and
buy a new calculator!
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8. For the exam, ya gotta go out and
buy a new calculator! . . . and then
learn how to use it . . .
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7.
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7. You'll probably need to take a
refresher course
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7. You'll probably need to take a
refresher course . . . which takes time
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7. You'll probably need to take a
refresher course . . . which takes
time . . . and you have to do
problem sets
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7. You'll probably need to take a
refresher course . . . which takes
time . . . and you have to do
problem sets . . . . something youll
not have
done in years !
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typical refresher class structure

• six Saturdays - 800 am to 600 pm
• - or -
• twelve Wednesdays - 630 pm to 930 pm
• - plus -
• two Saturdays - 900 am to 200 pm

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6. This refresher course will take more
money
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• Kaplan course 160
• ENSYS course 2,400 ( - up to 2,995 )
• PPi course 1,000 books
• PE Review Books 40 to 400

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5.
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5. There's a REAL chance you won't even
pass! ( a chance you'll be a FAILURE!
)
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5. There's a REAL chance you won't even
pass! ( a chance you'll be a FAILURE!
) . . . which takes time money
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FE (EIT) Exam Failure Rates
ExaminationModule First-timetakers who FAIL Repeattakers who FAIL
Chemical 18 54
Civil 30 71
Electrical 33 71
Environmental 24 66
Industrial 34 73
Mechanical 19 68
General 26 71
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PE Exam Failure Rates
ExaminationModule First-timetakers who FAIL Repeattakers who FAIL
Chemical 21 66
Civil 40 75
Electrical 30 74
Environmental 27 57
Industrial 21 68
Mechanical 30 62
Petroleum 27 53
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4.
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4. Many (most?) employers don't really
care.
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3.
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3. Your girlfriend (boyfriend) won't
know the difference . . .
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3. Your girlfriend (boyfriend) won't
know the difference . . . (. . .
duhhhh . . . )
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3. Your girlfriend (boyfriend) won't
know the difference . . . . . . people
you want to impress would be more
impressed by an MBA, or a PhD . . .
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2.
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2. In five more years, . . . you'll
have forgotten all that stuff.
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2. In five more years, . . . you'll
have forgotten all that stuff. - again !
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1.
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1. Even if you get your PE license,
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1. Even if you get your PE license,
they probably won't let you teach the gym
class anyway . . .
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Professional Engineering Licensure Resources
Presenter Scott A. Sabol, PE Vermont Technical
College
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NATIONAL COUNCIL of EXAMINERS for ENGINEERING and
SURVEYING (NCEES)

• Creator/scoring agency for the FE and PE exams
• www.ncees.org
• Information on
• Test dates
• Test format
• Allowable reference and other material

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NCEES (contd)

• Information on
• Review materials
• Including FE Handbook
• Professional licensure records program
• State engineering board contacts

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NCEES EXAMPLE REFERENCE
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Professional Publications, Inc.

• www.ppi2pass.com
• Exam-specified references/specs
• Review products
• FE Review Manual (FERM)
• money back guarantee
• EIT Reference Manual
• Various PE review Manuals

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EXAMPLE PPI PRODUCT
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PPI (contd)

• Discussion forums
• Review course listing
• Independently offered ones can post notice
• Comment Roam the website carefully not the
  easiest to navigate

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YOUR STATE BOARD

• Their information trumps anything found on other
  sources!
• Often under the Secretary of State
• VT http//www.vtprofessionals.org/opr1/engineers/
  
• NH
• http//www.nh.gov/jtboard/pe.htm

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KAPLAN AEC EDUCATION

• http//www.kaplanaecengineering.com/
• Similar offerings to PPI

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STATE/NATIONAL ENGINEERING SOCIETIES

• Vermont Society of Professional Engineers
• New Hampshire Society of Professional Engineers
• National Society of Professional Engineers
• ASCE-ASME-IEEE and others

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OTHER RESOURCES EXIST

• Ask a colleague!
• Check university websites
• Hofstra, Wisconsin-Madison
• Some in-person some distance
• Most colleges/universities have an FE review
  course (some a PE)
• Not all resources of equal quality
• SERM?CERM ?MERM ?FERM

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QUESTIONS?
Thank You For Your Attention!