2009 Issue

8 Why Be Licensed? You are demonstrating your commitment to a higher standard of care in the execution of your job which is to advance the human condition. Vice Chair’s Message MIKE BUEHNER, SE Utah Engineers Council Vice Chair 2008-2009 Engineers Week 2009 Chair B ECOMING A LICENSED ENGINEER IS a long and difficult process. It actually starts with the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam that every hopeful engineer must pass to fulfill graduation requirements from accredited university engineering programs. Then you must obtain four years of relevant experience under the tutelage of a registered profession engineer before you can take the Professional Engineering (PE) exam. I have seen and heard tales of many en- gineering graduates who are doing engineering work for engineering companies whose attitude is why bother when it comes to obtaining licensure. “I never have to stamp anything, so it doesn’t matter“ is the most common reason. Licensure exists first and foremost to protect public safety. No client wants to risk having an unqualified engineer perform the engineering work on their project. Engineers market their expertise in their respective disciplines as one of the top reasons you should hire them. Obviously, you cannot be considered a qualified expert in your engineering field if you are not licensed. Yet, despite the best intensions of Utah engineering licensing law, there are few checks for relevant expertise between different engineering disci- plines. As long as there is a stamp, you’re good to go—right? Wrong! I will relate the recent efforts of structural engineers, who in the last legislative session, proposed a new structural engineering license practice act that was passed and signed into law. First, a hypothetical question: should an electrical engineer by trade be able to stamp and sign a set of structural drawings for a strip mall development? His stamp had a PE on it, and “it is a simple enough of a structure and as long as I read through the code, I can do this.” Forget hypothetical—this happened in 2007. A plan re- view uncovered significant oversights andmissing information. Even though this was a large ethical lapse, it was not illegal. This is also not an isolated incident. Conversely, a structural engineer could theoretically stamp and sign a set of plumbing plans for a large facility. Again, if the stamp has PE on it, everything is fine, right? For this reason, structural engineers wanted to raise the bar for who should design significant structures. While some see this as an effort to unfairly protect structural engineers’ business from competition, the true reason is to protect public safety. Now to be licensed as a structural engineer (SE), youmust pass two additional 8-hour structural-specific exams and demonstrate adequate experience. Utah joins just seven other states with separate structural engineer licensure laws. When implementing new law requiring sepa- rate licensure, you cannot deprive those who have been practicing it as their livelihood. Grandfather- ing is the general answer to this dilemma. Despite compelling reasons why practice shouldbe limited to only those who are qualified through testing and experience, the change cannot happen over- night. It happens over more like a generation. The long-term goal is higher caliber design practice. So, why get licensed? You are more market- able to your employer and clients as someone with adequate skills. But even more so, you are demonstrating your commitment to a higher standard of care in the execution of your jobwhich is to advance the human condition. Why did you become an engineer in the first place? Mr. Buehner is associated with Reaveley Engineers and Associates in Salt Lake City. C ONGRATULATIONS BLAINE LEONARD, PAST CHAIRMAN of the Council, has been elected to lead the American Society of Civil Engineers for the upcoming year. This year Blaine will serve as President-Elect of the Society. Indeed this is a matter of pride and honor to all of us in Utah. Blaine served as a chairman of the council in 1992-‘93. It was the year when the first issue of this journal was conceived and produced. The first issue was made possible by the leadership of Blaine and contribution of lot of efforts on the part of the then members of the council. Today the journal is in its 17th year. Blaine has been a graduate of the University of Utah with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in engineering. He is a registered professional engineer in six states. He has worked in private sector over a number of years and has participated in various professional committees on Wa- satch Front and in Region 8 of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Currently, he is a research program manager at the Utah Department of Transportation. On a personal note, Blaine and I enjoyed working together since 1990 when the American Academy of Environmental En- gineers joined the council. Blaine faces challenges at national level in these challenging times. Recruitment and retention of young engineers inmembership ranks is a serious issue for professional organizations. Members with longevity should serve as a role model for younger members besides usual recognition and appreciation of continuous membership. I am confident Blaine will meet the challenges and advance profession’s standing. Congratulations and wishing him the best for your endeavors. KIRAN L. BHAYANI, P.E., D.EE ., F.ASCE CHAIR, PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE President-Elect of the American Society of Civil Engineers