To protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public, states regulate the engineering profession. We’ve discussed previously what it takes to obtain a license as a Professional Engineer. Public infrastructure projects generally require the seal of a Professional Engineer. You might think most people would be reluctant to incur this legal, financial, and professional liability. Yet it’s not uncommon to see someone who isn’t even an engineer render an engineering opinion.
Such people would probably never dream of sealing drawings or specifications. But the practice of engineering is much broader than that. For example, Pennsylvania’s Engineer, Land Surveyor and Geologist Registration Law defines it as follows.
“Practice of Engineering” shall mean the application of the mathematical and physical sciences for the design of public or private buildings, structures, machines, investigation, evaluation, engineering surveys, construction management, planning and inspection in connection therewith, the performance of the foregoing acts and services being prohibited to persons who are not licensed under this act as professional engineers unless exempt under other provisions of this act.—PL 913, No. 367 Cl. 63, Section 2 (a) (1)
Junior engineers must obtain several years of experience before taking the PE examination. The law permits them to practice without a license under the supervision of a Professional Engineer during that time. In Minnesota, the following certification accompanies the engineer’s signature and seal. It’s mandatory on plans, specifications, reports, and other engineering work.
I hereby certify that this plan, specification, or report was prepared by me or under my direct supervision and that I am a duly Licensed Professional Engineer under the laws of the state of Minnesota.—Minnesota Instructions For Certification And Signatures On Plans, Specifications, Reports And Plats
Petrography and chemistry
Concrete petrography is a highly informative technique for characterizing concrete and its constituent materials. It’s one of the most useful tools in forensic engineering and in construction troubleshooting. If you want to know what went wrong and why, concrete petrography is essential. It can also inform engineering decisions such as whether to repair or replace a defective concrete member.
However, petrographers are generally geologists by training and practice—that is, scientists, not engineers. As such, they may have an excellent understanding of the quality of the concrete or the materials-related factors that contributed to a failure. But a petrographer is not legally qualified to determine whether the concrete met the specification or recommend remedial measures.
Similarly, chemists can provide essential information about deterioration that occurred in the field. They can also help the engineer and the client understand how the cementitious materials and admixtures interact under various conditions. But like the petrographer, the chemist is a scientist who should not render an engineering opinion.
To bring all this expertise to bear in construction troubleshooting or forensics takes a team. No one person will have sufficient command of the necessary details along with the overall perspective to put it all together. The scientists, technicians, and other staff contribute their observations and insights. But an engineer needs to be in charge to fulfill the legal and professional requirements.