Man being investigated for practicing engineering without a license

[CLite]

Just remember every time you drive across a bridge, these laws are there for a reason.

Absolutely no one follows these laws *verbatim*, unless you are suggesting all the professors in Oklahoma have their PE license.

teaching of advanced engineering subjects or courses related thereto

No engineering firm I've ever heard of has all PE's doing work(stress engineering / structural integrity / equity engineering / all the big construction firms[betchel/haliburton/etc.).

I participate in ASME codes and standards on the BPVC Section VIII and I doubt one out of every five people there has a PE license. There are people on ASME's board of governors which is the highest attainable rank without a PE license.

The way real engineering firms and construction companies work for the most part is there will be review engineers with PE licenses to stamp final products but the vast majority of work is done by non-licensed engineers. Go into any refinery and out of their entire mechanical engineering staff they might have one PE guy. Quite similar with any NSSS supplier (for the nuclear field).

*edit* and to further point out how asinine your claim is that you have to have a PE to do any engineering: There is a mandatory 5 years of experience to qualify for taking the PE exam (at least in NJ and I'm quite sure many other states). Are suggesting that engineering graduates are not allowed to do any work and yet must somehow magically produce 5 years of experience?

 

[Genx87]

Ignorance of the law is not a good defense. If you write a report, packed full of equations and references to engineering codes, you run of the risk of a lay person thinking it is an engineering work, even without a stamp. The problem with relying on a stamp alone is that most people have no idea that a stamp is required and then they really have no idea what a real one looks like. I meet a draftsmen who acted like an architect and use the "Green Builders" seal to make his work look more official, most people would have no idea they were getting duped, even though he never directly claimed he was an architect.

Oklahoma Law (very similar to most states):




Just remember every time you drive across a bridge, these laws are there for a reason.

Is Lacy a lay person? I thought he was a city engineer? Shouldnt he be qualified enough to know this is a citizen presenting a plan and not be duped into thinking this was an engineer presenting an official engineering plan?

 

[darkarmani]

Maybe in this case, but what happens when the person is dead wrong and someone else acts on that information?

So you said ignorance is not a defense but then worry about ignorant people thinking "engineering level work" must mean a licensed engineer did the work?

Let's not put blame where it belong or anything and blame the guy that did work that was too professional instead of the schmucks that might believe anything they read. No one is defending the case where people try to fraudulently trick people.

 

[Fenixgoon]

I am a PE and in the Law of my state preparing engineering work without a PE can be considering illegal. It all just depends on how it was presented and to who. Preliminary drawings, reports, etc are all supposed to be marked as preliminary, also. I think this specific case falls into a gray area that just depends on how it was presented and to who. (Preparing as in a completed work, not as in preliminary work later given to a PE to sign)



Without seeing the report it is impossible to know how it was presented. It probably is just an overreach of a bureaucrat who was upset. The state engineering board is more than qualified to make a reasonable decision on this and will.





Just don't go out and start a business named "Pulsar's Engineering" or offer to engineer something (that the law requires a PE for) for someone outside of work.

you may as well say you can't prepare your own defense in a trial because you're not a lawyer.

he's lobbying a public official with evidence to change traffic lights. just because the guy actually put some thought into making his case does not make him an engineer, and as long as he is not representing himself as a licensed PE, it should no matter. he does not even have the power to make a decision on whether that traffic light should be implemented.

no different than if some group said "there are 10 bazillion starving children and you need to feed them. think of the children! here's where they are in your district."