OCTOBER 2007
Structural engineers are pushing for the nationwide establishment of a structural engineering license that would be separate from the PE license. It raises a fundamental question about the way, or ways, licensing should be carried out.
BY DANIELLE BOYKIN
Professional engineers across the U.S. have been celebrating 100 years of licensure and are continuing to promote licensing and its important role in protecting the public. But there's an ongoing debate over the best way to carry out engineering licensure.
This debate took center stage in July at the NSPE 2007 Annual Convention in Denver, where two panels of experts exchanged views on the push to establish separate structural engineering licensure in all 55 U.S. jurisdictions. While some structural engineers are advocating a separate, discipline-specific license, others advocate traditional PE licensure, in which an individual is licensed only as a professional engineer. It is then up to the individual to practice only in his or her area of expertise.
NSPE endorses and supports the concept of licensure of engineers only as professional engineers and opposes licensure status by designated branches or specialties. Wyoming enacted the first PE licensing law in 1907. But in 1915, Illinois became the first state to establish a structural engineering practice act. The state was compelled to keep "fools and rascals from building unsafe structures" after a building boom followed the great Chicago fire. Several states, including Oregon and Hawaii, have followed Illinois and enacted their own separate structural engineering practice acts and title acts.
NSPE is not seeking to lobby against laws in Illinois and other states that have established discipline-specific licensure for structural engineering. But the Society's position statement and professional policy on licensure and qualifications for practice make it clear "that licensure as a professional engineer is the appropriate statutory process by which an individual meets the legal requirements to practice engineering in any jurisdiction."
"In the vast majority of the states, the tradition is that they have generic licensure," says Craig Musselman, P.E., F.NSPE, who serves on the Licensure and Qualifications for Practice Committee.
Licensing boards and practicing engineers are accustomed to the traditional system. "The concept is that once licensed, it's up to the engineer to practice within his or her area of competence," says Musselman, who is president of CMA Engineers in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. "It's a system that works well, and there's a long history of it."
Musselman adds, "quite frankly, as compelling an argument can be made on behalf of highway, traffic, geotechnical, water resources, and environmental engineers in this day and age as for structural engineers, and all of these disciplines unarguably impact public health and safety. We simply can't divide up licensure into all of these sub-disciplines, and we don't need to in order to protect the public."
Skip Lewis, P.E., F.NSPE, who served as a panelist during the session in Denver, is a staunch supporter of generic licensure. "The basis for licensure and enforcement of the professional code of conduct are the key to the protection of the public welfare," says Lewis, a chairman at H2L Consulting Engineers in Greenville, South Carolina. "An unscrupulous engineer, whether he is a generically licensed engineer or a discipline-specific engineer, will be just as dangerous to the public."
Proponents of structural engineering licensure argue that a standard civil engineering education does not provide an engineer with the knowledge or skills needed to practice structural engineering. Due to complexities in today's world, a generic PE license does not adequately protect the public, they say.
The National Council of Structural Engineers Association identifies the following goals:
- The establishment of structural engineering as a unique identifiable profession;
- The establishment of uniform structural engineering practice-act licensing in all 55 U.S. jurisdictions;
- The creation of structural engineering-specific degree programs in major colleges and universities; and
- Mandatory continuing education.
Structural engineering certification is available and is handled by the Structural Engineering Certification Board, which was formed by NCSEA in 2003. More than 1,000 engineers in the U.S. have been certified since 2005.
Susan Jorgensen, P.E., who serves as chair of the NCSEA licensing committee, says that the varying levels of practice and title acts can be confusing, particularly to the public. "Part of our concern is that the public may not understand who they are getting when they hire an engineer to design structures," says the principal in the A/E/P and interior design firm Leo A. Daly.
Jorgensen believes that the importance of licensing of structural engineers separately from civil engineers is because of the changing nature of the practice. She also understands that this can be a contentious subject. "We are not trying to tell anyone that what they have done in the past is not adequate," says Jorgensen. "Because of the complexity in the code, the complexity of the materials that we work with, we want to ensure, from this time forward, that whoever seeks licensure in the future proves that he or she understands this increased complexity."
Jorgensen adds: "We are trying to set a bar and set a standard that is maybe a step above what it has been in the past."
Licensure is a state issue, and changes in the licensing process are often a matter of which group is more persuasive. "If a state is adamantly against any changes in their licensure, we are not going to force ourselves on them," says Jorgensen. "But what we are going to do is try to make them understand our concerns, and perhaps they will see a need for it. As an organization we will provide information resources."
Policies on discipline-specific licensure vary in other engineering organizations. The American Society of Civil Engineers has no formal policy, but is in the process of establishing a resolution. The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying has no position on generic or discipline-specific licensure, but it supports and is facilitating comity with structural engineering exams.
When the topic of generic versus discipline-specific licensure is discussed, concerns often arise over the potential for increased fragmentation within engineering. "The engineering discipline is very, very fractured today with all of the subdisciplines that exist," says Lewis.
Lewis believes that discipline-specific licensure can hamper mobility for PEs from state to state and create barriers. He points to the Illinois law as an example of that barrier. "In Illinois, the structural engineering license does not preclude the design of structural systems by architects, but it does preclude the design of certain structures by engineers who are otherwise qualified by education and experience," says Lewis, who has been licensed as a structural engineer in Illinois and other jurisdictions.
In a time when the engineering profession is concerned about revamping its public image, some PEs are concerned about a perception problem. "There's also a lot of crossover from discipline to discipline, and to try to build fences within the engineering profession by way of
discipline-specific licensure certainly makes it extremely difficult and not in the best interest of the consumer of professional services," says Lewis.
Nancy Gavlin, P.E., S.E., disagrees. She doesn't think that the demand for structural engineering licensure will cause a ripple effect among other engineering disciplines. "From my point of view, the PE is a fragment of structural because the structural license has been around longer than most PE licenses," says Gavlin, who spoke during the licensure conference session. "For the last 60 years, no other group in Illinois has asked for a license. There are a number of states in that position, and it's just not happening."
Gavlin believes that issues surrounding protection of the public should come before protection of the profession. "When it comes to structures, the consequences of a mistake are very serious because we are talking about life," she says. "We consider that the immediate life-safety consequence is more real for structural design than other [disciplines] of engineering."
Although NSPE and NCSEA have opposing views on licensure, some in this debate see an opportunity for compromise. According to Musselman, the NSPE Licensure and Qualifications for Practice Committee recently voted to pursue more formal discussions with NCSEA and other structural engineering groups. "One idea being considered is whether there is potentially common ground for using roster designations in generic states to get at some of the concerns voiced by structural engineers," says Musselman.
Musselman points to Louisiana as a state where roster designations have been implemented. The board requires that a PE pass both the Structural I and II exams in order to be listed as a structural engineer. "The board saw it as a reasonable compromise, and it's something that has worked in a generic state," he says. "Doing this in other states is beginning to be considered as a possible resolution."
Other suggestions include postlicensure specialty certification, such as the SE certification from the Structural Engineering Certification Board, and roster designations with rigorous requirements, which could be equivalent to a title act and applicable to all disciplines.
Jorgensen doesn't believe that title acts for structural engineering go far enough and is skeptical about roster designations. "We've had a title act in Nebraska for 10 years, and there's still a huge group of practicing structural engineers who haven't gone far enough to call themselves structural engineers because there's no need," says Jorgensen. She would prefer to see a uniform method of licensing structural engineers using NCEES's Model Law for Structural Engineers.
NCEES's term Model Law Structural Engineer refers to a licensed engineer who has
- Graduated from an engineering program accredited by ABET's Engineering Accreditation Commission;
- Passed a minimum of 18 semester hours of structural analysis and design courses. with at least 9 semester hours in structural design courses;
- Passed the Fundamentals of Engineering exam;
- Passed 16 hours of structural examinations consisting of NCEES structural examinations or state-written structural examinations;
- Completed 4 years of acceptable structural engineering experience after confirmation of a bachelor's degree; and
- No disciplinary action on record.
A NCEES Structural Exam Task Force, chaired by Gavlin, recently recommended that one uniform, 16-hour exam be developed to be used by all jurisdictions for structural engineering licensure to establish minimum competence.
The debate over generic versus discipline-specific licensure will continue and perhaps there will be room for common ground. In the meantime, engineering professionalism must be guided by ethics and sound judgment. "Whether you are a civil engineer, a structural engineer, an architect, or a geotechnical engineer," says Lewis, "to be a true professional, you must restrain yourself in your practice commitment to areas in which you are competent and proficient by way of education and experience."
