# Possibly a dumb question, but...



## FairhopeEE (Nov 26, 2008)

What is the general meaning of the term "resident engineer"? I've heard the title used before but was never sure exactly how the role of someone in that position differed from that of a "standard" staff engineer.


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## snickerd3 (Nov 26, 2008)

There are no dumb questions here.


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## maryannette (Nov 26, 2008)

I really don't know. I've heard the term, but :dunno:


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## MechGuy (Nov 26, 2008)

FairhopeEE said:


> What is the general meaning of the term "resident engineer"? I've heard the title used before but was never sure exactly how the role of someone in that position differed from that of a "standard" staff engineer.



In my line of work (Military Construction), the Resident Engineer is the engineer who is on the project site. For example, the Army Corps of Engineers would have a Resident Engineer on the construction site itself to deal with the day to day engineering and construction issues, and they would have a Project or Program Manager back at the main district office.

This person is also referred to as the ROICC in the Army and Navy at some or most locations. (Resident Officer in Charge of Construction) Although I was told the Navy changed that acronym to FEAD (Field Engineering &amp; Architecture Department or Facility Engineering Acquisition Division depending on who you talk to)


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## roadwreck (Nov 26, 2008)

I figured it had to do with the engineers immigration status.

:dunno:


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## IlPadrino (Nov 26, 2008)

FairhopeEE said:


> What is the general meaning of the term "resident engineer"? I've heard the title used before but was never sure exactly how the role of someone in that position differed from that of a "standard" staff engineer.


In my experience, the Resident Engineer is in charge of the field (i.e. jobsite) team, usually overseeing the QA/QC, Safety, Schedule/Progress, Field Changes, RFIs, etc.

Of course, titles can be a very local thing, so the better question is... "What does the job entail"? In general, though, it should include supervision of others and be a field-centric position.


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## IlPadrino (Nov 26, 2008)

MechGuy said:


> This person is also referred to as the ROICC in the Army and Navy at some or most locations. (Resident Officer in Charge of Construction) Although I was told the Navy changed that acronym to FEAD (Field Engineering &amp; Architecture Department or Facility Engineering Acquisition Division depending on who you talk to)


In the Navy, the "ROICC" was a better name for an office, even though the guy in charge is/was certainly *THE* ROICC. The ROICC Office construct has been changed and now, for the most part, the FEAD is now the office that manages the construction projects. There are still a few ROICCs and OICCs (Bethesda and a couple for the Marine Corps).


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## dcny (Nov 26, 2008)

In NY the Resident Engineer is in charge of the Residency. Usually residencies are broken up by county. Each Residency has a main residency and several sub-residencies. The Resident Engineer is responsible for all aspects of the maintenance of the highways in the residency.


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## csb (Nov 26, 2008)

Resident Engineer for us is in charge of all engineering projects for a certain city and it's surrounding area, kinda like IlPadrino explained.


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## engineergurl (Nov 26, 2008)

pretty much what sray said... I've worked at both the fed and state level and that's what it pretty much was...


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## KC_Rider (Dec 3, 2008)

Resident Engineer:

Having worked worked with a company that provides engineering services, one of our offerings was to provide a "resident engineer" to our customers. This individual is sent to the location of the job site, and remains there for a fairly long duration - usually, at least one year. The resident engineer is paid a per diem in addition to their regular salary, and the customer is charged an hourly rate for this engineer's services. The resident engineer basically becomes integrated into the plant culture and is usually indistinguishable from the regular staff. Needless to say, these resident engineers are eventually recruited by the customer company. Some take up short term leases while on their residencies, or simply decide to live out of a hotel. If you're mobile and don't have any major family commitments, then life as a resident engineer....well, you decide.


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## Supe (Dec 3, 2008)

I work for an EPC company. Our resident engineers are on-site, and address RFI's, design changes, etc. Rarely do they do any direct supervision, and they don't have any direct ties to QA/QC other than being an overall part of the process. The key aspect of what they do, is waiting for people to screw up.

Inevitably, something will go wrong during construction. Whether its concrete out of spec, something being installed in the wrong spot or with the wrong material, etc. When this happens, a nonconformance report is written. The RE then examines the situation, runs the number, and if its still safe/meets code, then they'll ok it, pitch it to the client, and with client approval, leave it alone. Otherwise, they will determine what needs to be done to fix it.


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