Mechanical Engineer PE, urgent help

[gaurav0323]

Hello All,

I am a Mechanical Engineer licensed in the state of TX. Passed my exams in 2012. I work for an Engineering firm in Texas which mainly deals with big oil and helps them resolve their issues in the pipeline business, our solutions come extremely handy during repair work of the pipelines where we save thousands if not millions for our end client by cutting down on expensive repair options. My company is multi billion dollar firm.  

During my work day I have verify the drawings and PE stamp the designs for our client. However my supervisor is always hounding me and other PE's in the group to finish work faster. Sometimes even belittling in the Engineering meetings, making us feel bad for the time we take to verify the designs. My question is can I file compliant with TBPE or governing body as the manager asks us to do work really fast. I sometimes feel extremely concerned that in the want to save time and my job I may endanger the public at large. Is there a legal recourse and how to go about dealing with such things. Please advise.

 

[Tiger15]

Let me start by saying that, I don't have a definitive answer to your question, but I suspect there's nothing to report to the board.

Pressure to work faster (or to save money) is common is many workplaces and is often one of the metrics that managers are held to. Telling you to work faster isn't the same thing as telling you to cut corners or to not do your due diligence... even though it can feel like that. If you manager specifically told you to do something unethical or unsafe, you could probably report that. But to me it sounds like he's telling you to do your job, just do it faster (which may or may not be realistic). As the licensed PE, it's your responsibility to make sure you don't stamp anything that isn't fully reviewed, correct, and safe.

It would be interesting to know if you manager has a PE license.

That being said. Maybe you want to start looking for another job. It sounds like this is not a positive work environment. You may not be able to escape schedule pressure at a different job, but there's a difference between schedule pressure and outright disrespect. Belittling people, especially publicly, is a terrible management practice.

Another thought. Is this just your manager, or is this attitude is pervasive throughout your company? It may not be worth reporting to the board if there's no evidence or overt public endangerment, but it might be worth reporting to the higher-ups at your company. There may be HR policies against that behavior. Also that attitude is bad for business. If your manager drives people away, that creates the expense of additional hiring, training, etc. Disrespect and harassment (I don't know if it has come to that) opens the company up to potential lawsuits. And excessive schedule pressure can cause bad work products, which may lose customers and also opens up the company to lawsuits if something actually fails. If it's just him, he may get reprimanded or suspended, but if it's the whole company, you're putting a target on your back by speaking up.