The professional engineer on Federal Property.

[Bassengineer]

I am a professional engineer who recently started working on a facility services contract FAR PART 37 for the federal government so I am a contractor to the governement.

For some reason, everyone doing design work there seems to tell me that you don’t need a PE to prepare engineering documents for the government. These people have been here for 30+ years in some cases and they have the presumption that they adhere to the federal employee allowances but the work is clearly a government contract. Like really clearly a government contract.

What do you all think? There are engineering documents being produced by non licensed engineers and it makes me uncomfortable.

 

[Sparky]

That sounds as if the ones there 30+ years may have been grandfathered in and learned the procedures and regulations with some OJT.

 

[Bassengineer]

That sounds as if the ones there 30+ years may have been grandfathered in and learned the procedures and regulations with some OJT.

I’m sure they were at some point but the FAR has changed since then. I guess prepared wasn’t the right choice of words, approved or approving may be more correct.

 

[Bassengineer]

I’m sure they were at some point but the FAR has changed since then. I guess prepared wasn’t the right choice of words, approved or approving may be more correct.

Oh and the issue with my concern is that they are trying to extend that generality to new junior engineers. Just seems wrong

 

[RayN_CpE]

Sounds to me like one of the unfortunate consequences to the profession of allowing the title Engineer to be used by anyone...and I do mean anyone. In part I blame the software development crowd and technology companies handing out Engineer titles like candy. I kid you not, I've met people with degrees in Graphic Design that just because they took an intro course in Javascript, companies give them the title Engineer, and they "sell" them to the Government (and others) as such.

 

[StressGuy]

What do the folks that your group delivers their documents to have to say?