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PE - Multiple Office Project Execution

PE - Multiple Office Project Execution

PE - Multiple Office Project Execution

(OP)
Many large engineering firms utilize people working from multiple locations.  These often include staff in third-world countries to implement detailed engineering with oversight from the home-office engineers.  Even small firms may utilize engineers with home office situations and use teleconferencing etc. for remote meeting attendance.  Today we can even see the PowerPoint presentation on a web meeting.

In many states, the PE rules for direct supervision likely conflict with these cost reduction practices.  For example in Texas the rules mention the presence and proximity.  How are multinational projects executed to accommodate multiple engineer locations?

An excerpt from the Texas rules follows:
(10) Direct supervision - Critical watching, evaluating, and directing of engineering activities with the authority to review, enforce, and control compliance with all engineering design criteria, specifications, and procedures as the work progresses. Direct supervision will consist of an acceptable combination of: exertion of significant control over the engineering work, regular personal presence, reasonable geographic proximity to the location of the performance of the work, and an acceptable employment relationship with the supervised persons. Engineers providing direct supervision of engineering under the Act, §1001.405(f), shall be personally present during such work.

This definition appears to expressly forbid the multiple office project excecution.  Are other state rules written in a manner that prohibits such multi-national project execution?  Is there a major loop-hole elsewhere in the Texas legislation?

RE: PE - Multiple Office Project Execution

regular personal presence

This is pretty clear to me.

I'm not sure that other states go as explicitly as Texas in their wording.

RE: PE - Multiple Office Project Execution

They vary state-to-state.  Many states have a phrase like "responsible charge" and "complete direction and control" written into the rules.  It is up to the board and courts to interpret the vagueries.  I tried to nail down the PA board on this, and they would only quote me the rule book.  However, NC is very clear in their intent that the PE should be in direct contact with the work, and this has resulted in numerous people losing their license.

If you are in fear of being outsourced, move to a state that interprets the rules more conservatively.  Then the law will be on your side for the time being.

RE: PE - Multiple Office Project Execution

Quote (SLSeagull):

regular personal presence, reasonable geographic proximity to the location of the performance of the work,

Regular personal presence - could it be interpreted to be monthly meetings? Quaterly?

Reasonable geographic proximity - 100 miles? 500 miles? 12,500 miles? (Probably not the last one.)

Quote (JLSeagull):

Engineers providing direct supervision of engineering under the Act, §1001.405(f), shall be personally present during such work.

The key words is direct supervision. If two teams are in different location, and one is not directly reporting to the other, then there may be a way around it.


As proletariat mentions, the wording may vary from state to state. More importantly, the enforcement will vary from state to state.


Quote (JLSeagull):

How are multinational projects executed to accommodate multiple engineer locations?

To answer you OP, usually, teams in different geographical locations are not related by "direct supervision". For example, I worked on a job where teams were located in 3 differenent countries and 5 different cities. The teams were not sub-ordinate to each other. We worked independently of the other teams. The communication and co-ordination happened above us. The management layer above us met regularly. We are responsible to our own unit, which also happened to be in the same group/city.

Two of the teams actually were in Texas.

"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."   
Albert Einstein
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