Related Links: Practical Wisdom: Blog Post by Sharpe and Schwartz Ingenuity is an integral aspect of engineering. In fact, "ingenuity" and "engineering" are linked etymologically. However, it seems to me the latitude for engineers to inject imagination and creativity into their work has been steadily diminishing. Why is this happening? Greek philosophers recognized three distinct knowledge categories:"epistime," knowing that something is the case; "techne," knowing how to achieve a predefined outcome; and "phronesis," knowing how to act in a contextually sensitive, appropriate way.The first survives today in terms like "epistemic" (of or having to do with knowledge) and "epistemology" (the
Photo by Skip Pennington/Brasfield & Gorrie Protection of public safety, health and welfare is the chief imperative of licensed practice. Related Links: The Case For Practice Restrictions in Licensure How To Close A License Loophole Dont Blame Engineering for the Gulf Spill A physician's first priority is to do no harm, and an engineer's primary obligation is to hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public. This notion is precisely what motivates the advocates of separate licensure for structural engineers—the sincere belief that such a step is necessary to ensure that structures will remain standing.Several states have had
The National Society of Professional Engineers has a longstanding policy in favor of generic licensure. According to its Position Statement No. 1737, “NSPE endorses the [National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying] Model Law definition of the 'practice of engineering' … and encourages enactment of Model Law provisions. NSPE endorses and supports the concept of licensure of engineers only as a 'Professional Engineer' and opposes licensure status by designated branches or specialties.”But the NCEES Model Law definition of a professional engineer (PE) states, “The board may designate a professional engineer, on the basis of education, experience, and examination, as
SCHMIDT The National Society of Professional Engineers has a longstanding policy in favor of generic licensure. According to its Position Statement No. 1737, “NSPE endorses the [National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying] Model Law definition of the ’practice of engineering’ … and encourages enactment of Model Law provisions. NSPE endorses and supports the concept of licensure of engineers only as a ’Professional Engineer’ and opposes licensure status by designated branches or specialties.” But the NCEES Model Law definition of a professional engineer (PE) states, “The board may designate a professional engineer, on the basis of education, experience, and
SCHMIDT A key principle of virtually every engineering licensure law, standard of professional conduct and code of ethics is that engineers should always and only practice in the technical areas in which they are competent. The licensing process uses education, experience and examination to identify those who have presumably acquired sufficient competence. However, there is a loophole of sorts: In most jurisdictions, once engineers become licensed, it is entirely up to them to define their own areas of competence within the profession as a whole. Engineers typically feel like they have a pretty good handle on this. We think that
In my mind, the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico—like other technological disasters, such as those involving the Three Mile Island nuclear powerplant and the space shuttle Challenger—represents a management failure, more so than an engineering failure. Anything implying that the engineering profession as a whole somehow bears the blame for these regrettable events puzzles me, including ENR’s editorial on the subject in its June 7, 2010, issue. To understand why, it is worth noting what some others have said about the nature of engineering practice and its place in our culture. Related Links: EDITORIAL: The Gulf Oil-Spill
