3-CRPE Standard of Professional Engineering Competence 2007

7/28/2019 3-CRPE Standard of Professional Engineering Competence 2007

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COUNCIL OF REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS

CRPE Standard

forProfessional Engineering Competence

for the purposes of Registration

under the CRPE Act

December 2007


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CRPE Standard for Professional Engineering Competence December 2007 Page 1 of 19

COUNCIL OF REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS

CRPE Standard for

Professional Engineering Competencefor the purposes of Registration under the Act.(As a p p rove d b y the C ounc il a t its sea t ing of 30 Nove m b er 2007)

Defining and Specifying Acceptable Experience in Practice of Engineering

Inco rp orat ing a Prop osed Rev ision o f Professiona l Eng ine er ing Com p etenc e

Explanatory Note to this PaperC o u n c i l i s f r e q u e n t l y r e q u es t e d t o s t a t e i t s p o s i t i o n o n t h e e l i g i b i l i t y f o r r e g i s t r a t i o n o f a p p l i ca n t s e mp l o ye d a s L e c t u r e r / S en i o r l e c t u r e r , o r Pr o f e sso r a tT e r t i a r y I n s t i t u t i o n s ( e . g . U n i ve r s i t y o f Ma u r i t i u s , e t c ) . Co u n c i l a l so f a ce s q u e r i e sf r o m a p p l i c a n t s w h o s e " t r a i n i n g " o r " e x p e r i e n c e" h a s n o t b ee n s u p er v i s e d b y aR e g i s t e r e d Pr o f e ss i o n a l E n g i n e e r .

U n i ve r s i t y T e a ch i n g E xp e r i e n ce o n i t s o w n h a s n o t , u n t i l n o w , b ee n r e co g n i se d b yC o u n c i l a s p r a c t i c e o f e n g i n e e r i n g a s d e f i n e d i n t h e A c t . A s r e g ar d s u n su p e r v i se dt r a i n i n g C o u n c i l h a s a p p r o v e d a d -h o c a r r a n g e m en t s s u c h a s d i s t a n t s u p e r v i s i o n b yr e g i s t e r e d e n g i n e e r s . C o u n c i l me mb e r s h a ve e xp r e sse d t h e v i e w s t h a t C o u n c i ls h o u l d s t a t e i t s p o l i c y i n r e s p e c t o f t h e s e i s s u e s .

A t Co u n c i l Meet i n g o f 25 A u g u s t 2005, Co u n c i l c o n s i d er ed a p ap er o n " A s s es s m en to f T w o ye a r s S at i s f a c t o r y E n g i n e e r i n g P r a c t i ce f o r R e g i s t r a t i o n a s P r o f e ss i o n a lE n g i n e e r " . T h e p a p e r h i g h l i g h t e d e x t r a c t s f r o m c r i t e r i a se t b y va r i o u s e n g i n e e r i n gb o d i e s f o r a cc r e d i t i n g e n g i n e e r i n g d e g r e e p r o g r a mme s . T h e se i n c l u d e d ( i ) Th e

E n g i n e e r i n g C o u n c i l U K (ECUK) , (i i ) T h e A cc r e d i t a t i o n B o a r d o f E n g i n e e r i n g a n dT e ch n o l o g y A B E T (U SA ) , a n d ( i i i ) t h e I n s t i t u t i o n o f E n g i n e e r s I r e l a n d . A d r a f t" s t a n d ar d " f o r p r o f e s s i o n a l e n g i n ee r i n g c o m p e t e n c e d e v el o p e d b y t h e E n g i n e er i n gC o u n c i l S o c i e t y o f I n d i a w a s a l s o c o n s i d e r e d f o r t h a t p u r p o s e .

C o u n c i l w a s a g r e ea b l e t h a t a d r a f t d o cu m e n t b e d e ve l o p e d e mb r a c i n g t h e e sse n t i a la n d d e s i r a b l e co mp e t e n cy s t a t e me n t s w h i c h t a ke n t o g e t h e r w o u l d r e f l e c t a

s t a n d a r d w h i ch co u l d b e a cce p t e d a s t h e C o u n c i l ' s Pr o f e ss i o n a l En g i n e e r i n gC o mp e t e n ce S t a n d a r d . T h ese h a ve b e e n r e f l e c t e d i n t h i s p a p e r , a n d h a ve b e e nu se d a s a b a s i s f o r p r e sc r i b i n g e xp e r i e n ce r e q u i r e me n t s .


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1. Introduction

This paper examines the provisions of the Act for guidance as to what constitutes

"prac tice of engineering" or "experience in practice of engineering".

The term "Professional Engineer", in the context of the CRPE Act, designates a personwho is, firstly, academically qualified for eventual registration as an Engineer, and,secondly, under Mauritian legislation, holds at least two years of experience in thepractice of engineering. Most overseas engineering bodies prescribe a period ofexperience of at least 4 years for registration as Professional Engineer. In certaincountries, regulatory bodies impose additional requirements, which may includewritten examinations, for granting a license to practice. These additional assessmentsare aimed at ascertaining knowledge of Codes of Practices, Conditions ofEngineering Contracts, applicable National Legislation relating to public health and

safety, environmental protection, etc., and in some cases they include engineeringprinciples.

Notwithstanding the shorter (2-years) experience requirement, Council has a duty toensure that the person registered under the Act has adequate engineeringpreparedness for independent engineering practice. He/she would be legallyauthorised to do so once registered. Any restrictions imposed on a registeredengineer would be self imposed with due regard to the engineer's code of ethicsand his/her professional competence and conscience. The responsibility fordeveloping, enhancing and maintaining one's own professional competence lieswith the Professional Engineer. He/ she is equally responsible for the quality of

engineering advice tendered, the accuracy and usefulness of the engineeringreport produced, as well as the integrity, safety and economic value of any designproduced. Th engineer is accountable and liable for his/her work once registered asa Professional Engineer.

Certain amendments that Council may propose, if approved by Government, andeventually passed by Parliament and promulgated by Government, may eventuallyimpose an obligation upon the engineer to maintain his/her competence. It will,never the less, be up to the engineer to maintain his/her effectiveness andemployability throughout his/her useful career. Professional Engineers shouldrecognise that mere registration does not and will not guarantee security of

employment.

2. Legal RequirementCRPE Act requires every applicant, seeking registration on the strength of anengineering degree or equivalent qualifications, to satisfy Council that he/she hastwo years of experience in the practice of engineering.

3. What is "practice of engineering"The Act states that "practice of engineering m ea ns the a dv ising on, the rep or ting on,

the de sign ing o r the ap prova l of de signso f all pub lic uti l it ies, ind ustrial w o rks, ".There follows a list of engineering works and plant, equipment, systems and facilities,built up infrastructure, etc exemplifying the engineering environment.


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Section 20 "Saving" contains additional indications relating to "practice ofengineering". Section 20(a) specifies that the work or profession of archi tects,b a c ter iolo g ists, c hem ists, mine ralog ists, p hy sicists or survey ors is no t prac t ic e o f

eng ineer ing. Section 20(b) adds that persons who are operat ing , execut ing orsup erv ising a ny w orks a s ow ne r, co nt ra c tor , sup er intend en t , forem a n, insp ec tor or

m aster are not enga ge d in prac t ic e of eng inee ring, since these are not prohibitedpractices. Section 20(c) states that t he wo rk of em ploye es or subo rd inates of personsreg istered unde r the A c t(i.e. Registered Engineers)has to be done unde r the d i rec trespo nsibi li ty , c he c king a nd sup erv ision o f a reg istered p erson(i.e. same or anotherRegistered Engineer). Further, the wo rk o f suc h em ploye es or subo rd inates c anno tinc lud e f ina l desig ns or de c isions.

4. InferenceA. Section 20(c) permits subordinates or employees of registered persons, which

we consider to include, "Trainee Engineers", "Cadet Engineers", and "Assistant

Engineers" to work towards their registration. However, such persons cannot beentrusted final designs or decisions responsibilities in engineering.

B. While Counc il may reasonably expect persons applying for registration to holdexperience in engineering design and other engineering activities falling underthe purview of practice of engineering as defined in the Act, it follows fromSection 20.(c) that they shou ld no t be expe c t ed t o have bee n enga ged inindep ende n t "Final Design or Decisions" in Mauritian jurisdiction.

C. It would follow, therefore, that that any e nginee ring d esign w orkundertaken byan unregistered person, or " eng inee ring de c ision" produced by such a person

would be illegal unless app r ovedby a person registered under the Act. Fullresponsibility will lie with the registered person fo r the eng inee ring de sign ordec is ion. Likewise any "eng ineering ad v ic e" or "eng inee ring rep or t" tenderedby a person not-registered c anno t co nst itu te a " fina l eng inee ring ad v ic e" or"final eng ineer ing d ec ision" and would need to b e sub jec t to a pp rova l andc hec k ing by a Reg istered . [ Inserted "such a person" on 27 Nov 06: J S]

D. The above highlights the problematic situation of engineers working inorganisations where there are no registered engineers. The following statementsattempts to illustrate the situation:

D.1 Unregistered "engineers" should be practising under the directresponsibility, checking and supervision of a registered person. In thea b sen c e o f a Sup erv ising Eng ineer , thei r wo rk shou ld no t be c onsid ered a s

prac t ic e o f eng inee ring.

D2. Where Council has approved "d istan t sup ervision", then the status of the"distant supervisor" or "mentor" needs to be formalised and be acceptableto the applicant's "Employer", the "registered engineer", and the Council.

The Supervisor's Employer may have to agree to the arrangement if he hasto take his employer's time for the applicant.

D3. Section 20.c and Section 13 do not distinguish between engineers ofdifferent disciplines. But, it follows that the notion ofsup erv ision, c hec king


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and con t ro l implies the presence of a Supervisor with professionalengineering competence relevant to the work of the "trainee", if he is toeffect any realistic supervision, checking or control. For the same reason,the notion of "final design" or "decision" implies supervision by someonewith professional competence in the discipline of practice.

D4. The applicant is required to satisfy Council that he has two yearsexperience in the practice of engineering. Our legislation does not ruleout engineering expertise developed and/or acquired while doingresearch work, or problem solving for the industry. It is common forengineering faculties of Tertiary Institutions to carry out research andproblem solving for the industry, leading at times to production ofprototypes. Consideration of these activities suggest that there could bean argument for recognising work such as engineering consultancy,performance testing, and any simulation done by University EngineeringStaff as "practice of engineering"

5. Council's Stand on Assessing Qualifications.Council considers that it has been empowered under legislation to determinewhether any qualification, by whatever name called, viz., degree, diploma, orcertificate, is of a standard satisfying its requirements for registration, and also toundertake this determination on graduation, that is, 2 years ahead of applicant'sacquiring his experience.

Council's stand was vindicated by the Supreme Court in the case of AE Mungroo vsCRPE and AN Keenoo v CRPE (Sup rem e C ourt Rec ords 38519 a nd 38758 of Ja nua ry

1990). Both appellants had contended that Council had "no p owe r to p re j udge theq uestion of a c an d ida te 's right to reg ist ra t ion 2 ye a rs a hea d of sc hed ule, a nd a lso

that the on ly power granted to the Counc i l regard ing degrees, d ip lomas and

c er ti fi ca tes, is to say , onc e for al l a t a g iven p oint in t im e, tha t de gree s g ra nted b y

Universit y X are of an ac c ep tab le s tand ard a nd therea fter b l ind ly a c c ep t to reg ister

any ap p l ic an t who produc es a d oc ume nt em ana ting from tha t Un ive rsity". Thosegrounds were rejected by the Supreme Court which even commended CRPE'spractices. Supreme Court also expressed the view that Council could requestevidence of satisfactory experience even from someone who secured anemployment without going through Counc il's test. Future proposal for amendmentmay take this observation in account.

Council's procedure ensures that applicants who do not hold qualifications ofacceptable academic standard are weeded out prior to undertaking practice ofengineering or be given an opportunity to make up for shortcomings identified intheir engineering knowledge and ability.

A consequence of this decision is that only experience gained after satisfactorycompletion of an approved /accredited engineering degree programme isaccepted as "practice of engineering". Any "experience" claimed while studying forthe basic registrable qualification is considered as a component of the degreeprogramme, that is included therein, and as such it is not recognised a "practice of

engineering"


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6. Relevant TerminologyDiscussions on engineering and technology, against the background of science,tend to lead to mix-up unless a recognisable divide is defined and kept in mind. Weacknowledge borrowing the definitions given hereinafter from The Malpas Report(2000) "The Unive rse o f Eng inee ring : A UK Pe rsp e c tive", published by the UK

Engineering Council.

"Science is the body of, and quest for, fundamental knowledge and understanding of allthings natural and man-made; their structure, properties, and how they behave."

"Pure Science is concerned with extending this knowledge for its own sake.""Applied Science extends this knowledge for a specific purpose.""Technology is an enabling package of knowledge, devices, systems, processes, and

other technologies, created for a specific purpose."The Report a lso adds "The word technology is used colloquially to describe a complete

system, a capability, or a specific device.""Engineering is the know ledgerequired, and the processapplied to conceive, design,

make, build, operate, sustain, recycle, or retire, something of significant technicalcontent for a specific purpose; - a concept, a model, a product, a device, aprocess, a system, a technology."

"Engineering knowledge is the growing body of facts, experience and skills in science,engineering and technology disciplines; coupled to an understanding of the fields ofapplication.""It is the know wha t "It is mainly experience-based knowledge, which is more difficult to describe andcommunicate than "codified knowledge" because it must first be put into thecontext of an application.

"Engineering process is the creative process which applies knowledge and experience toseek one or more technical solutions to meet a requirement, solve a problem, thenexercise informed judgement to implement the one that best meets constraints."

"It is the know how""It requires knowledge and understanding of the underlying science, engineering,

and constraints, of the context in which it is being practised, and special skills,both taught and gained by experience, to make it happen. It requires theexercise of judgement."

"It is the bridge between science and technology""It is the bridge between technology and innovation."

"Innovation is the successful introduction of something new. In the context of theeconomy, it relates to something of practical use that has significant technicalcontent and achieves commercial success. In the context of society, it relates toimprovements in the quality of life. Innovation may be wholly new, such as the first

cellular telephone, or significantly better version of something that a lready exists."

7. The Engineer's Responsibilities

The appellation "Professional Engineer", in most countries where the profession isregulated, implies an engineer whose level of professional competence has beenassessed as acceptable for independent practice and who have had at least 4years experience. A typical example is the UK "Chartered Engineer". Mauritius,Singapore and Malaysia are known exceptions where two years practice is requiredin lieu of the 4 years or more imposed elsewhere. The registered persons would

probably make it to the level of professional competence of Chartered Engineersgiven a few more years of practice, in the appropriate environment. For Council'spurposes, the definition of Chartered Engineer published in 2003 in "The United


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Kingdom Standard for Professional Engineering Competence" by the EngineeringCouncil UK (UKSPEC 2003) illustrates adequately what professional engineers areexpected to do as part of their engineering practice.

'Chartered Engineers' "a re c ha ra c terised b y the i r a b ilit y to d eve lopa p p rop ria te so lut io ns to en g ine er ing p rob lem s, using ne w or exist ing

tec hno log ies, throug h inno va t ion, crea t iv it y and c ha ng e. They m ig ht d eve lop

a nd a p p ly new tec hno log ies, p rom ote a d vanc ed d esigns and d esign

m etho d s, in t rod uc e new a nd m ore ef fic ient p rod uc t ion tec hn iq ues, m a rket ing

a nd c on st ruc t ion c onc ep ts, p ion ee r new eng inee ring serv ic es a nd

m a na g em ent m etho d s. Ch a rtered Eng inee rs a re va riou sly eng a g ed in

tec hn ic a l a nd c om m erc ia l lea d ersh ip a nd p ossess ef fec t ive in terp ersona l

skills."

A more elaborate definition was agreed in 1960 during a Conference of theEngineering Societies of Western Europe and the United States of America (EUSEC).

It can be found in a d oc ument o n the we bsite o f the Institution o fEngineers Ireland d ea ling with Ac c red ita tion Stand a rds.

The French ViewOf equal interest is a French description of the professional engineer. The followingreference to the professional engineer has been extracted from a GuidanceMaterial "Les Ecoles d'Ingnieurs" published in October 2000 by the CentreD'Information et de Documentation Jeunesse (CIDJ):

"Un savoir et des competences scientifiques de haut niveau, des postes et desfonctions tres divers" .. "Homme cl de l'entreprise, l'ingnieur est celui qui

conoit et fabrique, mais aussi celui a qui l'on confie souvent l'organisation, lecontrle, la vente ou encore la direction des hommes. Un ingnieur peutoccuper tous les postes ou s'exercent a la fois responsabilite et comptencetechnique. En croisant toutes les fonctions possibles de l'ingnieur: rechercheet dvelopment, bureau d'tudes, mthode, essais on obtient autant desmetiers diffrents. Cependant, trois types de postes semblent aujourd'hui lesplus reprsentatifs de l'volution du metier d'ingnieur: la recherche, laproduction, les affaires." "les tudes, la conceptualisation sont a la base detoute formation d'ingnieur."

[Note: The above year-2000 document highlighted a professional branching

into Ingenieur d'etudes, Ingenieur de production, Ingenieur d'affaires. Currentinternet searches reveal a much wider range of engineering disciplines.]

8. The Practice of Engineering

Our 1965 legislation was probably adapted from what obtained around that time inone of the Provinces of Canada. It defines "practice of engineering" in terms of fourkey functions which are : "a d vising", "repor t ing", "designing" and "t he ap p rova l o f designs" in relation to public utilities, industrial works, etc, which can be referred to asengineering works and systems.

A reading of the definition of "practice of engineering" in the legislation of severalcountries where engineering practice is regulated, brings out the following keyattributes of the engineer:


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(a) The Nature of the Engineer's Education and Training: The engineer is educated through aUniversity programme of studies that was accredited by a competent and authorisedbody, after which the engineer pursues an approved training programme, and acquiresexperience that is duly assessed as satisfying approved standards.

(b) The Engineering Functions:Consulting, advising, reporting, researching and investigating,evaluating, the planning, designing or the approving of design, responsible directing orsupervising of construction or operation, as well as introducing and applying newtechnology and production techniques, marketing and construction concepts,pioneering new engineering services and management methods;

(c) Application of Scientific and Engineering Principles and data in the engineer's practice:The proper execution of the functions is contingent upon use of specialist knowledge,requiring or being based on the application of engineering principles and data, and callsupon engineering knowledge, skills, experience and judgement.

(d) Health and safety concerns: The engineer's professional service or act is of a nature that

impacts upon public interest and welfare, which makes the safeguarding of life, publichealth or property a priority concern in engineering prac tice.

(e) Area of Activity concerned: The engineer's work environment generally spans both thepublic and private sectors of activity. Where engineering practice is regulated, legislationinvariably applies to public or p riva te ly ow ned public engineering works, i.e. publicutilities, structures, buildings, machines, equipment, processes, works or projects, and allother engineering works, etc, and all buildings necessary to the proper housing,installation and operation of the engineering works concerned.

(f) Scope of Engineering works: Most definitions contain a fairly extensive description of"engineering works" to permit readers to be clear as to what is engineering in the day to

day life.

(g) Clarification as to what is not included: Certain jurisdictions, including Mauritius, take careof this issue through a C lause such as "Prohibited Prac tices" or "Saving". In some cases, thedefinition of "practice of engineering" contains an added leg that excludes the obvioussituations, e.g.:(i) practising as a natural scientist(ii) any engineering service that may be provided in accordance with a prescriptive

standard, i.e. as per documented procedures or criteria for carrying out a design, ora construction or production activity related to engineering, and where theapplication of the procedures or criteria does not require advanced scientificallybased calculations.

9. An updated definition for "practice of professional engineering"

The observations made above enable the drafting of a definition that captures mostof the components extracted from the various definitions. No conflict is seenbetween the current definition and the following proposed definition, which shouldpreferably require "engineering works and systems" to be defined separately:

"practice of professional engineering", in relation to engineering works andsystems, means the prov ision o f a ny serv ic e o r pe rforma nc e o f any ac t, wh i ch

(a) req ui res or is b a sed onthe application of engineering principles and data in the course ofperformance of a service or act, and


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(b) inc ludes:

(i) investigating, evaluating, planning, designing, and approval of design,and

(ii) directing and/or supervising of the construction, maintenance andoperation of the works, and

(iii) advising and reporting on the design, reliability, safety andenvironmental aspects of the engineering works and systems, and

(c ) c onc erns or invo lves

the safeguarding of life, health, property, public interest and welfare, and( d ) exc l udes

any engineering service that may be provided in accordance with aprescriptive standard, including the supervision of construction andmaintenance of any work where the requirements at (a) do not apply, andworks of a nature exemplified by the practice of a natural scientist.

"Engineering works and Systems", in relation to practice of engineering, mean s any works, structures, and systems, of an engineering nature, which may be designatedby any one or more of the following terms: aeronautical, chemical, civil, computer,electrical, electronic, environmental, geological, hydraulic, industrial, mechanical,metallurgical, mining, nuclear, production, radio, software, structural,telecommunications, or by any other word, combination of words, or phrase that theCouncil may approve, to designate the general nature of any engineering works andsystems, on the basis of the scientific and engineering principles applicable to thedesign, construction or production of the engineering works and systems; these m ayinc lude:

(i) works and systems relating to public or privately owned public utilities, includingtransportation systems and components, structures, buildings, machines,

equipment, processes, or projects,

(ii) structures and enclosures accessory to, and intended to support or house,engineering works,

(iii) works related to the environment including those of pollution control, abatementand treatment,

(iv) works concerned with the extraction, transformation and utilisation of naturalresources,

(v) systems relating to surveying and mapping,(vi) bio-medical equipment and facilities,(vii) computer software for control, automation, and activating and monitoring ofengineering works, systems, equipment and processes and their design, and(vi) other works deems by Counc il to be engineering works and systems under the

purview of the Act.

Note: Regulations made by Council may make provision for Council to impose obligationsupon applicants, including persons deemed to be practising professional engineering, tosubmit evidence of prescribed engineering education, qualifications, training, andexperience, and any other requirements prescribed in this Act, including demonstratingthat the person concerned has acquired certain abilities, or satisfies any of theRegulations made under the Act eligibility to practice.


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10. The Draft Standard for Professional Engineering Competence

An engineer's Professional Competence is, of necessity, dependent on his/hereducational standard, and his/her programme of studies, including any industrialattachment that was part thereof. The satisfactory completion of the degree

programme should enable him/her to engage in engineering practice. The engineermay initially enlist as a trainee on an approved training and developmentprogramme. Given that, as from 1997 (SARTOR 97) the UK Engineering Councilredefined its standard for eventual registration as Chartered Engineer in terms of 4-year degree courses, and clearly distinguished that standard from the standardsprescribed for technical persons registrable as Incorporated Engineer andEngineering Technician respectively, and reconfirmed these standards in UK-SPEC(2003), the Standard of the UK Engineering Degree, as far as CRPE is concerned is the4-yearECUKaccredited degree.

Council has no difficulty in adopting the UK Standard, now defined in terms of

"learning outcomes" or "output standards", considering that Council has always beenguided by the practices of the UK engineering bodies since the establishment of theCounc il of Engineering Institutions since 1965. However, the draft herein proposed forconsideration can reasonably be considered to reflect an academic standardattained on completion of a 4-year engineering degree programme (i.e., at the endof the 2nd or Long Cycle programme), comparable with the requirements forregistration as Chartered Engineer by ECUK, or Professional Engineer by theAccreditation Board of Engineering and Technology ABET (USA) or the Institution ofEngineers Ireland. It should also satisfy the ESOEPE/EUR-ACE (European AccreditedEngineer) Framework Standards for the Accreditation of Engineering programmes.

Attached herewith is a revised draft Standard:ANNEX_A: Draft Standard ofProfessional Engineering Competence: PART A: Core Objectives: Gradua te ' sKnow led ge and Ab ility .

11. The Specification of Experience

The local experience requirement being a 2-year period in the practice ofengineering, it is apprec iated that Applicants registered with Council on the basis oftwo years of practice cannot be considered as possessing the competence of thosewith 4 years experience in all the core objectives or desirable areas of practice, nor

be expected to have the Professional Engineer's design experience. Our ownlegislation, while permitting design work by engineers under supervision, does notpermit unregistered persons to produce work that is "final".

Council proposes that the Mauritian practice be guided by the trend overseas.Attached herewith as ANNEX_B is a draft, designated as The Dra ft Sta nd a rd forProfessiona l Eng ineer ing Com p eten c eof CRPE. It takes the Standard on "Graduate'sKnowledge and Ability to the next logical sequence, by elaborating on the issuesregarding which Council may, in the course of its assessment of the applicant'sprofessional engineering competence, require the applicant's to demonstrate thathe/she has the Knowledge, Understanding and Ability expected at the different

stages in his/her formation.


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Of immediate concern to Council is the nature of Training and ProfessionalDevelopment of the Graduate Engineer during the initial 2 years, that is, the statutory2-year period of "practice of engineering". Council should specify what type oftraining it considers absolutely necessary for registration purposes, while bearing thelegal requirement in mind.

The attached document: ANNEX B: Part B of the Draft Professional EngineeringCompetence Standard, sets out a proposed Minimum Standard, which should beinterpreted against explanation contained in Section 12 of this paper.

The Standard carries the following explanatory notes:

Note-1: The Core Objectives (Graduate's Knowledge and Ability) of Part A(Sections 10.1 to 10.6), have been reproduced as Sections 11.1 to 11.6 in thisANNEX, and rephrased as Knowledge and Competence Objectives to bedemonstrated by Applicants for Registration, i.e on completion of

Training/experience requirements.

Note-2: The Guidance Material contained herein has been adapted from theProfessional Engineering Competence standards and practices of severaloverseas engineering bodies. The overall standard reflected is that of personwho has had at least 4 to 5 years of practice, including 2 -years approvedtraining, that is of a level comparable to that set for Professional Engineers bymany overseas Institutions.

Note-3: Guidance Material given under each Core Objective, in the form ofexemplifying Knowledge, Ability, and C ompetence issues, should serve asguidance to the Applicants themselves, and to their Mentors or "Distant

Supervisors", regarding the knowledge and competence issues thatApplicants will need to demonstrate on completion of their Training. TheGuidance Material may equally assist members of the Professional ReviewPanels interviewing Applicants towards ascertaining whether Applicantshave satisfied Counc il's requisites for registration under the Act.

Note-4: Indications are given in Section 13 as to the Competence level to beexpected on completion of 2-years of training

In reference to Note_2, members may recognise in the Standards and accompanying GuidanceNotes information extracted and adapted from publications of the Engineering Council (UK),Institution of Engineers Ireland, Institution of Civil Engineers (UK), Institution of Structural Engineers(UK), ABET (USA); also from an Annotated Template developed by Michael Carter in response tothe ABET (USA) EC2000 Criterion-3 on the website of North Carolina: Anno tated Tem plate forp rog ram Ou tcomes] www.engr.ncsu.edu/abet/criterion-3/template-3.html, and from theFramework Standards of Engineering Programmes developed by EUR-ACE (European AccreditedEngineer) published on the websites of the respective institutions. The indirect contribution of thesebodies towards our draft is acknowledged with thanks.

12. Assessment of Knowledge and Professional Competence

12.1 Quality of Training and Acceptable Experience

The qualifying phrases such as: "have know ledge" , "have know ledge andUnd e rsta nd ing ", "ha ve a b ility to "or "ha v ing a wo rking know led ge", etc., already


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offer guidance as to the extent of "expertise" that the graduates and applicants forregistration need to demonstrate.In our Draft Standard ANNEX B which looks at the engineer beyond his/hergraduation into training and practice, the following key outcomes have beenidentified:

Knowledge and Understanding of Mathematics, Scientific, and Engineeringprinciples

Knowledge and Understanding of Mathematics, Science and Technology,Engineering principles

Design, Creative and Innovative SkillsApplication of theoretical knowledge and engineering principles to(i) Engineering Analysis and Problem Solving(ii) Engineering Design to meet specific requirements(iii) Engineering Investigations (research and experimenting solutions)

(iv) Engineering Practice (acquiring practical skills in analysis, problem solving,designing and investigations).

Transferable SkillsManagement and Leadership SkillsResponsibility for the Environment, Health and safetyImpersonal Skills and CommunicationsBroad Education, Values and Ethics, Commitment to Life-Long Learning.

12.2 Nature of Training and/or Experience

When determining the approach to the assessment of the training and experience ofan engineering graduate, it should be borne in mind that the engineer has beeneducated with the primary intention of enabling him to undertake engineeringdesign work. This means that it was to enable the graduate to make use of his/hertheoretical and analytical knowledge, understanding and the ability imparted tohim/her to develop his/her creative and innovative skills.

It is universally recognised among professional engineering bodies that EngineeringDesign is central to both the accreditation of engineering degree programme andthe acceptance of a graduate engineer's training and/or experience as "practice ofengineering" for the purposes of registration or licensure. The definition of "practice of

engineering" in our legislation is quite explicit on this matter. Therefore, the Counc il(CRPE) and its several Professional Review Panels invariably look out for evidence ofthe Applicant's involvement with engineering analysis, problem solving, engineeringdesign or conducting research and experimenting. The Review panels willparticularly be interested in the approach of the engineer to his training and/orpractice. The Applicant must demonstratethat his/her knowledge of mathematics,science, engineering principles, and his specialist engineering knowledge was calledfor and applied to enable him/her to understand and interface his /her environment,learn from it and in turn make his/her own contribution to the environment.

The Professional Review panels will also look at how the engineering graduateexploited the opportunities offered to him/her to his/her advantage, and improvedand developed his/her knowledge and transferable skills.


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12.3 Guidance from Overseas Engineering BodiesCounc il's practices should not significantly different from the practices of majoroverseas engineering bodies, if Council's procedures are to be credible andacceptable to others. The following extracts from a document of the NationalSociety of Professional Engineers of the USA, gives the following guidance about

Qualifying Engineering Experience (for licensing in the US):

Note: In following extracts, the formatting in bold and/or Italics is not of origin

"Qualifying Engineering ExperienceIn order to constitute qualifying experience, the experience must meet a number of

criteria.First, the experience should be from a major branch of engineering in which thecandidate c laims proficiency.Second, the experience must be supervised. That is, it must take place under theultimate responsibility of one or more qualified engineers.Third, the experience must be of a high quality, requiring the candidate to developtechnical skill and initiative in the application of engineering principles and soundjudgement in reviewing such applications by others. The experience must be of anature that the candidate develops the capacity to assume professional responsibilityfor engineering work.Fourth, the experience must be broad enough in scope to provide the candidate witha reasonably well-rounded exposure to many facets of professional engineering. Alongwith highly specialized skill in a particular branch of engineering, the candidate shouldacquire an acceptable level of competence in his or her basic engineering field, aswell as the accessory skills necessary for adequate performance as a professional.Finally, the experience must progress from relatively simple tasks with less responsibilityto work of greater complexity involving higher levels of responsibility. As the level ofcomplexity and responsibility increases, the candidate should show evidence of

increasing interest in broader engineering questions and continuing effort towardfurther professional development and advancement.

In assessing whether the candidate is sufficiently competent and responsible to beentrusted with or independently engage in engineering work, or to superviseengineering work, sta te eng ineering l ic ensure b oa rds look for ev idenc e o f inde pe nde ntde c ision-ma k ing and assum pt ion of pe rsona l ac c ountab i li ty in des ign a nd a pp l ic a t ion.In short, while the experience must be gained while under the supervision of qualifiedprofessionals, it must also be professional in character. "

Additional Guidance (from Licensing Body of the State of Texas - US)"Experience that is considered most acceptable for licensure purposes generally falls

into one of two categories: design or analysis.The most common type of acceptable experience is design. The commondenominator in all design projects is the selection and use of recognized engineeringprinciples and methodology to determine a solution to a problem. The final result ofdesign work will almost always be details, plans, or specifications for use in creating afinished product.The second common type of acceptable experience is analysis. Common features ofanalysis activities include the use of mathematical modelling and acceptable datacollection techniques to assess a problem, and the act of making a learnedrecommendation based on analytical findings. An analysis activity will almost alwaysresult in a conc lusive report or recommendation.It should be noted here that many other types of activities would also be ac ce p t ab le i f

yo ur pa rt ic ipa t ion in those a c t iv i ties c an b e d escr ibe d in terms of de sign or ana lysis. Byasking yo ursel f if you c an d escr ibe yo ur ac t iv i ty in terms suc h as "I ca lculated . .. , I


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de signed . .. , I ana lyzed . .. , I rec om m end ed . .. ," you c an alm ost assure yo ursel f that y ou

are d escr ib ing d esign a nd a na lysis."

13. Competence Standard

The Engineering Graduates will, given time, probably attain a fairly high level ofprofessional competence in all the "outcomes" constituting the Standard. Ongraduation they will demonstrate Knowledge, Understanding and /or Ability that areconsidered mandatory for the accreditation/approval of the engineering degree.Council needs for its purpose to specify an expected standard of attainment oncompletion of 2-years of training/experience. An indication may be given as to whatlevel is expected in say 5 years after graduation.

Example of UK Engineering Institutions (viz. Civil, Structural)

The Institute of Structural Engineers (UK), explains the standards, differentiated byletters A, K, E, and B, that it applies to the Core Objectives at the Initial ProfessionalDevelopment and the Professional Review Interview stages thus:(see document at :

A: A general appreciat ion of the subject is requi red, as wel l as anunde rstand ing of how the sub jec t ma y a ffec t , or in tegra te wi th o ther

sub jec ts.

K. A kno wled ge and und erstand ing o f the sub jec t and i ts ap p l ic a t ion isrequ i red.

E. The sub jec t shou ld be p er form ed inde p en d ent ly or und er sup erv ision.

B. Perform the subject wi thout superv is ion and be competent to adviseothers.

The IStructE document adds "It is important to note that you are not required to be expertsin any of the objectives. You are simply to satisfy the minimum standard as specified in the

Objective."Counc il of CRPE has similar views, and needs to be more mindful of the Note giventhat our "engineers" are assessed after 2-years of training, and not 4.

Council proposes the adoption of a slightly modified Code, using one or two letters,viz.,

A a general Appreciation, as well as an understanding of how the issue mayaffect, or integrate with other subjectsKU forKnowledge and Understanding of subject and its application,EX forEngineering eXperience, generally under SupervisionDA forDemonstrate Ability, to Undertake task IndependentlyPE forProfessional Engineering competence for Independent Prac tice.

It would be expected that as the graduate acquires more and more experience, hewould eventually attain a standard that would justify the designation "ProfessionalEngineer" applied to him. The beginner (i.e. the graduate) or Trainee Engineer (theapplicant) should record his/her personal progress in his/her Training logbook, whichis submitted to Council of CRPE along with the Technical Report upon application for

registration by those who have completed their two years of practice.

The Info rma tio n c onta ined in ANNEX B has been transferred to aspreadsheet designated ANNEX C . This document (ANNEX C ) carries


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indic a tions a s to the standard that should be a tta ined by App lica ntso n G r a d u a t io n , o n C o m p l e t io n o f 2 y e a rs o f a p p r o v e d t ra i n in g , ando n C o m p l e t io n o f 5 y e a r s o f p o st g r a d u a t io n p r a c t ic e . ProfessionalReview Panels assessing Applicants for Registration under currentlegal provisions should be guided by the Standard relevant to the

Applicants. ANNEX_C is not intended to be an exac t or c ompletereproduction of the Guidance material ofANNEX_B, in sp ite o f suc hsimilarity.

14 Approved Training Programme: Desirable Engineering Exposure

14.1 Need for Reviewing Guidance Material on Training and DevelopmentCouncil currently influences the post graduation Training and Development of theengineers through Guidance Notes contained in its documents which are given topotential registrants when they apply to Council. The Guidance material which

consists of two separate documents: Guidance for Assessors, and Format forTechnical Reporthave outlived their time and need to be renewed.

A Graduate Engineer normally takes 4 years to attain a level of Competencecomparable to the "Chartered" or "Professional" Engineer, and in that time he shoulddevelop his Knowledge, Understanding and Design and Management abilities to thelevel desirable for such a competence level. Whereas employers have means toascertain the Management and other Transferable skills of employees, includinggraduate engineers, they normally do not ascertain the Engineering Knowledge andUnderstanding, and Design capabilities of the Engineer. This leads Council to decidethat

(i) Under current legislation, priority of Counc il should be to ascertain applicant'sknowledge and understanding of engineering principles as well as his /her abilityto apply his/her knowledge to undertake work that involves engineering design,investigations and experimenting, and problem solving, while ensuring thathe/she has developed a satisfactory awareness and understanding ofManagement and Transferable Skills.

(ii) Until legislation is amended, to permit registration of engineers with CompetenceLevel similar to the overseas "Chartered Engineer" or "Professional Engineer",Council might wish to operate a scheme of voluntary registration of engineers with

5 years, or 7 years as in case of International Register of Engineers, under whichCouncil could assess the Competence of Engineers in all Core Objectives,including Management and Transferable Skills, and register them at a leveldesignated as Professional Engineer (Mauritius),

Most overseas institutions give indications to potential registrants on the nature andscope of training they would be prepared to accept for registration or licensing ofthe applicants as Professional Engineers, or, in the case of the UK, as CharteredEngineer. Institutions which also register or license the lower professional grade theydesignate as Incorporated Engineer, or Associate Engineer or Engineering

Technologist, do prescribe the Qualifications, Training and Development requisites for

such registrants.


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Following the promulgation of new Standards by the UK Engineering Council someInstitutions of the UK have partnered with the Industry into devising Training andDevelopment Schemes (Initial Professional Development) that comprise both theinitial IPD of 2 years and the Professional Competence Development of a further 2years. Graduates embarking on a Training Scheme that is not approved take longer

to register. It is submitted that Council should review its Guidance Material anddevelop Training and Initial Professional Development Guidelines which could caterfor the two years of experience required by Law.

Pending the development of a Guida nce Ma te ria l on Initial Training and ProfessionalDevelopment (ITPD), Council may approve that the Material contained in Section 11(Annex_B) be treated as relevant and applicable Guidance for Registration withCouncil, bearing in mind the additional Guidance contained in Section 12 andANNEX_C regarding the Competence Level on completion of 2 years of Training andExperience.

14.2 Desirable Exposure to Engineering PracticeCouncil has a responsibility to ensure that the experience claimed by applicants forregistration is of a nature that satisfies the requirement of law, i.e., they should b e"repor t ing on, advis ing on, designing or approving designs.." of public utilities,engineering works, etc. Consideration of the argument in paragraph 14.1, along withthe interpretation of our own legislation, and guidance drawn from sources quotedin this Paper, viz., definition of Professional/Chartered Engineer, definition of prac ticeof engineering (as defined by others and proposed by us), the UK ProfessionalCompetence Standard, the criteria for acceptable Qualifying Experience set out bythe National Soc iety of Professional Engineers (US), etc., compel Counc il to spec ifythat the two years experience should take the Graduate engineers through an Initial

Training and Development Programme such as set out in the Schedule at ANNEX D

In this Schedule (ANNEX D) emphasis is laid on prescribing that design and designrelated activities cover at least 40% or some 40 weeks of the trainee engineers'training. This will include the following elements:

A. Engineering Design, Problem Solving and Investigations

(i) Engineering Analysis and Problem Solving, for a minimum of15 weeks(ii) Engineering Design or Related, for a minimum of 15 weeks(iii) Engineering Investigations (search for solutions) for a minimum of15 weeks

Transferable Skills

B. Project Management and Leadership Skills, for a minimum of40 weeks

C. Responsibility for Environment, Health and Safety, for a minimum of10 weeks

D. Development of Interpersonal Skills and Communications, for a minimum of5 weeks

E. Broad Education, Values/Ethics, Commitment to Life-Long Learning for 5weeks

The relevant Schedule (ANNEX D) carries the following notes:Note a: It is recognised that during the initial 2 years, Graduate Engineers may

not have opportunities to receive training in the 3 components ofdesign (A, B, and C). They may in such cases plan their training in two


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components, but CRPE Panel may require them to do further training tocompensate for the shortfall in the required area of practice.

Note b: Applicants not having received training on Project Management Skills,would be expected to compensate for the shortfall with evidence of

additional Training in Design Related Activities (A,B, and C ).

Note c: It is recognised that Applicants may develop their skills andacquire the required level of ability in respect of itemsC, D, and Ewhile acquiring experience in Engineering Design Practice and/orwhen getting experience in Project Management and LeadershipSkills.

15. The Case of Applicants undertaking Engineering Consultancy, while lecturing inEngineering at Tertiary Institutions, e.g., University of Mauritius.

CRPE has faced a paradox ever since its establishment. It has legally registeredCorporate Members of UK Engineering Institutions. In the past, many UK CharteredInstitutions had recognised University teaching experience (at Senior levels) asexperience for the purpose of admission as Corporate Members and eventuallyentitlement to Chartered Engineer status. For their membership purposes, theInstitutions considered two years of research and teaching as one year of practice(in the industry), which implied that such members were satisfying corporatemembership requirements in about 6 to 8 years, or more.

As regards registration of teaching personnel of Tertiary Educational institutions,Council needs to consider the following:

1. Tha t i t is for Co unc i l to d ec ide and a p p rov e tha t a n a c t iv i ty is eng ineer ingp ra c t ic e or not . For this, Counc i l m ust de term ine show that the a c t iv i ty is

ap prop ria te c onside red to be inc luded in the func t ions "Ad v ising on" ,

"Rep o rt ing on ", "Desig ning " an d "Ap p rova l of de signs of" . Pub l ic ut i li ties. .

2. Our legislat ion d oe s not p rescr ib e the m a nne r in whic h ex p er ienc e is

ga i ned ,

3. Nei ther the de fin it ion of p ra c t ic e of en g ineer ing , nor a ny othe r c lause,

speci f ical ly prohibi ts members of the Univers i ty Academia f rom

registrat ion,

4. The re are instan c es of Universi ty Perso nne l (with eng inee ring

q ua l ifi ca t ions) who of fer eng ineer ing serv ic es a nd a d vice to the ind ust ry,

and eve n und er tak e resea rc h for co nsu lt ing eng inee ring firm s,5. The Universi ty Lec turers a re eng a g ed in de signing exp er im ents to

de m onst ra te eng inee ring pr inc ip les and the ir ap p l ic a t ions, and

6. Unde rtake resea rc h wo rk in eng inee ring, inc lud ing new and em erg ing

tec hno log y , and

7. Leg islat ion re stricts "final d esig n or d ec isions" to reg istered pe rson s.

Counc il recognises that University lec turers are engaged in teaching 3rd and 4th yearengineering students how to apply scientific and engineering knowledge to problemsolving in engineering, and the essentials of engineering design. They also devise andguide students through the engineering laboratory work and tutorial sessions which

are part of the curriculum. Some of them do engage in the provision of engineeringand advisory services to the industry and to engineering consultancy firms. It issubmitted that some of these elements do constitute practice of engineering, and


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that such "prac t ic e o f eng inee ring" be assessed against set criteria to determinewhether the aggregate experience constitutes acceptable experience forregistration purposes.

A proposal is made hereinafter. It is submitted therefore that Council considers the

following requirements, and if found fair and reasonable and not in conflict with ourlegislation, to approve that these become applicable to any applicants satisfyingthe requirements as set out in ANNEX E:

Briefly the requirements are :(i) Provision of Engineering Consulting and Advisory Services to Industry or

Engineering firms.(ii) Overall period of teaching and consulting services should be a continuous

period of at least 4 academic years (i.e 208 weeks).(ii) The services provided should not be of a routine nature, such as testing

products against prescriptive standards or criteria.

(iii) Their services must be checked and approved by the C lient's RegisteredEngineers, or registered engineers engaged by them and acting on theirbehalf.

(iv) Design related activities should cover a period not lesser than 50 weeks in anycontinuous period of 4 years. The time may include visits, discussions, datacollection, identifying problems areas, issues to be resolved, search forsolutions, proposals, discussing solutions with c lients representatives (registeredengineers), advising and reporting, production and submission of design,monitoring of implementation , etc.

(v) Further, an ag greg ate o f 120 wee ks out of the 4-ye ar pe riod (208 we ek s)should be spent as follows: Lecturing to 3rd and 4th year full time degree students on "Engineering design" or

similar and engineering problem solving. Tutorial and C oaching Sessions for 3rd and 4th year engineering degree students

on application of theoretical and practical methods to engineering design andsolving of engineering problems.

Lecturing on Engineering Principles, Systems, Design, and Innovation,Environmental Engineering, and Project Management to students enrolled onMaster's Degrees in Engineering, including Environmental Engineering.

(vi) Mechanism for recognising extra time for preparation of courses, tutorials andexperiments.

(vii) Recognition of any continuous period of industrial engineering practiceexceeding 3 months by the applicant, while on leave from the University, orprior to his joining the University, or after expiry of his/her lecturing contract.

(viii) Applicants to submit evidence of, and demonstrate, exposure andexperience aggregating some 20 weeks in respect of Transferable Skills (i.eProject Management and Leadership Skills, Engineer's Responsibility forEnvironment, Health and Safety, Interpersonal Skills and Communication,Need for Broad Education, Ethics and values, Commitment to Life Longlearning. They should reckon at least 20 weeks in aggregate over activitiesrelating to these issues.

They may for this purpose aggregate periods of visits to Works in progress onengineering sites, industrial visits, organising and/or attending seminars andworkshops, making presentations to technical audiences, writing andpublishing papers on the above issues, etc.


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16. Special Cases requiring "Distant Supervision"

It is wished to include a closing paragraph on the case of Trainees in departments ororganisations which, either do not employ registered engineers, or, if they do, theengineers may not have competence in the discipline in which the Graduate

Trainee is qualified and requires to be trained.

An arrangement commonly referred to a "distant supervision" is approved by Counc iland has been in operation for many years now. This arrangement requires to bebacked by a properly articulated policy decision of the Council, so that themechanism is not left to be interpreted on a case by case situation. It is not knownwhether overseas engineering bodies have arrangements specifically addressingsuch situations, but they do have arrangements which perhaps permit trainees, insimilar situations, to get their training.

Some institutions operate approved training and development schemes, and have

designated Supervising Engineers, Mentors, Delegated Engineers, with well-definedresponsibilities towards the Trainees. Council needs to develop spec ial relations andarrangements with employers in an attempt to influence the training of younggraduates, and thereby transform the graduate into an efficient, productive,creative, and professionally competent engineer who could render better service tothe employer. It must be recognised that Council has had limited influence withemployers other than the Government and Public Bodies which give Council therespect it deserves as a Regulatory Body.

The contents of ANNEX A, B, C , and D are applicable to all trainee engineers whointend to seek registration and eventually attain the full professional status equivalent

to that of the UK Chartered Engineers and the North American ProfessionalEngineers. Council should produce a Guidance Material specifically addressed tothe "Distant Supervisors".

Counc il approves the current arrangements for "distant supervision" and make themsubject to the following conditions:

#1. The Trainee must inform Counc il that there are no Registered Persons in his/herorganisation who are prepared to Supervise his/her work or to be his/her "mentor" orhis/her Supervising Engineer"

#2 Counc il needs to be satisfied that the work environment of the Trainee is one which

provides opportunities for "practice of engineering" in that organisation.#3. The employer must be agreeable to his/her staff (the Graduate Engineer) being

supervised distantly by a registered person of his/her choice, or one proposed byCouncil, or by any other registered engineer which the Company itself is prepared toenlist for such a purpose. The "Distant Supervising Engineer" will be bound by his Code ofEthics and Confidentiality not to use any marketing or other commercially sensitiveinformation that may come to his/her knowledge during his/her meeting with thetrainee, to his/her advantage or to the detriment of the Trainee's employer. The DistantSupervisor will declare any conflict of interest that he/she perceives and requestsCouncil to arrange for his/her replacement.

#4. The "Distant Supervising Engineer" needs to be approved by Counc il. For this purpose,he/she should signify in writing his/her agreement to be a "Distant Supervising Engineer"

and would welcome this opportunity to follow the Training and Development of theGraduate Engineer, in line with Counc il's guidelines. He/she should also state the periodduring which he/she can render this service, if shorter than 2 years, or shorter than thetime the Graduate may require to complete his/her training, for arrangements to be


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made, (firstly by Trainee, or else by employer, or by Counc il), for the additional periodthat may be necessary.

#5. The "Distant Supervising Engineer" must be a person well briefed on Council's trainingrequirements, if not he/she should call on the Registrar for briefing and collectGuidelines for "Distant Supervising Engineers"

#6. The "Distant Supervising Engineer" will sign the trainee's Log Book and any other form ofRecord Book that the Trainee maintains. The Distant Supervising Engineer will need tomaintain his/her own diary of his/her meeting with the Trainees for AdministrativePurposes, and eventually for signing the Trainee's Report.

#7. The Distant Supervising Engineer will need to inform Council, the Trainee, and theEmployer, if at any time he/she c onsiders that the nature of the Trainee's work/trainingwill not satisfy the Council's requirements for registration.

#8. The Trainee Engineer shall make his/her own arrangements to meet his/her "DistantSupervising Engineer" at least once monthly, to discuss engineering issues and his/herprogress; at any rate it must not be less than once every 3 months.

#9. Where spec ialist advice or assistance is required to be given to the trainee and that theDistant Supervisor does not possess the specialist knowledge, he/she may direct the

Trainee to Council or to some other Engineer who can supply the advice.#10. The Distant Supervising Engineer must agree to hold at least one Annual AppraisalSession with the Trainee where the Supervisor and Trainee could together review thetraining undergone, and attempt to address the following issues: Has the Training gone in line with Guidance issued by C ounc il ? What are the areas of concern to the Trainee, and to the Supervisor as regards the

training? Is there a valid reason for trainee to review his/her arrangement with his/her

employer, move into another departments within the same company, or ask for achange in his/her "responsibilities and duties" ?

Will the Trainee be in a position to complete his Training in the period remainingout of the nominal 24 months ?

Does the Trainee feel confident that he/she can, if the need arises, exerciseindependent judgement within his/her area of practice?

Etc.#11. Counc il will expect the Distant Supervising Engineer to submit his/her own assessment of

the trainee's training to the C ounc il, with a Copy to the Trainee outlining:

The areas in which he/she believes the Trainee has acquired a satisfactoryworking level of competenc ies.

The areas in which he/she believes there are shortfalls in the training, but he/shebelieves that these are not serious and can be compensated for by the traineein a near future.

The areas of practice where he/she believes the Trainee needs further trainingtowards his/her registration.

His/her own view of the Trainee's potential as an independent ConsultingEngineer, and of the trainee's Strategic C ompetence Development and FurtherLearning Plan, if any that the Trainee is working on.

..


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ANNEX A *

Annex A pg 1

Part A: Core Objectives - G ra d u a t e 's Kn o w le d g e a n d A b i l i t y

*Sec tion 10 of "Practice of Professional Engineering" issued by the

Council Registered Professional Engineers in November 2006

Up o n th e su c c e ssfu l c o m p l e t io n o f a 4 - y e a r a p p r o v e d / a c c re d i t e d

p r o g r a m m e o f st u d i e s (i.e combined 1st and 2nd Cycle, or Long Cycle)

i n a n y e n g i n e e r in g d i sc i p l i n e , a n y g r a d u a t e sh o u l d b e c a p a b le o f

d e m o n s t ra t i n g t he fo l lo w in g q u a l i t i e s a n d c o m p e t e n c i e s:

10.1 Knowledge of Mathematics, Science, Tec hnology and EngineeringPrinciples

The G radua tes will ha ve a c quired adequa te a nd sound knowledge of

mathematics, sciences and technology, including software and

information systems, engineering principles, and specialist engineering

knowledge, and will have developed an ability to apply their

knowledge to the optimisation of existing and emerging technologies.

10.2 Application of Engineering Knowledge to Analysis and ProblemSolving, Engineering Design, and Engineering Investigations.

The G radua te s will ha ve the a b ility to a pp ly theoretic a l and prac tic a l

method s (Enginee ring Principles and M a thematic s):

(a) to a nalyse a nd solve engineering problems and eva luate the

effec tivene ss of their so lutions.

(b) to d esign a system, c omp one nt, or proc ess, to mee t spec ified

needs, a nd

(c ) to c ond uc t investiga tions of tec hnic a l issues c onsistent w ith their

level of knowled ge a nd unde rstanding, inc luding ability to de signand cond uc t experiments, analyse and interpret da ta, towa rds

de signing a nd de veloping a n engineering solution,

(d ) to a c quire prac tica l skills in undertaking a ssignments req uiring

engineering analysis, problem solving, designing and conducting

investigations.

10.3 Management and Leadership

Graduates will demonstrate that they have acquired the knowledge

and understanding of, and ability to use, techniques, skills, and

modern engineering tools, including management practices and

procedures necessary for engineering practice, and will have the

ability to see through the operation of a supply and execution of an

engineering contract.


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ANNEX A *

Annex A pg 2

10.4 The Engineer's Responsibility for the Environment, Health and Safety.

Graduates will have knowledge of the impact of engineering design

on the quality of environment, health, safety, and the quality of life.The y will, c onseque ntly, a c quire an ab ility to rec ognise and a ssess risks

to quality of life and to design and implement measures and

safeguards to enhance quality of environment and life, and also

ensure sustainability.

10.5 Interpersonal Skills and Communications

G raduates will rec og nise that in the c ourse of the ir normal professiona l

prac tic e, they will intera c t with pe ers, subo rdina tes, c lients,

administra tors, po lic y makers a nd the pub lic , and therefo re, they nee dto demonstrate that:

(a) they ha ve a n a bility to c ommunic a te e ffec tively with pe ers, a nd

the eng inee ring c ommunity a nd soc iety at large .

(b) they ha ve a n a b ility to use c ommunic a tion tec hniques, skills, a nd

too ls for tha t purpose, a nd

(c ) they have an a bility to func tion a s a n individua l and on multi-

disciplinary teams.

10.6 Need for Broad Education, Rec ognition of limits of own ProfessionalCompetence, Values and Ethics in Professional Prac tice, andCommitment to Life-Long learning.

G ra dua tes will :

(a) have ac quired a broa d educ a tion in enginee ring and allied

fields, as may be necessary, for optimum performance in the

c ourse o f their professiona l p rac tic e.

(b) have the ab ility to rec og nise the limits of p ersona l know ledge a nd

skills, while exercising independent judgement.(c ) de monstra te a n understanding of need for prac tising high Ethica l

Standards, manifesting their Sense of Values and Responsibility inprofessional prac tic e,

(c ) rec og nise the need for, a nd demonstra te their c ommitment and

ability to engage in a process of life long learning, and(d) de monstra te that they have a know ledg e of c ontempo ra ry

issues..


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ANNEX B *

Annex B pg 1

Part B: Professional Engineering Competence

* Section 11 of "Practice of Professional Engineering" issued by theCouncil of Registered Professional Engineers in November 2006.

Note-1: The C ore Objec tives (Graduate's Knowledge and Ability) ofPart A (Sections 10.1 to 10.6), have been reproduced in this

ANNEX, a nd rep hra sed as Knowledge and CompetenceObjectives to be demonstrated by Applicants for Registration, i.eon completion of Training/experience requirements.

Note-2: The Guidance Material contained herein has been adaptedfrom the Professiona l Enginee ring C omp etenc e stand a rds a nd

practices of several overseas engineering bodies. Taken

together, all the Knowledge and Competence Objectivesreflected the Standard of person who has had at least 4 to 5

years of practice, including 2 -years approved training, that is,

of a level comparable to that set for Professional Engineers by

many overseas Institutions.

Note-3: Guidanc e Ma terial given under ea c h C ore O bjec tive, in theform of exemplifying Knowledge, Ability, and Competence

issues, are intended as guidance to the Applicants themselves,

and to their Mentors or "Distant Supervisors", regarding the

knowledge and competence issues that Applicants will need to

demonstrate on completion of their Training. The GuidanceMaterial will equally assist members of the Professional Review

Panels interviewing Applicants towards ascertaining whether

Applic a nts ha ve sa tisfied C ounc il's requisites for registra tion

under the Ac t.

Note-4: Ind ica tions a re given in Sec tion 13 a s to the

Competence level to be expected on completion of 2 -years

training.

Knowledge and Competence objectives

to be demonstrated by Applicants for Registration

11.1 Knowledge of Mathematics, Science, Tec hnology and EngineeringPrinciples

Applicantsw i l l b e e x p e c t e d t o d e m o n st ra t e t h a t th e y h a v e a c q u i re d a d e q u a t e a n d so u n d k n o w l e d g e o f m a t h e m a t ic s, sc i e n c e s a n d

t e c h n o lo g y , i n c l u d i n g so f tw a re a n d in f o rm a t io n sy s t e m s, e n g i n e e r i n g

p r in c i p l e s, a n d sp e c i a l i st e n g i n e e r in g k n o w l e d g e , a n d h a v e a n


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Annex B pg 2

a b i li ty t o a p p l y th e i r k n o w l e d g e t o t h e o p t i m i sa t i o n o f e x i st in g a n d

e m e r g i n g t e c h n o lo g i e s .

Fo r th e a b o v e p u rp o se , th e y sh o u l d d e m o n s tra t e a t h e o r e t ic a l a p p r o a c h :

i. in ena bling the app lic a tion of tec hnolog y in their eng ineering

practice and their engagement in continuous improvement of

fa c ilities a nd systems,

ii. in ena b ling the introduc tion a nd exp loita tion of eme rging

tec hnologies, and

iii. in engaging in creative and innovative development of

engineering technology

To w a rd s a sc e r ta i n i n g t h e i r k n o w l e d g e , a b i l it y , a n d a p p r o a c h t o

e n g in e e r i n g p r a c t ic e , a n d t h e i r a b i l i t y t o a p p l y t h e i r k n o w l e d g e t o t h e o p t im i sa t i o n o f e x i st in g a n d e m e r g i n g t e c h n o l o g i e s , th e y m a y b e

re q u i re d t o d e m o n s tra t e t h e i r :

i. Know led ge of Ma terials a nd Co mponents (prop erties and

proc esses) genera lly utilised in eng ineering and suffic iently for

them to spec ify their usa ge in their ow n prac tic e .

ii. Unde rstanding and know led ge o f sc ientific a nd engineering

principles underpinning engineering, and in particular, in the

design a nd op eration o f systems a nd fac ilities in their ow n a rea

of practic e.

iii. Analytical ability to compute value of parameters or

components influencing, or contributing to, or responsible for anob served outc ome in their field o f pra c tic e.

iv. Ab ility to assess needs of users and ma rketing nee ds, and the

formulation of marketing strategies.

v. Ability to ide ntify c onstra ints and exploit op portunities towards

engaging in innovative and creative activities, and promoting

new applications.

vi. Ability to improve quality of products and services, and

evaluating new and emerging technology, and facilitating their

entry.

11.2 Application of Engineering Knowledge to Analysis and ProblemSolving, Engineering Design, and Engineering Investigations

11.2a Applicants w i l l d e m o n s t ra t e t h e i r a b i l it y t o a p p l y th e o re t i c a l a n d p r a c t i c a l m e t h o d s ( engineering principles and mathematics) t o

a n a l y se a n d so l v e e n g in e e r i n g p ro b l e m s a n d e v a lu a t e t h e

e f f e c t iv e n e ss o f th e i r so l u t io n s. Th e y sh o u l d d em o n st ra t e t h e i r a b i l i ty :

i. to unde rstand the func tions a nd design o f a ny eng ineering

systems, struc tures, fac ilities, eq uipment, components, or

proc esses within their enginee ring d isc ipline, a nd to use their

knowledge, including mathematical analysis and computermodelling, to analyse the design of engineering products,


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Annex B pg 3

proc esses a nd me thod s, and to sea rc h for and app ly innovative

method s of p rob lem solving.

ii. to investiga te engineering prob lems (e.g ., fa ilure, unreliab ility,

operational instability, other departures from designed anddesirable performance), towards identifying contributory causes

a nd source(s): viz., de sign q ua lity, p rod uc tion (ma terials,

processes or workmanship, test and acceptance), use,

operation, maintenance, environment, etc.), and propose

so lutions and supp ly justifica tion.

iii. to ap praise and review eng ineering de signs, a nd prop osing

solutions for improving economic efficiency, operational

performance, enhancing capacity and productivity, and

evaluating solutions.

iv. to rec og nise an eng ineering prob lem a s a n op po rtunity for self

development, and bringing change, innovation andimprove ment in their prac tic e.

v. to rep resent a p rob lem in a fo rm that makes finding solutions

more efficient and effec tive, viz. mod el, flow c hart, diagram or

table as appropriate.

11.2b Applicants w i l l d em o n st ra t e t h e i r a b i l i ty t o d e s ig n a s y st em ,c o m p o n e n t , o r p ro c e ss t o m e e t sp e c i f i e d n e e d s.Th e y m a y b e r e q u e s te d t o d e m o n s t ra t e , t h a t in a g i v e n si t u a t io n

re q u i r i n g a v i a b l e d e s i g n t o b e p ro d u c e d w i th i n t he s c o p e o f th e

d e si g n b r ie f , t h e y h a v e k n o w le d g e a n d a b i l i t y o f a n a t u re e x e m p l i f i e d b y t he fo l lo w i n g :

i. Know led ge and understanding of de sign methodo log ies, a nd

ability to make use of that knowledge and understanding to

design solutions to unfamiliar problems, possibly involving other

d isc iplines.

ii. Ab ility to interpret design brief, have know ledge o f task req uired

a s we ll a s the a pplica b le c riteria (sa fety, reliab ility,

environmental), and the parameters influencing outcome, andto c onc eive a lternative d esign sc hemes.

iii. Ab ility to assess (and selec t) a p a rtic ula r design sc heme a ga instthe technical and other criteria which may influence the use

and marketing of the end product, viz. standards, cost, quality,

reliability and durability, etc., and the wider societal, health andsa fety, environme ntal and c ommerc ial c onsiderations.

iv. Ab ility to chec k a d esign prod uc ed from using prop rietary

software, (outputted results, designed components, formulae,

data used, computations, etc), against design produced with

own design knowledge.

v. Ab ility to make eng ineering judgeme nt in wo rk involving

c omp lexity, tec hnic a l unce rtainty and inc omp lete information.

vi. Ab ilty to generate and de velop new and original ide a s a ndmethods.


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Annex B pg 4

vii. Knowled ge o f prob lems likely to a rise during design, in ea c h

design sc ena rio, a nd envisage solutions to these eventualities.

viii. Ab ility to write instruc tions for p roduc tion of model o r p rototype

a nd its testing a ga inst c riteria established for projec t.ix. Ability to ac c ura tely do c ument their wo rk to highlight the

problem a rea s and knowledg e g a ined from exerc ise.

11.2c Applicants w i l l d e m o n s tra t e t h e i r a b i l it y t o c o n d u c t in v e st ig a t i o n s o f t e c h n i c a l issu e s c o n s ist e n t w i th t h e i r le v e l o f k n o w l e d g e a n d

u n d e rst a n d i n g , i n c l u d i n g a b i l i t y t o d e s i g n a n d c o n d u c t e x p e r im e n t ,

a n d a n a l y se a n d i n te r p re t d a t a , t o w a r d s d e si g n i n g a n d d e v e l o p i n g

a n e n g i n e e r in g so l u t io n .

Th e y m a y f o r th a t p u r p o s e b e r e q u e s te d t o d e m o n s tra t e t h e i r a b i li ty

t o :

i. Exp lain a spec ific result or observation in a proc ess, inc luding a

departure from expected performance, and developing a

hypothesis around the significant dependent and independent

va riab les, responsible for the result.

ii. Deve lop a nd design an experiment to test their hypothesis,

define the tasks to be carried out, state the scientific and

engineering principles involved, and carry out such analytic,

modelling and experimental investigations as may be necessary.

They ma y be required to demo nstra te their knowledge of

controllable and non-controllable parameters likely to influence

the value o f the e xpe riment.iii. C ond uc t expe riment; mea sure and c ollec t da ta, and do a

critical evaluation of data; explain the results and draw

conclusions, and follow up with a review, and present and justify

the design.

iv. Prop ose, on the basis of results o f an experiment, po ssible

solutions, i.e. design changes, for obtaining a positive change in

the outco me.

v. Use ap prop riate methods, including sea rc h of literature, da ta

bases and other sources of information, for research and othertec hnica l investiga tions consistent with their leve l of know ledge

a nd understand ing.vi. Rep resent da ta (in tab ula r and / or grap hic a l forms) so as to

facilitate analysis and explanation of the data, and drawing of

c onc lusions a s to the hypothesis, and , if nec essa ry, permitmodification to the experiment.

vii. Document the experimental procedure, data, observations,

a na lysis, and their c onc lusions.

11.2d Applicants sh o u l d b e r e q u i re d t o d e m o n s tra t e th a t , i n th e c o u r se o f t h e i r t ra i n in g / p r a c t ic e , th e y h a v e a c q u i re d p r a c t ic a l sk i l l s i n c a r ry i n g

o u t a ssi g n m e n t s re q u i ri n g e n g i n e e r in g a n a l y s i s, p r o b l e m so l v i n g ,

d e s ig n i n g a n d c o n d u c t in g i n v e s t i g a t io n s . Th e y m a y b e re q u i re d t o d e m o n s t ra t e t h a t :


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ANNEX B *

Annex B pg 5

i. they have explored their eng ineering environme nt for new

opp ortunities, towards enha nc ing p rod uc ts, p roc esses, systems

a nd servic es.ii. they have had oppo rtunities to unde rtake design work, unde r

supervision, for review by persons registered as Professional

Enginee rs, and ha ve d isc ussed their wo rk with pe ers and seniors.

iii. they have had o pp ortunities to evaluate new tec hnology for

marketing and commercialisation by employer or client.

iv. they have had op portunities to unde rtake a review of a spec ific

design, with a view to ascertaining specific performance

parameters, and determining technical, operational or

environmental reasons for a departure, if any, from designed or

specified operational performance, or, for instance, for

improving its economic efficiency or operational performance,where feasible.

v. they ha ve had op portunities to disc uss, with their supervisors or

mentors as approp riate, a lternative solutions and de signs, ba sed

on their knowled ge of materia ls a pp rop riate to ea c h solution.

11.3 Management and Leadership

Applicants w i l l d e m o n s t ra t e t h a t th e y h a v e a c q u i re d t h e k n o w l e d g e a n d u n d e r st a n d i n g o f , a n d t h e a b i l i ty t o u s e , t e c h n i q u e s , sk i l l s, a n d

m o d e r n e n g i n e e r in g t o o l s, i n c l u d i n g m a n a g e m e n t p r a c t ic e s a n d

p ro c e d u re s , n e c e s sa ry f o r e n g in e e r i n g p r a c t ic e , a n d w i l l h a v e t h e a b i l i t y t o se e t h ro u g h t h e o p e r a t i o n o f a su p p l y a n d e x e c u t i o n o f a n

e n g in e e r i n g c o n t ra c t .

To w a rd s t h a t e n d , t h e y m a y b e re q u i re d t o d e m o n s tra t e t h e i r :

i. Know led ge and Ability to use Projec t Ma nag ement tools a nd

tec hniques (e.g., Ga nt C hart, PERT/ C PM, mathema tic a l

modelling, computer simulation) and Project Management

softwa re, fo r co ntrolling a nd c o-o rdinating projec t exec ution.

ii. Knowled ge and ab ility to Interpret of Basic Financ ial Statements(Balance Sheet), Appraise projects using discounted cash-flow

techniques (NPV, IRR).iii. Ab ility to prep a re and c ontro l c a sh flows, forec asts, bud ge ts,

a nd identify elements a ffec ting business pro fita b ility.

iv. Know led ge a nd ab ility to lead tea ms, de velop human resourcesto meet changing technical and managerial needs, as well as

methods and procedures for assessment of service quality and

performance of individuals and teams; they also have

knowledge of quality management and ability to bring about

c ontinuous improvement in their environment.

v. Know ledg e and ab ility to mana ge projec ts; programming and

control of manpower, project resources, finances, and

a dministra tive support; de c ision p roc esses (use o f sta tistics,uncertainty, probability, curve fitting); legal and contractual


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Annex B pg 6

issues, inc luding settlement of disputes a nd litiga tion proc ed ures;

c ost red uc tion a nd effic ienc y improve ment mea sures; sa fety,

health and environment safeguards during contract execution;

tra ining and de velop ment of human resourc es for newproduction technology), etc., variations, etc; handing-over

/ ac c eptanc e certif ic at ion

vi. Knowledge and Understanding of Procurement Procedures,

Tender Spec ific a tio ns, C ontra c t doc uments and C ond itio ns o f

C ontra c t for Enginee ring wo rks, Eva lua tion o f tenders, etc .

vii. Know led ge a nd understand ing of c ontrac ts pric ing;

safeguarding against adverse market trends influencing their

c osts (i.e., raw materials, lab our, manufa c turing p roc esses,

taxes),

viii. Awa rene ss of the legislation impa c ting up on their prac tic e :

reg ula tion of their prac tic e, labour la ws, a pp lica ble hea lth andsa fety issues in Design a nd d uring C onstruc tion, construc tion

industry build ing regulations, G overnment taxes, etc .,

ix. Know led ge of Responsibility o f Enginee r a nd other key p laye rs in

the administration and execution of engineering contracts;

Experience in Producing Design brief, procurement of design and

construction services; production techniques (manufacture,

assembly, construction, use of machinery and equipment),

material testing procedures, engineering construction,

production, assembly, acceptance test techniques and

experienc e in hand ling too ls and mac hinery, supp ort systems,

produc tion programmes and a c tivities seq uenc ing.x. Unde rstand ing, a ssessment, a nd mana gement of Risks in p ro jec t

management and business; the implications of health, safety

and insurance and industrial relations issues for the proper

execution and financial viability of engineering contracts;

Limita tions o f Risks assessment and mana geme nt tec hnique s.

11.4 The Engineer's Responsibility for the Environment, Health and Safety

Applicants w i l l d e m o n s t ra t e t h e i r k n o w l e d g e o f th e i m p a c t o f e n g i n e e r in g d e s ig n o n q u a l i ty o f e n v i ro n m e n t , h e a l th a n d s a f e t y , a n d

q u a l it y o f l i f e . Th e y w i l l , t h e r e f o r e , h a v e a c q u i re d t h e a b i l i ty t o r e c o g n i se a n d a sse s s r i sk s to q u a l it y o f l if e , a n d t o d e s ig n a n d

im p l e m e n t m e a s u re s a n d sa f e g u a rd s to e n h a n c e q u a l i t y o f

e n v i ro n m e n t a n d l if e , a n d e n su r e e n s u r i n g su st a i n a b i l i ty .

Th e y m a y b e re q u i re d t o d e m o n s t ra t e t h a t :

i. they a re awa re of the c ommon environmenta l threa ts to qua lity

of environment and life, including pollution by contaminates,

a nd are gene ra lly knowledge ab le of ap plic a ble c ontrol

proc ed ures and sa fegua rds.

ii. they ha ve the a b ility to rec ognise, monitor a nd assess risks to the

quality of environment within own area of responsibility and


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Annex B pg 7

practice, as well as hazards to safety, welfare

3-CRPE Standard of Professional Engineering Competence 2007

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