HomeMy WebLinkAboutComm No 0043.56 - Testimony - CA-26 - Qualifications for the Director DPWTestimony of HSPE on CA -26, Hawaii Charter Commission, proposal to amend Section 6-2.2
relating to Qualifications for the Director of the Department of Public Works, to remove the
requirement that the Director be a "registered professional engineer" (more accurately, "licensed
professional engineer, or P.E.).
Hawaii County Charter Commission
Dear Commission Members,
As an engineer, I dedicate my professional knowledge and skill to the advancement and
betterment of human welfare.
I pledge:
To give the utmost of performance;
To participate in none but honest enterprise;
To live and work according to the laws of man and the highest standards of professional
conduct;
To place service before profit, the honor and standing of the profession before personal
advantage, and the public welfare above all other considerations.
In humility and with need for Divine Guidance, I make this pledge.
Engineers' Creed — Adopted by the National Society of Professional Engineers, June 1954
I am Michael Lum, P.E., president of the Hawaii Society of Professional Engineers (HSPE). The
HSPE is one of the many state societies that comprise the National Society of Professional
Engineers (NSPE). HSPE members have for many years participated in the annual meetings of
NSPE, and served on key commissions, including the NSPE Board of Ethical Review (BER),
"Professional Engineers in Government" (PEG), and the "Task Force on the Over -Ruling of
Engineering Judgement".
What makes a Professional Engineer different from an engineer?
• Only a licensed engineer may prepare, sign and seal, and submit engineering plans and
drawings to a public authority for approval, or seal engineering work for public and private
clients.
• PEs shoulder the responsibility for not only their work, but for the lives affected by that work
and must hold themselves to high ethical standards of practice.
• Licensure for a consulting engineer or a private practitioner is not something that is merely
a certificate or achievement; it carries a legal, fiduciary responsibility. *The term "fiduciary
duty" is a legal concept describing situations in which a special relationship of trust is deemed
to exist between two parties: a person who has offered his or her expertise and prudence and
the individual or entity relying on that expertise. A fiduciary relationship represents the highest
duty of care recognized in the American legal system and requires that the individual who
serves as the fiduciary act primarily for the benefit of his or her beneficiary in matters related to
that role, even when such actions run counter to the fiduciary's personal interests. c*ASCE, Civil
Engineering, Jan 1, 2014)
Comm. No. 43.56
• Licensure for engineers in government has become increasingly significant. Many federal,
state, and municipal agencies require that certain governmental engineering positions,
particularly those considered higher level and responsible positions, be filled only by
licensed professional engineers.
NSPE considers the practice of engineering by licensed professional engineers of such
importance that it has an official position statement on this matter. Reference NSPE Position
Statement No. 07-02 "Recognition of the Engineering Function within Government".
It states, in part, "NSPE recommends that government officials having the authority for hiring or
appointment, recognize the importance of the engineering function within the government
departments and agencies through the selection of fully qualified licensed professional
engineers to positions having responsibility for making engineering decisions and exercising
engineering judgment."
As the 20th century opened, anyone could work as an engineer without proof of competency.
But industrial processes and public works projects were becoming increasingly complex and
began to result in engineering disasters that caused widespread damage and fatalities. In one
of the iconic examples, in 1919 a poorly -engineered 2 -million -gallon molasses storage tank
failed in Boston, killing 21 people and injuring 150. In order to protect the public health, safety,
and welfare, states began following the lead of Wyoming, which had enacted the first
engineering licensure law in 1907.
Now every state regulates the practice of engineering to ensure public safety by granting only
Professional Engineers (PEs) the authority to sign and seal engineering plans and offer their
services to the public. Weakening the qualifications of the head of a local public works agency
goes against the very system of engineering licensure that has been laboriously set up over the
past century to protect public health and safety.
The adverse risks of an unlicensed engineer or a non -engineer misunderstanding or over -ruling
the engineering judgement of local DPW engineering staffs, have been well-documented by the
National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), and presents an unacceptable risk for
Hawaii County. That is why we, the Hawaii Society of Professional Engineers, OPPOSE the
proposed amendment CA -26 to the Hawaii County Charter.
Mahalo for hearing our testimony.
Sincerely,
Michael Lum, P.E.
President, Hawaii Society of Professional Engineers