Engineer of Record "Liability" after Leaving Job 1

[Jonmanning123]

I'm switching companies and while at my old job, I designed and signed some generic detail sheets for fall protection that can be applied to multiple areas, so long as the adequate testing and inspection are performed.

I'm confident the details are ok but the inspection and testing would have been overseen by me, and now that I am leaving, I have a little heartburn about leaving these "generic" details behind without knowing how and where they may be applied. Would it be acceptable to discuss the project with the principal who oversaw the project and revise the drawings with their signature? Or any other thoughts? How do most engineers handle their record drawings after leaving a company?

In hindsight, I should have thought this through before signing, but what can you do?

Thanks!

 

[JAE]

I think discussions with your former employer's lead engineers would be a good idea. Document those discussions in a follow-up email summarizing the points you made - or write a letter summarizing that the details were prepared by you and under your direct supervision, but that further engineering activities and effort will be required to ensure their proper usage. You can state that any usage of the designs should be reviewed fully by a licensed engineer who would then re-seal the details for their future use.

Getting that in writing then puts the monkey on their back to do the right thing and also documents that you told them to do the right thing and they were informed to do the right thing.



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[dhengr]

JAE:
That sounds like darn good, and pretty complete, advice to me.

 

[BAretired]

To me too!

BA

 

[WARose]

Agree with JAE. I don't think they should be re-issuing these details for another project with your seal on it no matter how generic they are.

 

[NorthCivil]

One of the first lessons I learned, and the local association preaches - never stamp anything without a date and an address on every last sheet stamped.

Never, ever, ever stamp a generic detail. every situation is different.

 

[Geoff13]

JAE has an excellent plan.

When I first started stamping fall protection parts for my company I was told "Item A is OK as it's already stamped". When I asked to see that I was shown a 30 year old stamped drawing. After that when I stamped equipment I added a note regarding what year of OSHA rules I was certifying as my way of limiting how long the drawing could be used.

 

[BAretired]

An engineer's stamp on a 30 year old drawing should not be accepted by the authority having jurisdiction if the code has changed in that time period. In all likelihood, the code has changed several times in that time period.

BA

 

[Geoff13]

In our work the authority would typically only ask to see the stamped drawings after an accident, so the construction department had never been asked to explain why they were relying on a 30 year old stamp.

 

[Ron]

Good advice, JAE!