Engineering deliverable requiring PE stamp in TX 2

[Luigi2021]

Is there a place anywhere in the web that provides a list of engineering deliverables (documents) per discipline required to be stamped by a Professional Engineer in Texas?
Thanks for the help

LC

 

[csk62]

In general some private customer specifications as well as some municipalities may require some documentation to be pe stamped in addition to any such requirements from the state. I would think such a list would be highly dependent on the nature of the work and project. The list may be very different for a construction of a large chemical plant and a US post office.

----------------------------------
Not making a decision is a decision in itself

 

[phamENG]

Luigi - I can't speak to Texas specifically, but generally any document produced by a professional engineer is required to bear his or her seal. Those items that constitute the practice of professional engineering are spelled out in state law. If you have a specific question, you may want to call your local building department.

 

[fel3]

I don't know about Texas, but I do know about California. And I really know about California because one of the young engineers I work with asked this very question mid-morning today. Texas should have something very similar, but you will need to read the applicable laws in Texas to be sure. You might be able to find something on the website for the state agency that governs professional engineers in Texas.

In California, this is governed by the Professional Engineer's Act (Business and Professions Code §§6700–6799), specifically §6735, which states:

(a) All civil (including structural and geotechnical) engineering plans, calculations, specifications, and reports (hereinafter referred to as "documents") shall be prepared by, or under the responsible charge of, a licensed civil engineer and shall include his or her name and license number. Interim documents shall include a notation as to the intended purpose of the document, such as "preliminary," "not for construction," "for plan check only," or "for review only." All civil engineering plans and specifications that are permitted or that are to be released for construction shall bear the signature and seal or stamp of the licensee and the date of signing and sealing or stamping. All final civil engineering calculations and reports shall bear the signature and seal or stamp of the licensee, and the date of signing and sealing or stamping. If civil engineering plans are required to be signed and sealed or stamped and have multiple sheets, the signature, seal or stamp, and date of signing and sealing or stamping, shall appear on each sheet of the plans. If civil engineering specifications, calculations, and reports are required to be signed and sealed or stamped and have multiple pages, the signature, seal or stamp, and date of signing and sealing or stamping shall appear at a minimum on the title sheet, cover sheet, or signature sheet.​

============
"Is it the only lesson of history that mankind is unteachable?"
--Winston S. Churchill

 

[csk62]

While these PE stamp requirements you listed may be applicable to civil/structural functions, there may also be additional PE stamp requirements for things like HVAC systems in hospitals and pressure vessel designs IAW asme section viii div2. My point is that without a scope listed all we know is that it is to be installed in TX, which isn't much to go on.

----------------------------------
Not making a decision is a decision in itself

 

[Luigi2021]

Thank you all for all the replies but I am still struggling trying to identify which documents (by discipline) need to be Designed or directly supervised by a PE that will ensure compliance with the Texas Engineering Practice Acts (TEPA) requirements. Once identified then these are the ones that need to be stamped.
It seems to me, as a consulting engineering company, that every process or equipment for a project of an industrial client that may pose a treat to the health, safety and welfare of the public need to be engineered, either designed or directly supervised by a PE.
In the engineering and design of petrochemical facilities there are hundreds of drawings, specifications, and documents that, directly or indirectly, may affect the health, safety and welfare of the public, shall all these be engineered by PEs and therefore stamped?
During a HAZOP there are hundreds of hazards identified that may pose a risk to the health, safety and welfare of the public and lots of safeguards are implemented to minimize that risk. Is all the documentation related to those safeguards (ejm. relief valve calculation, specification, installation drawings, engineering manual, etc. etc.) supposed to be directly designed or supervised by a PE and finally documentation stamped? P&IDs, civil structural steel and concrete specifications, roads and paving drawings, vessel specifications, grounding drawings, piping material specification, relief valves calculation and specification, Cause and Effect diagrams, etc. etc. are all these PE stamped?

So, the real question is...what is the criteria to identify which deliverables need to be stamped to meet TEPA requirements?
In my experience, I have seen some engineering documents being stamped by PE such as P&IDs, Cause and effect diagrams and most civil structural calculations and specifications but what was the criteria used, if there was one, to identify them as the only deliverables in order to meet with the TEPA requirements?

Thanks in advance for your help,

LC

 

[Mr Leaf]

Luigi,

The Texas code states the following (TEXAS ENGINEERING AND LAND SURVEYING PRACTICE ACTS AND RULES CONCERNING PRACTICE AND LICENSURE):

§ 1001.401. USE OF SEAL.
(a) On receiving a license, a license holder shall obtain a seal in a design authorized by the board, showing the license holder’s name and the legend “Licensed Professional Engineer” or “Registered Professional Engineer.”
(b) [highlight #FCE94F]A plan, specification, plat, or report issued by a license holder for a project to be constructed or used in this state must include the license holder’s seal placed on the document.[/highlight] A license holder is not required to use a seal required by this section if the project is to be constructed or used in another state or country.
(c) A person may not place a seal on a document if the license of the license holder named on the seal has expired or has been suspended or revoked.
(d) A license holder is not required to use a seal under this section for a project for which the license holder is not required to hold a license under an exemption provided by Subchapter B.
(e) A license holder shall not be required to provide or hold any additional certification, other than a license issued under this chapter, to seal an engineering plan, specification, plat, or report.

In my experience working with Texas under an A/E, all generated drawings, specifications, calculations, datasheets, reports, etc. are stamped by a licensed individual. Where drawings were provided by other subcontractors, those drawings were stamped by the applicable originator, with the governing PE reviewing for acceptability to the project and final discipline stamp on the applicable package (this is only a seal that states are all required documents are present and is not on a drawing/spec, but a package coversheet with aforementioned statement.)

To answer your question on everything being stamped - This does not mean every nut and bolt needs a deliverable with a stamp, just those documents generated by the engineer, or uniquely designed by the subcontractor. For example, details or the bounding criteria for equipment and components to be used can listed in the specifications, drawing schedule, or detail call-out and those documents stamped. We have not stamped commercial HVAC unit drawings from vendors, but our drawings we call them out on are, as they have been reviewed and selected by the engineer (or the spec detailing what size and type to get). If it was a unique one-of-a-kind, then yes, I would likely consider a stamp from the vendor.

In summary, everything generated by engineering has been stamped. I would imagine with a large facility that it would be broken into manageable groups with enough PEs to oversee the work. I highly recommend reviewing the contract requirements and reaching out to the board office for specific resolution.

https://engineers.texas.gov/downloads/lawrules.pdf

https://pels.texas.gov/

 

[phamENG]

You're probably not getting much traction on this since you posted it in the "how to improve myself" forum. Ethics or business practices may have been more appropriate.

It comes down to the way the act is written and how the exceptions are written. Nearly every state has an "industrial exemption" to licensure which allows employees of companies to work and do engineer without a license under certain restrictions. A lot of companies take that to mean everything on their property. That may be true in some states, but not all. In many states it's limited specifically to engineering of the products they manufacture and sell - so all facilities work would have to be sealed if it meets the definition. If Texas falls into that category, then it sounds like your interpretation is correct.

 

[Luigi2021]

Thanks to phamENG (Structural) I am reposting this thread under Trends and Strategies > Keeping ahead of the curve > Professional Ethics in Engineering hoping to get more replies.
Thanks to everyone so far I have received great input.

I will close this thread eventually.