Signing and Sealing Drawings Prepared by Others 8

[Strengi]

I have a client that has inquired if I would be interested in signing and sealing drawings prepared by a steel fabricator. As part of the process, I would review these drawings, make any necessary comments or markups, and then review the revised set. I realize that as a professional engineer I can't sign and seal documents prepared by others, or documents that weren't prepared under my supervision, but is there any possible way I could help my client out, perhaps by writing a signed and sealed supplementary letter? Any help of previous experiences would be greatly appreciated - thanks in advance.

 

[dgkhan]

I am PE in the states I mostly work. Sometimes my regular client gives me other states work which I do and find some PE to stamp my work. I do not think it is equivalent to "Signing and Sealing Drawings Prepared by Others". Rather it is scrutinized by two PE’s and designers.

 

[apsix]

"To have a national license would violate the US Constitution."
Presumably you don't need 50 driving licenses?
A state license that is recognised in all states would achieve the same.

 

[hokie66]

I agree with apsix. Which part of the Constitution would that be? I still think it is just another form of taxation.

 

[JStephen]

"Amendment X
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people."

I assume that's the line in question.

dgkhan- The state rules vary on whether you can review and stamp work done by others. For example, in Utah, "the licensee in this state affixing the seal performs a thorough
review of all work for compliance with all applicable laws and rules and the standards of the profession; and makes any necessary corrections before submitting the final plan." So there, the rule clearly allows that practice. In Texas, "License holders shall only seal work done by them, performed under their direct supervision as defined in §131.81 of this title", etc. It seems that most of the states are headed in that direction and state rules allowing review and stamp are not too common. This is not to say it should be one way or the other, just that's how the rules read.

 

[JAE]

JStephen, you are correct (10th amendment). Each state has the right to allow or disallow the use of another's state license. The Federal government cannot come in and FORCE a state to respect another state's laws or licenses.

So it would be possible to have a "national" license where each state could review and accept another state's license.....wait....they already do that - it's called reciprocity.

 

[sigma1]

Sometimes I also certify drawings that were prepared by a the Misc, metals detailer/draftsman. However, I do perform all the necessary checks and calculations. Most of the time teh drawings have to be revised based on my comments.

Does this qualify under "direct supervision" or I am also a violator?

Thanks

 

[DonPhillips]

I posted this website before.

http://www.licensingreform.org/supporting_documents.html#Scene_1

Don Phillips

http://worthingtonengineering.com

 

[tngolfer]

Mike,

TN is $140 biannually.

 

[JAE]

Don,

I hate to say it, but I have to suggest that the link you provided is to a group that makes a lot of claims and asseritions that are quite flawed on many levels.

A one-nation US engineering licensing board may sound fine and dandy, and may claim that the one-license scenario would come to be "without creating another Federal bureau"; but I highly doubt it. History has proved that the more centrally you locate power, the more it gets mis-used and becomes inefficient. All the claims of how "redundant" the state boards are don't ring true with me. Not at all.