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A monthly publication from the Wisconsin Society of Professional Engineers
January 3, 2008 Edition
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WSPE's President's Corner |
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I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday filled with family, friends, and happiness. The beginning of 2008 marks the midway point of the current fiscal year and election term for WSPE, so I would like to take a few moments to recap what has happened so far and outline what is coming up. Legislative issues have dominated the year so far. Tracy Pinkowski, P.E., and Bob Givens, P.E., with the help of other WSPE members on the Legislative Committee, have been active monitoring and responding to legislation regarding changes to the paths to engineering licensure, mandatory continuing professional competency, and mandatory quality-based selection (QBS) for certain public projects. WSPE also voiced concerns at a recent hearing about a petition by the Wisconsin State Bar Association to the Wisconsin Supreme Court to define the “practice of law” due to its potential to significantly affect how engineers practice their profession. The Metro Chapter is currently planning a forum discussion at an upcoming luncheon meeting on January 22 or 23, 2008 to focus on these and other legislative issues. Look for more information coming soon in their Chapter newsletter and on the website. On the financial front, WSPE has kicked off our new Supporting Organizations program. Contributions from this program are used to help fund activities and programs at the state and chapter levels. We currently have seven organizations on board. Our Platinum sponsors are Graef, Anhalt, Schloemer & Associates, Inc. and R.A. Smith & Associates, Inc. Our Silver sponsors are Davy Engineering and Morgan & Parmley, Ltd. Our Bronze sponsors are HGA Architects & Engineers, KL Engineering, Inc., and Ruekert & Mielke, Inc. Please take a moment to visit the Supporting Organizations page on the website at http://www.wspe.org/suptorgs.html. Thank you for your support of WSPE – it makes a world of difference! Matt Richards, P.E., has been working on membership issues this year. He has gotten information to all the Chapters to begin a calling program to try to get our delinquent and recently dropped members to renew or rejoin WSPE. A strong membership is critical if WSPE is to have a powerful voice in protecting the interests of professional engineers and the integrity of the profession. Please continue to encourage your colleagues to join if they are not yet members, including students and new engineers. Remember, the first six months are FREE and it’s easy to join by visiting www.nspe.org. On the education side, the MATHCOUNTS program is once again underway. So far, we have 84 schools around the state signed up to participate in their regional competitions, which are held in February. The State MATHCOUNTS competition will be held at UW-Madison on Saturday, March 1, 2008. Volunteers are needed for this very worthwhile event, so please contact Nancy Short at n.short@wspe.org or 414-908-4950 x135 if you can help. Angie Hanz, P.E., our new Young Engineer Representative, has begun working to establish a student chapter of WSPE at UW-Marathon County, where they are now offering a four-year engineering degree through UW-Platteville. She hopes to expand her efforts to other UW system schools as well. Please contact her at angela.hanz@wi.usda.gov if you would like to help. The WSPE website continues to be updated at www.wspe.org. The website contains a wealth of information about WSPE, including Chapters, scholarships, MATHCOUNTS, Supporting Organizations, membership, constitution and bylaws, ethics, a Job Board, and handy links to other resources. If you have ideas for the website or if you notice anything you think needs fixing, please contact Nancy Short at n.short@wspe.org. As we move into the second half of our year, we plan to complete an Administrative Manual for WSPE, expand educational outreach activities, continue to grow the Supporting Organizations program, and implement member recruitment and retention initiatives. We will also be accepting nominations for Engineer of the Year and Young Engineer of the Year as well as Interest Group (formerly known as Practice Divisions) awards. Also, remember to mark your calendars and plan to attend the Discovery Conference and Governors New Product Awards banquet on April 17, 2008, at the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells. See the website for more details. I’m looking forward to a great year with your help. Thanks! James Buggs, P.E. |
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Governor’s New Product Award 2008: Call for Entries |
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| Applications Due: Feb. 11, 2008 Each year, the Governor’s New Product Award is given to participants in a variety of categories for engineering quality products that do a number of things, including save time, energy, effectively utilize engineering principles, or increase environmental health and personal safety. This state-wide competition honors Wisconsin’s leading manufacturers for their innovation. Consider applying today! For more information, and to check out the application and the rules for entrants, go to www.wspe.org/gnpa.html. |
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| SPONSOR
UWM, with approximately 28,000 students, is one of only two Ph.D. granting research institutions within the University of Wisconsin System. The College of Engineering & Applied Science at UWM is a leading educational provider with approximately 1,900 students, including over 300 at the graduate level. These students are served by six departments: Civil Engineering & Mechanics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Materials. The degrees include a B.S. and M.S. in Engineering, a B.S and M.S. in Computer Science, a new B.S. in Computer Engineering, a Ph.D. in Engineering in the above disciplinary specialties, and a new Ph.D. in Medical Informatics. UWM
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Take Advantage of the WSPE Job Board |
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| Looking for a new job? Curious what kind of engineering jobs are out there on the market today? Don't forget - WSPE has a job board. Go to: http://www.wspe.org/jobboard.html to check it out. |
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The Judicial Review of Disciplinary Action
of the Examining Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, Professional
Engineers, Designers and Land Surveyors |
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The practice of professional engineering is defined by Section 443.01(6) of the Wisconsin Statutes as follows:
“Professional engineer” is defined in Section 443.01(7) of the Wisconsin Statutes as any person who by reason of his or her knowledge of mathematics, the physical sciences and the principles of engineering, acquired by professional education and practical experience, is qualified to engage in engineering practice. However, because of the important public interest in establishing that the “professional engineer” is worthy of licensing, the legislature has placed the licensing or registration requirements for professional engineers with the Department of Regulation and Licensing and specifically with the Examining Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, Professional Engineers, Designers and Land Surveyors, which is authorized to independently exercise its powers, duties and functions prescribed by statute. Among its duties, the Examining Board is expected to investigate, hear and determine whether a professional engineer has been guilty of (a) fraud or deceit in obtaining a registration, (b) using his or her professional seal or stamp to be used on documents not prepared by him or her or under his or her control, or knowingly permitting his or her seal or stamp to be used by any other person, (c) knowingly aiding or abetting the unauthorized practice of professional engineering, (d) committing any act of gross negligence, incompetency or misconduct in the practice of professional engineering, (e) violating any rules of professional conduct promulgated by the Examining Board, or (f) having been convicted of a felony or having been adjudicated medically incompetent. Disciplinary proceedings against a professional engineer are held by the Examining Board subject to the Administrative Rules promulgated for hearings and the Examining Board may reprimand, limit, suspend or revoke the registration of a registered professional engineer if it determines that substantial evidence exists that the engineer violated one or more of the provisions of § 443.11(1) of the Wisconsin Statutes. The action of the Examining Board is subject to review by the circuit court for the county where the petitioner resides and the petition for judicial review must be served on the Examining Board and filed with the court within 30 days after the service of an order finally disposing of the matter in dispute before the Examining Board. The 30-day period allowed for the filing and service of a petition for judicial review is jurisdictional. If the petition is not timely served and filed, the circuit court has no jurisdiction to review the decision of the Examining Board. Readers can find an example of a judicial proceeding to review the revocation of a license of a professional engineer in the Supreme Court decision Vivian v. Examining Board of Architects, Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors, 61 Wis.2d 627, 213 N.W.2d 359 (1974). In that case, the Examining Board itself filed a complaint against Francis J. Vivian, a registered professional engineer, alleging that his acts in designing and supervising the construction of a garage addition that collapsed constituted gross negligence, incompetency and misconduct. Following a hearing on the complaint, the Board found that Vivian was employed to prepare plans and specifications and to supervise construction of a garage addition, that he prepared the plans and was responsible for supervising the construction, that the garage addition collapsed due to a failure of an open web frame truss which Vivian designed, but was not designed or constructed to support a reasonable live load. The Examining Board entered conclusions of law after its findings, holding:
The Board also determined that Vivian’s performance of welding on the project without being a certified welder constituted misconduct. Based on the findings and conclusions of the Examining Board, the
Board ordered his registration revoked for six months. In the Vivian case, the Supreme Court held that: (1) the determination of grossness of negligence of the professional engineer is to be made by those knowledgeable to the particular profession, (2) the determination of whether a professional engineer’s failure to properly design or supervise construction of a roof-supporting truss on the garage addition was gross negligence was a matter for the Examining Board and that the matter would be remanded to the Board for such determination, (3) the Examining Board is holding that the professional engineer’s failure to properly design the garage addition which collapsed constituted incompetency was not supported by substantial evidence, and (4) the statute making incompetency, gross negligence or misconduct grounds for revocation of a P.E. license requires “incompetence” to refer to some demonstrated lack of competence or ability to perform professional functions, and that “gross negligence” involves some higher degree of failure to exercise ordinary care of judgment and “misconduct” relates to some deviation from a fixed duty or definite rule of conduct and that the three words are not entirely synonymous nor completely interchangeable. Not many cases involving complaints against professional engineers reach the highest court of the State, but when they do, the cases are instructive for all professionals. Recently, a case involving a complaint against a veterinarian which was heard by the Veterinary Examining Board was decided by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals and is now the subject of a petition for review before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. That particular case will be reviewed in the next edition of this publication. Attorney Robert J. Kay is the senior partner in the law firm of Kay & Andersen, S.C. and devotes his time to representing professional engineers, architects, contractors, material suppliers and owners of construction projects. Please feel free to contact him at (608) 833-0077 or visit www.kayandandersen.com. |
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Welcome New WSPE Members! |
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The WSPE board of directors would like to extend a heartfelt welcome to the following new WSPE members:
New members contribute to the growth, strength and leadership of the WSPE in enhancing its recognition as a leading voice for Professional Engineers throughout Wisconsin and promoting excellence in engineering. |
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