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A monthly publication from the Wisconsin Society of Professional Engineers
May 2008 Edition
WSPE's President's Corner |
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As the trees finally begin to bloom and the grass turns green, I want to begin by thanking the Southwest Chapter for hosting the 2008 Discovery Conference and Governor’s New Product Awards banquet. Dave McDermid and his conference committee, with help from WSPE staff, did a great job putting together an interesting and informative conference on “Preventing Disasters.” Dale Swenson also did a great job again organizing the New Product Awards. Tom Zaleski did a wonderful job hosting as the Master of Ceremonies and Aaron Olver, Deputy Secretary of Commerce, provided the keynote address. Special thanks to everyone who attended as well as the conference speakers, exhibitors, and our Supporting Organizations. Your participation and support continue to make this a worthwhile conference. We recently recognized our 2008 Engineer of the Year award winners. All of them represent the engineering profession with distinction. Congratulations go out to: Chad O’Donnell, P.E., Engineer of the Year At the GNPA banquet, we recognized our top state MATHCOUNTS competitors and the coach of the first place team. Our congratulations go out to: Abraham Shin (8th Grade – Velma Hamilton Middle School, Madison) They will form our state team and compete at the national MATHCOUNTS in Denver, CO, on May 8-11. Be sure to tune in for the Countdown Round, which will be webcast live on May 9 at 4:00 PM CST at www.mathcounts.org. I want to offer a special thanks to Norm Arendt, P.E., our State MATHCOUNTS coordinator, for all of his efforts in organizing the state competition and coordinating the volunteers. I also want to thank Darwin Behlke, P.E., who will be the chaperone again this year for the WSPE national team. Darwin will be recognized this year for 25 years of service to NSPE. The WSPE Annual Meeting was held at the conclusion of the Discovery Conference. The meeting provided a summary of the state of the society, including a review of the progress made on the goals I laid out in my first President’s Message. Overall, WSPE is doing well, but we absolutely must have more member involvement if we are to thrive and grow. We have some dedicated members participating in WSPE at the chapter, state and national levels, but we need more members to help out on committees and get involved in society leadership so we can really get our programs rolling. Many hands make light work (and a lot of fun!), so please contact Nancy Short at n.short@wspe.org to let her know you want to get involved. An officer or committee chair will follow up with you to discuss available opportunities. The 2008 WSPE Membership Directory will be coming out again this summer. Now is the time to get your company or organization listed or advertised. Please contact Don McMurray at 414-908-4950 x111 if interested. I’m looking forward to accomplishing many things in the next three months. We have many ways for members to get involved and make a difference in their profession and in the lives of others, so I hope you’ll join me in making WSPE a positive force in Wisconsin. Thanks! James Buggs, P.E. |
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WSPE Election Results |
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| WSPE is proud to announce the results of our recent election. They will serve WSPE during the 2008-2009 term, which begins on July 1, 2008. Your new officers will be: President: Michael Lefebvre, P.E. Jim Buggs, P.E., will remain on the Board as Past President and Glen Schwalbach, P.E., will continue to serve his term as National Delegate. |
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WSPE’s 37th Annual 2008 Governor’s New Product Awards (GNPA) Banquet a Success |
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| The GNPA Banquet took place on Thursday evening, April 17, 2008, at the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells. This year 13 Wisconsin companies entered 15 exciting products into the 2008 GNPA competition. To view the press release regarding the 37th Annual Governor’s New Product Awards on the Wisconsin Department of Commerce Web site, please go to: http://commerce.wi.gov/NEWS/releases/2008/064.html. Presenters included: The winners were: Medium Company (51-200 employees) Large Company (201-9,999 employees) Mega Company (10,000 + employees) All companies that competed this year (for entire list, see media release link above) received a framed certificate of merit signed by Governor Jim Doyle, Jim Buggs and Dale Swenson. 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners received an engraved wood grained Wisconsin plaque with the WSPE seal, and the names of the Governor, Jim Buggs and Dale Swenson engraved upon it. All honorable mention winners received an engraved wood plaque with the WSPE seal and the names of the Governor, Jim Buggs and Dale Swenson engraved upon it. The four first place winners from each employment category will be entered into the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)/PEI/NPA competition to be held in 2009.
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Recap: 2008 WSPE Discovery Conference |
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| "Preventing Disasters" The 2008 WSPE Discovery Conference was held on April 17th, 2008 at the Kalahari Resort. Over 45 attendees enjoyed the interesting and informative sessions related to "Preventing Disasters." We heard from Robert S. Miller III, P.E., F.NSPE, from NSPE, and Wendy Arnold on “Liability Hot Topics for Engineers. We watched a CD called “Countdown to Teamwork-NASA”. The Web site for purchasing the CD is www.mikemullane.com for those of you who are interested. Jeff Western, P.E., S.E., and Finn Hubbard, P.E., talked about “Securing Our Transportation Infrastructures” in the afternoon. WSPE thanks the following supporting organizations: Bonestroo; Davy Engineering; Davel Professional Engineering; Edward Gillen Co.; Foth; Graef, Anhalt, Schloemer; HGA; KL Engineering; Morgan & Parmley, Ltd.; R.A. Smith National; Ruekert/Mielke; and Strand Assoc. WSPE would also like to thank the following sponsors and exhibitors for their support of this conference: Marquette University College of Engineering; UW-Platteville; Bollinger, Lach & Assoc., Inc.; Carlson; Milwaukee School of Engineering; Northeast Wisconsin Technical College; UW-Madison College of Engineering; and UW-Stout. Special thanks go to Norm Arendt, Dave McDermid, and Dale Swenson for providing A/V support and Marquette University College of Engineering for printing the conference program. I would also like to thank the conference committee for all their efforts: Dave McDermid, Norm Arendt, Dale Chlebowski, Joe Dresser, Charles Gervasi, Andy Graham, Clayton Mehnert, Chad O’Donnell, Dale Swenson, Ron Voss, and Nancy Short. Thanks also to Christopher Roper for all his help with the conference and registration. Just a reminder, it's never too early to start planning, so please let me know if you have any thoughts or ideas for the next Discovery Conference or if you would like to be involved in planning it. Helping to put together a conference is a fun way to meet people and share all your great ideas. Thank you to all of our speakers and to everyone who took the time to participate in this worthwhile event. |
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WSPE Legislative Committee Update |
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| This has been a very busy year for the Legislative Committee. I would like to thank all of the committee members for their time and effort during this past year. The Committee members are as follows: Dale Chlebowski, P.E., TN & Associates, Inc. The four major issues we were concentrating our efforts on this year were:
WSPE supported Assembly Bill 69, but unfortunately it did not make it to a final vote and the legislative session has now ended. Assembly Bill 69 would have created one path to licensure which was to require a four-year engineering degree, passage of the FE exam, four years of experience and passage of the PP exam. WSPE sent a letter of support and met with Representative Mark Gottlieb, P.E. this past year. WSPE plans to support the bill again next year when it is re-introduced in its original form, without the amendment to allow two-year degree candidates to obtain licensure. Committee members have been and will continue to meet with legislators and technical school officials to discuss the legal requirements for an engineer to function “in responsible charge” of other engineers and/or engineering work. Next year we will need help from WSPE members to speak to their respective legislators to explain the purpose of the legislation and ask them to co-sponsor the new bill. Assembly Bill 181 regarding continuing education was passed, and has been signed into law as ACT 47. This gives the Examining Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, Professional Engineers, Designers, and Land Surveyors the authority to develop continuing education requirements for credential holders. WSPE supported this bill and has already met with the Department of Regulation and Licensing/Examining Board and stated our interest in assisting to develop the continuing education requirements. We have already begun drafting our suggested requirements for professional engineers and are working to make them consistent with neighboring states and the NCEES recommendations. If you have any suggestions or experience with requirements in others states, please contact Brad Volker, P.E., at bvolker@cooperengineering.net or 715-234-7008 to share your thoughts. WSPE also supports Quality Based Selection and Assembly Bill 553. Committee members have met with legislators this past year and also sent out a position statement. This bill did not make it to a final vote this session and will likely be re-introduced next year. The State Bar of Wisconsin has petitioned the Wisconsin Supreme Court to rule on the definition of the practice of law. They had previously petitioned in 2004, and the petition was rejected. WSPE opposed the petition in 2004 and still opposes it now. We sent a letter to the Supreme Court in November 2007 stating our opposition. In February 2008 the Court requested a written response to the proposed amendment submitted by the State Bar. We commented on and provided alternative wording to the proposed amendment the State Bar submitted. Our wording basically exempted all credential holders under Chapters 440-480 who are practicing within the scope of practice allowed by their credential. In addition, we stated that the office of lawyer regulation shall defer any action against a credential holder for the unauthorized practice of law to the DRL. If any of these issues interest you, or you would like to become more involved, please contact Bob Givens, P.E. at bob.givens@omnni.com or 920-830-6171. Submitted by: Tracy Pinkowski, P.E. |
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Tesla Engineering Charter School Hosting Free Conference on Charter School Development May 13-14 |
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| Location: Radisson Paper Valley Hotel, Appleton,
Wisconsin Registration, one-night lodging, meals and meeting materials are provided at no cost. To register go to: http://www.aasd.k12.wi.us/tesla/. Attendees of this conference can expect to:
For those requiring a substitute teacher in order to attend, funding is available upon request. Contact: Sean Schuf |
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Statutes and Administrative Rules Regarding
State Processing of Contracts with Architects/Engineers: Part 2
of 2 |
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This article reviews the provisions of the Wisconsin Administrative Code promulgated by the Wisconsin Department of Administration regarding the processing of contracts with architects/engineers and performance reporting under ss. Adm 20.09 and 20.10. The Department has a responsibility of preparing the contracts between the State of Wisconsin and the architect/engineer firm. Under Adm 20.09(2), final approval authority for contracts are guided by the following:
Section 16.87(3) of the Wisconsin Statutes provides for the approval of contracts by the secretary of the Department of Administration and the governor. Under s. 16.87, Stats., “construction work” includes all labor and materials used in the framing or assembling of component parts in the erection, installation, enlargement, alteration, repair, moving, conversion, raising, demolition or removal of any appliance or device, equipment, building, structure, or facility. Under s. 16.87(2), Wis. Stats., a contract for engineering services or architectural services is exempt from the statutory requirements requiring the state to purchase at the low bid price. The Department is required to attempt to insure that 5% of the total amount expended in each fiscal year is paid to minority businesses. Under 16.87(3), Wis. Stats., all contracts involving an expenditure
of over $60,000 must be approved by the governor, otherwise approval
by the secretary or the secretary’s designated assistant is
sufficient. The governor is authorized to delegate the authority
to approve any such contract requiring the governor’s signature
to the secretary for any project involving an expenditure of less
than $150,000. Under Adm 20.09(3)(c) a change order to the architect/engineer contract must contain specific information which will document the reason for the contract change, a description of the work involved, and any change to the schedule and the maximum cost limit. Under s. 16.87(3), any change order to a contract requires a prior approval by the secretary and if the change order involves an expenditure of over $60,000, approval by the governor unless the governor has delegated his or her authority to the secretary for expenditures of less than $150,000. Under Adm 20.10 of the Wisconsin Administrative Code, upon award
of the construction contract and upon completion of the construction
phase, and at any other time deemed necessary by the Department,
Department staff members will submit independent written evaluations
of the architect’s/engineer’s performance of the professional
service to the Department’s representative who is responsible
for the general supervision of the project. Similar performance
evaluations shall be completed on the subconsultants of the architect/engineer.
The performance evaluation reports are the basis for evaluation summaries prepared by the Department setting forth the significant evaluations of strengths and weaknesses of the firm and are utilized as a report to the selection committee and a basis for later review with the architect/engineer. The evaluation summary is placed in the evaluation file. Under Adm 20.10(5), the evaluation summary will be reviewed with the architect/engineer upon request. The evaluation file will reflect the review with the architect/engineer and any corrective measures to be taken pertinent to providing good performance services, or comments the architect/engineer desires to have included as part of the record. The architect/engineer may appeal to the Department any portion of the evaluation summary within a period of 30 calendar days after the architect/engineer has been notified of the evaluation. The file copy of the evaluation summary is available for review by the selection committee, the secretary of the Department of Administration, members of the Wisconsin State Building Commission, Examining Board of Architects, Professional Engineers, Designers and Land Surveyors and the state auditor. The contents of the evaluation summary may be treated as confidential if it appears that it may unduly damage the reputation of the architect/engineer and its use by all recipients is to be limited to discussions related to the selection of the architect/engineer for state projects. If it appears that the material contained in the evaluation summary will not unduly damage reputations then it will be open for public inspection and copying. Design professionals are also selected by municipalities and other units of local government, including school districts. Selection standards by those governmental units will vary, depending upon the identity of the governmental unit, but the state standards that have been reviewed in this article are often looked at by local units of government in their adoption of standards for the selection of architects/engineers. 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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