My previous articles started a discussion about the varied, yet complimentary roles of the different disciplines within civil engineering. The education, experience, and examination components of licensing were discussed. The last article discussed advanced credentials in civil engineering that signify a greater depth of qualifications. This article will discuss the need to obtain civil engineers with the proper skillsets to investigate complex claims.
It is important to obtain the services of licensed engineers with the greatest depth of practical knowledge and who have demonstrated this by passing the examinations required for advanced credentialing. Many times, it will be important to obtain the services from different engineers for each of the different areas of civil engineering. For instance, if there was a failure of a building foundation, it would be important to obtain the services of a structural engineer who is knowledgeable of the load and designs of concrete foundations and a geotechnical engineer who is knowledgeable about the characteristics of soils. Additionally, if there is a problem with the design of a river bridge, it might be important to get a transportation engineer who can speak to the amount of traffic, a structural engineer who can speak about the bridge structure and a water resources engineer who can speak about the hydraulic characteristics of the bridge.
Many times, these disciplines overlap. A qualified engineer will have knowledge of adjacent civil engineering disciplines to some extent because they have had experience collaborating. An engineer who does not have practical experience of collaborating with adjacent disciplines lives a pigeon-holed life with only limited experience of the actual design and construction process.
The appropriate qualified engineers will have some degree of an advanced education, a record of practical experience in the design and construction world, and advanced credentials in their specialty.
Portions of this blog were from an article authored by Mr. Randall P. Bernhardt and published in the June 8, 2016 Practice Points.
©2016 by the American Bar Association. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any or portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.
