Presidents Report-Sept 2016 v3 - Engineers Canada · 2017-04-24 · President’s Report September...
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President’s Report September 28, 2016 Prepared by Chris D. Roney, P.Eng., FEC Since taking office in May, I have had the opportunity to attend a number of events and to speak to so many people in, and affiliated with, the engineering community within Canada. Furthermore, I attended both the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) meetings in Dallas, and the NCEES meetings in Indianapolis, and I found these two events extremely enlightening. It really made me appreciate the system of regulation of Professional Engineering that we have in Canada, and it became very clear to me that our Canadian system does a much better job of protecting the public welfare, not to mention being good for the health of the engineering profession itself. In the United States there are 50 states and 5 territories involved, each with their own licensing board – that alone exponentially increases the difficulty of responding to challenges, making improvement, and reaching unified agreement. Secondly, the system south of the border is extremely fragmented when compared to ours. For those unfamiliar with the US landscape, the four main components of their system are each administered by entirely separate bodies, as briefly described below: - ABET – accredits HEI’s, but its focus is not linked to licensure. - NCEES – Sets the exams to confirm the skills have been achieved, suitable for licensure, but does this as an entirely separate body. - State Boards – Regulators. They are government departments that license Professional Engineering as well as many other professions and trades. - NSPE – The member services and advocacy body for professional engineers. Though it does really great work, it suffers from declining membership and financial limitations. This fragmentation, and the fact that the regulation portion is done by government departments whose sole purpose is to administer the regulations, not to envision how better to regulate, results in a less than optimal service to both the public in the US, and to the engineering profession there. It also leads to the severe threats that the profession is facing there, where engineering is under immediate threat of being de-regulated largely due to the public’s and the legislator’s failure to understand what engineers do and how they are essential to public welfare. The fragmentation also results in very poor mobility from state-to-state, let alone between Canada and the US.
Transcript of Presidents Report-Sept 2016 v3 - Engineers Canada · 2017-04-24 · President’s Report September...
President’sReportSeptember28,2016
PreparedbyChrisD.Roney,P.Eng.,FEC
SincetakingofficeinMay,Ihavehadtheopportunitytoattendanumberofeventsandtospeaktosomanypeoplein,andaffiliatedwith,theengineeringcommunitywithinCanada.Furthermore,IattendedboththeNationalSocietyofProfessionalEngineers(NSPE)meetingsinDallas,andtheNCEESmeetingsinIndianapolis,andIfoundthesetwoeventsextremelyenlightening.ItreallymademeappreciatethesystemofregulationofProfessionalEngineeringthatwehaveinCanada,anditbecameverycleartomethatourCanadiansystemdoesamuchbetterjobofprotectingthepublicwelfare,nottomentionbeinggoodforthehealthoftheengineeringprofessionitself.
IntheUnitedStatesthereare50statesand5territoriesinvolved,eachwiththeirownlicensingboard–thataloneexponentiallyincreasesthedifficultyofrespondingtochallenges,makingimprovement,andreachingunifiedagreement.Secondly,thesystemsouthoftheborderisextremelyfragmentedwhencomparedtoours.ForthoseunfamiliarwiththeUSlandscape,thefourmaincomponentsoftheirsystemareeachadministeredbyentirelyseparatebodies,asbrieflydescribedbelow:
- ABET–accreditsHEI’s,butitsfocusisnotlinkedtolicensure.- NCEES–Setstheexamstoconfirmtheskillshavebeenachieved,suitableforlicensure,
butdoesthisasanentirelyseparatebody.- StateBoards–Regulators.TheyaregovernmentdepartmentsthatlicenseProfessional
Engineeringaswellasmanyotherprofessionsandtrades.- NSPE–Thememberservicesandadvocacybodyforprofessionalengineers.Thoughit
doesreallygreatwork,itsuffersfromdecliningmembershipandfinanciallimitations.Thisfragmentation,andthefactthattheregulationportionisdonebygovernmentdepartmentswhosesolepurposeistoadministertheregulations,nottoenvisionhowbettertoregulate,resultsinalessthanoptimalservicetoboththepublicintheUS,andtotheengineeringprofessionthere.Italsoleadstotheseverethreatsthattheprofessionisfacingthere,whereengineeringisunderimmediatethreatofbeingde-regulatedlargelyduetothepublic’sandthelegislator’sfailuretounderstandwhatengineersdoandhowtheyareessentialtopublicwelfare.Thefragmentationalsoresultsinverypoormobilityfromstate-to-state,letalonebetweenCanadaandtheUS.
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EngineersCanadaBoardWorkshop
Meanwhile,backinCanada,IhadthepleasureofhostingtheEngineersCanadaBoardWorkshopinKingston,Ontario.TheprimaryfocusofthisworkshopwastosynthesizealloftheinputwereceivedfromourChallengesandOpportunitiesConsultationtoensurethatEngineersCanadaisaddressingtheissuesthattheRegulatorsreallywantustoaddress.WealsousedtheinformationgatheredfromtheBigPictureThinkingsessions,theOpenForumsessionsandpastenvironmentalscans.Alloftheseinputsweresuccessfullygroupedinto21themesthatwerethenrefinedinto6mainfocusareasthatemergedasthebasisofourdraftstrategicplan.Iwasextremelypleasedwiththepositiveenergy,commitmentandhardworkthatourDirectors,BoardAdvisorsandStaffputintothisveryproductiveworkshop.ThenextstepisfortheDirectorstobringthisbacktotheregulatorstofurtherrefinetheplanwiththeultimategoalthattheregulatorswillapprovetheplanattheAnnualGeneralMeeting,asrequiredinourby-laws.
AccreditationForum
AnothermajoreventthattookplaceoverthesummerwastheAccreditationForum.WewillbespeakingmoreaboutitatthemeetingsoIwon’tgointodetailhere,nortoimposemypersonalopinions,otherthantosaythatournextstepsarevitallyimportant.TheforumwasverywellreceivedbythoseinattendanceandIreceivedahugeamountofpositivefeedback.Itdidn’tresultinasharedvisionforthefutureofaccreditationnorshouldwehaveeverrealisticallyexpectedtoachievethat.Itdid,however,helptobetterunderstandmanyoftheissuesandwhatisimportanttothevariousattendees.IpersonallyfounditenlighteningtolearnthattherewasalackofcommonunderstandingofthefundamentalpurposeoftheaccreditationofengineeringprogramsthatEngineersCanadacarriesout.
PromisingPractices
Oneofthemostvaluablepartsofmytravelsoverthepast4monthshasbeentovisitbothourownregulatorsacrossthecountryandothersimilarorganizationsbeyondourborderstolearnofhowtheyareaddressingthemanychallengesandopportunitiesthatallofourCanadianregulatorsshare.IfeelthatEngineersCanadacanprovideahugebeneficialvaluetoourregulatorsbybeingtheconduitthroughwhichgoodideasandpracticescanbeshared.AshiningexampleofthisistheOrganizationalQualityManagement(OQM)programthatAPEGBCdevelopedandimplemented,andwhichhasbecomeaprovensuccessinraisingthequalityandaccountabilityoffirmsofferingengineeringservices.Thefactthattheywereabletoaccomplishthisallonapurelyvoluntarybasisandallwithoutanypowerintheir
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legislationtoregulateengineeringfirmsisremarkableandoffersagreatlessontousall:sometimesacarrotworksevenbetterthanastick.Thisisatrulyinnovativeprogramthathelpstoreduceriskstothepublicandalsoreducesriskstoengineeringfirmsthemselves.Itisaprogramthatshouldbeshared.OtherexamplesincludethemobilityinitiativesthatEngineersNovaScotiahaspioneeredintermsofrecognitionofotherregulator’sCPDprogramsandintheircommonapplicationinitiativewithEngineersPEI,EngineersYukonandAPEGBC.Andfinally,theveryground-breakingrisk-basedCPDmodelcurrentlyunderdevelopmentbyPEO.
Wecanbothshareinoursuccessesand,whenwepoolourresources,wecanaccomplishgreatthingstogethermoreefficiently,effectively,andatalowercostthanifweeachtriedtodosoindependently–inthiswayEngineersCanadacanplayanindispensableroleinservingtheneedsofourregulators.
KeyLearningsandObservationsfromEventsAttended
IhavepreparedthefollowinginformalsummaryofanumberofthekeythingsthatIlearnedorobservedatthemanyeventsthatIhaveattendedsincebecomingPresidentthatIfeltwouldbeofparticularrelevanceorinteresttoEngineersCanada.Thelistandobservationsrepresentmypersonaltakeawaysandarenotintendedtobecomprehensive.
Event KeyLearningsPEGNLAGM,St.John’s,NFLD
• ApolicyanalystwiththeAtlanticProvincesEconomicCouncildelivereda
soberingpresentationontheeconomicdownturnnotjustinNL,butforCanadaasawhole,aswellastheprojectedsignificantriseinprojectedgovernmentdeficits.
• AbigailSteelgaveagreattalkaboutour30by30goalsandwhythisissoimportanttothefutureofourprofession.
• NickWhalen,MPforSt.John’sEastaddressedtheAGM.Nickisonacommitteestudyinggovernmentprocurement.Heobservedthatdecisionsinvolvingprocurementthattouchuponengineeringareoftenmadewithoutanyinvolvementonthepartofengineers.Infact,whenaprocurementteamwantstogetanengineerinvolvedtheyhavetogetspecialpermission.Itisacasewhereengineeringisseenasacostratherthananinvestment.Mr.Whalenthinksthisisthewrongapproachandheinvitedtheengineeringcommunitytoprovideinputtothecommitteeonwhichheservestomakethecaseforengineering.
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Event KeyLearningsEngineersCanadaBoardWorkshop,Kingston,Ontario
• Majorstrategicplanningexerciseconsideringover700inputs• Mainsourcesofinputs:
o LinkagesChallengesandOpportunitiesConsultationo BigPictureThinkingsessionso OpenForumsessionso Environmentalscan
• Theseinputsweresuccessfullygroupedinto21themesthatwerethenrefinesand6mainfocusareasemergedtoformthebasisofourstrategicplan
NationalSocietyofProfessionalEngineersAGM,Dallas
• TherewasafascinatingpresentationonEngineeringandSafetyatNasa,byNancyCurrie-Gregg.SheflewontheColumbiaspaceshuttle.Sheidentifiedthedangeroushumanbehaviorthatoccursinhigh-riskengineeringendeavorscalledthe“normalizationofdeviance.”Thisisknownasthegradualprocessthroughbutwhichunacceptablepracticeorstandardsbecomeacceptable.Asthedeviantbehaviourisrepeatedwithoutcatastrophicresults,itbecomesthesocialnormfortheorganization.
• NSPEhasdevelopedon-lineethicscourses. • Thereisastronganti-regulationsentimentcurrentlysweepingtheU.S.
Severalstateshaveintroducedbillsthatwouldde-regulateengineering.Legislatorsaremaintainingregulationwheretheybelievethereisapublicinterestindoingso,buttheydon’tincluderegulationofengineeringinthatcategory,whereasgroupslikearchitects,plumbersandrealestateagentsareconsideredimportanttoregulatebecausetheirwork,andnotanengineer’swork,isconsideredcriticaltothelife,healthandsafetyofthepublic.
• AttendedapresentationontheDallasCowboy’snewstadium.Thewind-tunnelanalysiswasdonebytheCanadianfirmRWDI,basedinGuelph.
• InnovationsinEngineeringEducation.Stressleadership,globalimpact,innovation,creativity.Don’tlecturethestudents–engagethem.Thestudentswanttoknowhowtheirworkwillchangepeople’slives.SMUSchoolofEngineeringhasa35%to38%femaleenrollmentrateacrossalldisciplines.
• CPDRequirements:moststatescallforbetween12and20hoursannually.NCEESnationalguidelinecallsfor15hoursofCPD+1hourofethicsperyear.
• SeveralstateslicenseStructuralEngineersseparatelyfromprofessional
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Event KeyLearningsengineersingeneral.Severalmorestatesarelookingtofollowthismodel.
• AdvocacyIssuesandChallenges(asarticulatedbytheengineersinattendance):• Publicperceptionisthatsoftwarecandoengineeringandso
engineersarenolongernecessary–canbereplacedbytechnologistsorlay-people.
• Engineersarebeingforcedtotakeonmoreriskthaneverbefore.
• Ifengineersdon’tdefinethemselves,theirclientswill.• Clientswon’tvalueusuntilwevalueourselves.• Whenwegetintobiddingwarswesendthemessagethatwe
canalwaysdoitforless.Weneedtostandfirmonourfeesotherwisewejustbecomeacommodity.
• Globalization:noideawherethecalculationsarebeingdone.• Publicwantstoknowwhattheparticularengineerisqualifiedto
do–genericPElicenseisnotenough.• Wemustn’tbestuckontryingtodefendthewaywe’vebeen
doingthingsinthepast.EngineersNovaScotiaCouncilRetreat
• EnsurethatEngineersCanadaremainsmemberdriven• SupportiveoftheCanadianFrameworkforRegulation• AppreciatessharingofProfessionalPracticeGuidelines• ThecommonapplicationagreementwithNS,PEI,BCandYKis
seenasasuccess.• UsingtheNCEESFEexamsasanefficientandwidelyrecognized
meanstoconfirmacademicqualificationsofforeigntrainedapplicants.
• LookingtoEngineersCanadatodevelopoptionsandavenuestoaddressregulatoryissuesassociatedwithnewornon-traditionalareasofengineeringpractice
• NeedtofocusonEthicsforengineers• Unhappywiththecurrentframeworkfortheaffinityprogram
revenues.
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Event KeyLearningsNCEESAGM,Indianapolis
• SincetheFEexamhasmovedtocomputerbasedtesting(CBT)
theyhaveadministeredover95,000exams(sinceJan.2014)• ExamstobeenhancedbytheintroductionofAlternativeItem
Types(AIT)in2017.AIT’sarethingsthatcanbeshownandmanipulatedonacomputerscreen,likedraggingtokensaroundascreentomatchitems,ortopointandclicktoidentifysomething.
• FirsttimepassratesonFEare70-78%• TransitionofthePEexamstoCBTwillbedonebydisciplinewith
ChemicalEngineeringslatedtobereadybyJanuary2018.Twodisciplinestofolloweachyearafterthat.
• TensionexistsbetweenthosejurisdictionsthatofferonlythegeneralPElicenseandthosethathavethePEandtheSE(StructuralEngineer)licensing.
• ASCEhasproducedanicetwopageguidetopre-licensureexperienceforengineeringinterns.
• DiscussionaboutfollowingCanada’smodelandintroducingaPPEexam.
• NCEEShasdevelopedaneducationstandardthattheyusewhenassessingforeigntrainedengineers.
• ManyjurisdictionshaveverypoorrelationswiththeArchitectureprofession.Architecturehasbeenveryaggressiveinmattersofturfandtheyhavebeensuccessfulingainingexclusiverightstomanyaspectsofdesignthatareactuallyengineering.
UPEISchoolofSustainableDesignEngineering
• Forthefirsttimestudentscanreceiveanengineeringdegreein
PEIwithoutleavingtheprovince.• TheeventsatUPEIwentverywell,andtheattendanceexceeded
expectations.TheeventattractedaplethoraofVIP’saswellasabout70%ofthePEIprovincialcabinet,includingPremierWadeMacLaughlin,andpast-PremierRobertGhiz.SeveralofthefederalMP’sfromPEIwereinattendance,includingSeanCasey
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Event KeyLearningsandLawrenceMcAuley,MinisterofAgricultureandAgri-Food.
• ItisagreatfacilityandUPEIisgearinguptoproducegraduateswhoseskillsmatchcloselywithwhatourownEngineersCanadalabourmarketstudieshaveindicatedareneededinCanada,andtheirapproachtodeliveringtheengineeringcurriculumreflectstheprogressivemodelsthatstresscollaboration,hands-onlearning,industrypartnerships,andproducinggraduateswhoareindustry-readyfromdayone.
• SomeofthekeypeopleIhadtheopportunitytospeaktoduringtheeventincluded:
o UPEIEngineeringDeanNickKrouglicofo JimLandrigan,ExecutiveDirector,EngineersPEIo DaveTaylor,EngineersPEIPresidento JohannesLarsen,InnovationandNetworkAdvisor–
Maritimes,NationalResearchCouncilo AllanDale,UPEIDirectorofIndustryPartnership,o WadeMacLaughlan,PremierofPEIo AlaaAbd-El-Aziz,UPEIPresidentandVice-Chancellor
• Ifoundthediscussionsveryfruitful,thoughallwerefairlybriefandinformal.
• InspeakingwithDeanKrouglicof,wediscussedtheirupcomingaccreditationvisitthisfall.Hewasproudtoreportthatthedocumentationwillbeentirelyelectronicandtheyareveryupbeataboutthegraduateattributesbasedcriteria.Wespokeabouttheadvantagesofstartingfreshwithanewengineeringprogramatanewfacility,atasmalleruniversity–sometimesitismucheasiertosteerasmallershipinnewdirectionsthantochangethecourseofalargeship.UPEIfacultyandstaffareclearlyyoung,energetic,andprogressive.IspoketoDeanKrouglicofabouttheupcomingAccreditationForumandheagreedtoattend.
• UPEIPresidentAdb-El-Azizisobviouslyaveryeffectiveleaderandissomeonewhowouldbeagoodallyintheacademicworld.Iunderstandthatitwashe,onlyabout3yearsago,whopitchedtheideaofestablishingadegree-grantingengineeringprogram
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Event KeyLearningsinanentirelynewfacilityatUPEI.Initiallyhemetwithskepticism,butheisextremelypassionateaboutitandwasabletopersuadetheuniversity,thegovernment,andthedonorstogetbehindtheproject.Thebuildingcostabout$25M(whichisverygoodvalue)andtheyhaveraisedabout$30Mthroughfundraising.Thisisquiteimpressiveforsuchasmalluniversityestablishinganentirelynewprogram.
• ThoughmytimespeakingwithPremierMacLauglinwaslimited,mymessagewasverywellreceived.IusedtheopportunitytostresstheimportanceofprofessionalengineeringfortheCanadianeconomyandtherolethatengineeringplaysineconomicdevelopment.IalsospokeaboutwhereCanada’sengineeringcanbemostcompetitive,basedonthefindingsoftheLabourMarketstudyreports.IcomplementedtheleadershipthatPEIwasshowingthroughtheirsupportofthenewSchoolofSustainableDesignEngineering,asakeystrategicinvestmentforPEIandthecountryasawhole.PremierMacLaughlinsuggestedthatwecarryonthediscussionfurtherandheaskedformycontactinformation.
• Ibelievethatour(EngineersCanada’s)attendanceatthiseventwasofbenefitinmeetingourEnds.Ido,however,havesomesuggestionsforhowwecouldimproveourimpactandeffectivenessatfuturesimilarevents.Mysuggestionsareasfollows:1. Everytimeweareattendinganeventweneedtolookfor
howwecanusethateventtoworktowardsachievingourEnds.Thisneedstobepartofourstandardoperatingprocedureforattendanceateventswithexternalgroups.Weneedtogointothesewithclearobjectivesthatwearehopingtoachieve.
2. Weneedtogatherintelligenceinadvanceofalleventsonwhowillbeattending.AttheUPEIevent,wehadaverylargenumberoffederalandprovincialpoliticians.Itwouldhavebeenveryhelpfultome,asPresident,toreceiveabriefingoutliningwhowasattending,whattheirroleswere,
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Event KeyLearningsandwhatspecificmessageswewouldliketodelivertoeachofthem.
3. Givensuchanopportunitytoadvanceourmessagingtogovernmentandotherinfluentialpersonspresent,itwouldhavebeenmuchbetterifwehadtriedtogetanopportunityformetospeakattheevent.IunderstandthattherewerealotofVIP’sinattendanceandtheycan’tintroduceeveryone,butourECstaffshouldbeassignedtomakecontactwithwhoeverisputtingtheprogramtogetherandtheyshouldtrytogetusintroducedandgiventheopportunitytospeak,wheneverpossible.
4. AsanattendeeIreceivedanametag.Itdidnot,however,identifythatIwasfromEngineersCanada.Assuch,unlessIhadthechancetointroducemyself,peopledidnotevenknowthattheEngineersCanadaPresidentwasinattendance.PerhapsweshouldhaveourownnametagsmadeupthatpromotesEngineersCanada.
5. Atthiseventthereweremanykeyinfluentialpeopleinattendance.Politicians,CArepresentatives,governmentstaff,UniversityAdministrators,etc.Tomaximizeoureffectiveness,weshould,inadvance,seektosetupmeetingswithsuchpeoplewhilewearealltherewheresuchmeetingscouldadvanceourprogresstowardsourEnds.
6. Iputoutafewtweetsabouttheevent.IthinkthatECcommunicationsstaffcouldplayaroleinusingsocialmediatopromoteeventssuchasthis,andtherolethatEngineersCanadaplays.Wereallyneedtoworkatmarketingandpromotion—thereislotsofroomforimprovementinthisregard.
EngineersNovaScotiaAGM,Halifax,NS
• EngineersNSheldanumberofgreatprofessionaldevelopment
seminarsandspeakers.Lastyeartheyheldmorethan40CPDeventsthroughoutNSwithover1,000attendees.
• Seminarthemes:
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Event KeyLearningso Professionalpracticeo Climatechange&Intrastructureo Businessskillsandtrainingo Culturalcompetenceo EngineerswithoutBorders
• Recentelections:25%voterparticipation• 30by30goal:reached21%overthepastyear.• LicenseduesaretiedtotheConsumerPriceIndex($1.00
increasethisyear)• CPDpolicy:Withregardstonationalmobility,EngineersNS’s
policyisthatifalicenseemeetstheCPDrequirementsoftheirhomejurisdiction,theyaredeemedtomeetEngineersNS’srequirementswithrespecttoCPD.
AdditionalComments:
IhavebeenfortunatetoreceivemanyhelpfulandconstructivecommentsfromseveralofourDirectors,advisors,volunteersandourregulators.
Ihavereceivedfeedbackthatourconfidentialitypolicy(GP-3.0.1)sendsentirelythewrongmessageinthatthedefaultseemstobethatallmattersaretobetreatedasconfidential.Thisisexactlythewrongapproachforanorganizationlikeours.Ourdefaultpositionneedstobefulltransparency,withconfidentialityreservedonlyforthosespecialsituationsthatwarrantit,andonallothermattersourvolunteersshouldfeelveryfreetodiscussandshareopenly.IhaveaskedthatthisbeplacedontheagendaforthenextGovernanceCommitteemeeting.
ThereisasteeplearningcurvefornewlyappointedDirectorswhocometoserveontheBoardofEngineersCanada.Giventhatwemeetsoinfrequently;newDirectorsfaceasignificantchallengeinreachingalevelofproficiencywiththeorganizationthatallowsthemtofullycontribute.WeidentifiedaneedtodobettertoorientateournewDirectorstogetthemuptospeedquickly,andRussKinghorn,ourPresident-electandChairoftheLinkagesTFhassteppeduptoaddressthisgap.
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ChrisD.Roney,P.Eng.,FEC
