As far as engineering plans go...Every sheet of our engineering plans are stamped and signed. Assuming this is by law. Many times projects are broken out into pieces with different engineers working on different portions. The bridge engineer signs that portion, roadway, geotech, ect. ect. Jrl
Are agencies accepting the digital signature? What happens when the hardcopies are printed and filed?
Yes, they print just fine (that is until someone changes the file). Digital signatures have been accepted and approved as valid form since the mid 90's in a vast majority of states, nationally, and internationally. They're also approved by the vast majority of state licensing boards.
I'll be making a presentation on them at the Surveyor Summit in San Diego next week. This discussion is quite timely. I hadn't really considered this issue before. I'm sure it will come up during the presentation.
JBS
JB,
(Do I dare call you Professor Stahl in this forum?)
Too bad I'll be teaching at the same time and unable to sit in the audience and heckle you.
There is still a HUGE gap of understanding about Electronic Seals and Signatures. That class is needed.
Larry P
For alignment sheets, every one of them gets signed. For multiple page subdivision maps, every one of them gets signed.
> Around here,(Tampa Bay area) some municipalities require multiple sheet surveys to be signed & sealed on every sheet. This is also some surveyors standard practice on their surveys as well. I don't believe this to be necessary. I can't think of any other disciplines where all sheets are signed by whomever "signs" them. The survey consists on "X" number of sheets and every sheet is dependent on the other sheets, no sheet can stand alone. I only sign & seal "one" sheet, the first sheet.
>
> Your thoughts ?
>
> And Happy 4th to all ! 🙂
Every sheet of a survey that I do gets a live seal and signature. I prefer a crimp seal.
Oregon
> Whose profession is this? The bureaucrats, or ours?
> JBS
Well said.
JB
> Whose profession is this? The bureaucrats, or ours?
>
> If the regulations don't suit the profession, request to change them. In the mean time, follow them. Statutory regulations and board rules are not carved in stone.
You hit a pet peeve of mine, but I'll go further "regulations don't suit the profession".
The Maryland Department of Labor an Licensing regulates 30+ professions and trades ranging from the design professions (surveying, engineering, architecture & landscape architecture) to other professions (accountants for example) and the trades (electricians, plumbers, etc.).
In their infinite wisdom they have singled out two groups who's members can't be relied upon to satisfactorily use their own professional or tradesman's judgement to determine the scope of their own work and have codified "minimum standards of practice" for them as they have proven themselves incapable of performing their work in a way that protects the interest of the public without big brother looking over their shoulder telling them how to do their job: Land Surveyors and Home Inspectors.
I'd be interested in knowing how many states that have regulated "minimum standards of practice" or "minimum technical standards" for surveyors have also done so for engineers and architects. My guess would be very few.
In Florida, 5J-17.062 states that "final hard copy documents" must contain an original signature, raised seal and date. I am not aware of anything in the Florida regs that requires every sheet to be signed and sealed.
I do know that in Florida the engineers have to sign and seal every sheet in a plan set.
JB
> In their infinite wisdom they have singled out two groups who's members can't be relied upon to satisfactorily use their own professional or tradesman's judgement to determine the scope of their own work and have codified "minimum standards of practice" for them as they have proven themselves incapable of performing their work in a way that protects the interest of the public without big brother looking over their shoulder telling them how to do their job: Land Surveyors and Home Inspectors.
>
> I'd be interested in knowing how many states that have regulated "minimum standards of practice" or "minimum technical standards" for surveyors have also done so for engineers and architects. My guess would be very few.
Good perception, James. Surveyors gained their reputation because they earned it. There is a definite need for pulling our profession up by its boot straps. Because it's failed in its primary mission of protecting the interests of the landowners and their boundaries.
We turned that around by taking charge of our profession on a professional society level. We first sought the legislative mandate for retracement surveys to be filed in a repository under control of the County Surveyors. Rather than wait for outside regulation to fix our profession through MTS, we initiated our own "Standards of Practice" outlining the duties and responsibilities of the surveyor. We didn't make those standards "legislated" or "regulated" for a reason. We keep the standards as our state society's standards. We can update them and revise them through a majority vote of our own profession and not require the blessing of a board member or legislator to do what is right.
If the profession won't govern itself, it will be governed by others.
JBS
Funny thing is, I can't recall the last time I had a S/S set of construction plans. I get a cad file and PDF of them and, if I'm lucky I receive the revisions before I stake what is revised !!!
Yes my experience in California is that the Engineers stamp and sign all the sheets in their plan set.
Typically Land Surveyors don't.
On Record of Survey maps there is a Land Surveyor's Statement on the first page, that is stamped and signed.
