What does the acronym RPEQ stand for?
RPEQ is an acronym for Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland, it is an engineering certification that recognizes a skilled engineer’s abilities and qualifications. In most cases, RPEQ-certified engineers are required to perform or supervise professional engineering services for projects in Queensland. The RPEQ assessment covers various engineering disciplines, including civil, structural, mechanical, and electrical.
Professional engineers’ work is high-stakes, whether it’s for worker or public safety, financial investment, industry reputation, or the ability to complete a project (or a combination of these). Engineering failure can be expensive to repair, reduce capacity, and/or have life-altering consequences. It’s seen this all too often when equipment or infrastructure failure causes harm on a Jobsite or in the community, and investigators claim that the incident could have been avoided if proper precautions had been taken.
The RPEQ system for registering and regulating professional engineers in Queensland is designed to ensure that engineers meet a high standard of competence, ethics, and professional conduct in order to uphold and discharge a duty of care. The purpose of RPEQ certification is to protect clients and society from inappropriate, unsafe, poorly designed, or poorly manufactured engineering output, which is a key component of this duty of care.
A simple ‘yeah, looks about right’ sign-off is insufficient.
The RPEQ certification process is technically defined as the “application of scientific and mathematical principles and data to the design, construction, and operation of human-made structures, machines, systems, and processes”. To put it another way, it has to reverse engineer your design using math, standards, multiplex modeling software, and a lot of risks and consequence interaction analysis. This can then be used to determine whether your design is appropriate, safe, and fit for its intended purpose. It is about ensuring an evidential basis for RPEQ certification determination, and it is the only way to provide the duty of care required for RPEQ certification.
Because the certification is based on an unsteady foundation of insufficient information or a “feeling” rather than evidence and analysis, incomplete auditing and assessment of a design for RPEQ certification increase potential risks to clients and the community. Due care has not been taken to ensure that the design is fit for purpose, that risks have been and can be mitigated, and that safety has been properly considered, which fails to meet the purpose of RPEQ certification. The client may have paid a high price for a subpar certification in this case. The risk is that if it fails or something goes wrong, many people in the chain of command will be held responsible.
It is important to note that not every application for RPEQ certification is approved. The RPEQ engineer’s job is to audit and assess the design. Passing the design if it does not meet the required quality, risk mitigation, and safety standards is a disservice to all stakeholders. It is deceptive to refer to RPEQ certification as a simple sign-off.’ This concludes that the RPEQ engineer needs to do nothing more than sign the drawing or write a letter. It’s much more involved — as it should be to protect clients and the general public.
