CE 301: PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

Contents
Project
Definition
Characteristics
Lifecycle
Engineer’s role in Project Development & Management
Legal Aspects of Professional Practice
Contracts
Risk Management
Insurance & Bonds
Civil Engineers
“Entrusted by society to create a sustainable world and
enhance the global quality of life, Civil Engineers serve,
competently, collaboratively, and ethically as: master
planners, designers, constructors; stewards of the natural
environment and its resources; innovators and integrators;
managers of risk and uncertainty; leaders in discussions and
decisions shaping public environmental and infrastructure
policy”
• -----ASCE Body of Knowledge
Preparation for Career in Civil
Engineering by ASCE
 Necessary Outcomes of CE Education
Foundational Technical Professional
Mathematics Material Science Communication
Natural Science Mechanics Public Policy
Humanities Experiments Business & Public
Administration
Social Sciences Problem Recognition & Solving Globalization
Design Leadership
Sustainability Teamwork
Contemporary Issues/ Historical Attitudes
Perspectives
Risk & Uncertainties Lifelong Learning
Project Management Professional & Ethical
Responsibilities
Breadth in CE Areas
Technical Specialization
By ASCE BOK2 (2008)
21st Century Practice
As a Profession
Until modern times there was no clear distinction between
civil engineering & architecture
Origin of civil engineering is found immediately preceding
Industrial Revolution, the late 18th & early 19th centuries
The scientific discoveries & the new commercial needs of the
Industrial Revolution converged to create an ideal
environment for innovation
During that period, certain military engineers began to work
on nonmilitary, or civil, projects
The term civil engineer was adopted to emphasize this
difference
Professional Bodies
In response to the growth of new civil projects
British Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE) was chartered in 1818
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) was founded in
1852
Institution of Civil Engineers India (ICEI) in 1860
Spanish Asoicsción de Ingenieros de Caminos, Canales, y
Puertos (AICCP) in 1903
South African Institution of Civil Engineers (SAICE) in 1903
Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) in 1914
Chinese Institute of Civil Engineering (CICE) in 1936
The Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) in 1948
Attributes
These organization helped to formalize civil engineering as a
profession
There are five basic characteristics of a profession
Systematic body of theory
Authority
Community sanction
Ethical codes
A culture
These characteristics help define today’s professional civil
engineer
Attributes
Systematic body of theory
Skills flow from an internally consistent system
Spirit of rationality; expansion of theory
Civil engineers must be adequately prepared with a systematic body of theory that
incorporates a spirit of rationality
This theory is based on mathematics and natural science
Authority
Extensive education in systematic theory highlights the layperson’s
comparative ignorance
Functional specificity
Like other professions, for instance, law & medicine, civil engineers are granted
authority based on their extensive education
Community sanction
State-sponsored boards
License or registration
Attributes
Ethical Codes
Civil engineers are held to well-documented ethical codes and
are expected to be their clients’ trusted advisors.
Ethical
Professional
Client-professional
Impulse to perform maximally
Colleague to colleague
Cooperative
Egalitarian
Supportive
Attributes
A culture
A civil engineer should have a culture of their own that involves
providing valuable services to society, behaving appropriately, and
sharing a rich history and folklore
Social values
Services valuable to the community
Various mode of “appropriate” behavior
Sounding like professional
Saying “no” gracefully
Making presentation & conducting meetings
Symbols
Argot, jargon
Insignia, emblem
History and folklore
Historical Inheritance
The first engineers were irrigators, architects, and military
engineers.
The same man was usually expected to be an expert at all three
kinds of work
Specialization within the engineering profession has developed
only in the last two or three centuries
Knowledge of civil engineering history & culture helps civil
engineers communicate the importance of their profession to the
world
According to noted engineering historian Henry Petroski,
engineering history is both history & engineering
Familiarity with civil engineering history can assist with practice
of the profession
Historical Inheritance
“…any lessons learned from the behavior and especially the failure
of even ancient designs are no less relevant today, and the good
design practice of engineering in centuries past can serve as models
for the most sophisticated designs of the modern age. Indeed,
ignoring wholesale the lessons and practices of the past threatens the
continuity of engineering and design judgment that appears to be
among the surest safeguards against recent failures.”
------- Henry Petroski
Ancient Engineers
Due to limited number of written accounts, relatively more is
known about ancient Greek & Roman Engineering
Around 100 B.C., several Greek writers created lists of the seven
most magnificent engineering feats which they were aware
Great Pyramid at Giza, Egypt
Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Mesopotamia
Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Greece
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, modern Turkey
Tomb of King Mausolos of Karia at Halikarnassos, Greece
Colossus of Rhodes, Mediterranean
Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt
Ancient Engineers
Persian Engineers
Greek Engineers
Roman Engineers
Indian Engineers
Chinese Engineers
African Engineers
American Engineers
Ancient Structural System
Building styles were dependent on locally available materials
Buildings with antiquity utilized one or a combination of
four devices to support roof or upper stories
Corbel
Post & Lintel
Arch &Vault
Truss
Ancient Structural System
Mesopotamia had lots of clay but no stone or wood
Preferred corbel or arch & vault construction
Egypt had clay & stone, while Greece & China had stone, clay and
wood
These civilizations favored post & lintel construction
Europe had abundant sources of wood
Consequently developed the truss
Underpinning the success of ancient engineers were 3 factors:
Intensive & careful use of existing principles and tools
Unlimited labor & the power to organize & command it
A different perspective of time
Perhaps the most important is the last factor-
The Ancients seemed to have infinite patience
 Modern Civil Engineering
ASCE’s seven wonders of modern world
Modern Wonder Started Finished Location
1 Channel Tunnel 1987 1994 Strait of Dover, between the UK &
France
2 CN Tower 1973 1976 Toronto, Ontario, Canada
(Tallest free standing structure
in the world 1976-2007)
3 Empire State Building 1930 1931 New York, NY, USA
(Tallest structure in the world
1931-1967, First building
with 100+ stories)
4 Golden Gate Bridge 1933 1937 North of San Francisco, CA, USA
5 Panama Canal 1880 1914 Isthmus of Panama, Panama
6 Delta Works 1950 1997 The Netherlands
7 Itaipu Dam 1970 1984 Parana River, between Brazil & Paraguay
World’s Tallest Buildings

Wikipedia Commons
Civil Engineering Career
There is no one typical career path for civil engineers
Globally, most engineering graduates start with entry-level
positions
Entry-level engineers are put to work
Monitoring construction in the field, serving as the “eye & ears”
of more senior design engineers
Performing routine tasks of analysis or design & interpretation
Working in project management of design projects
Civil engineers are also in high demand at financial
institutions and management consultancies because of their
analytical skills
Civil Engineering Career
Areas of civil engineering specialization have changed over
time due to society’s need and the complexities of projects &
technologies
Currently ASCE incorporates the following institutes:
Architectural Engineering (AEI)
Coasts, Oceans, Ports, and Rivers (COPRI)
Construction (CI)
Engineering Mechanics (EMI)
Environmental andWater Resources (EWRI)
Geo (G-I)
Structural Engineering (SEI)
Transportation & Development (T&DI)
Concluding Words
Between 4000 and 2000 B.C. in Mesopotamia & ancient Egypt,
human started to abandon nomadic existence
requiring fortifications, temples, and residences
During medieval period, craftsman such as masons and carpenters
carried out the most building
As a formal profession, civil engineering dates from the Industrial
Revolution
The history of civil engineering is linked to developments in
mathematics and science and other fields
In addition to that, practicing civil engineers need to know about
design; sustainability & other contemporary issues; risk & uncertainties,
project management; communication; public policy, business, leadership;
teamwork; and professional and ethical responsibilities
Concluding Words
Although the average citizen may not recognize the role of
civil engineers in society, civil engineers continue to shape
the quality of lives.
As the ASCE puts it:
“Civil engineers build the world’s infrastructure. In doing so, they shape
the history of nations around the world.”