1. POLICY
1.1.
For the purposes of this policy, construction projects in Bermuda shall be categorized into two types as follows.
CLASS A PROJECTS are normal construction projects in Bermuda of the type that Bermudian Engineering firms have a demonstrated history of designing successfully. These include but are not limited to office buildings, retail buildings, residential buildings, schools, warehouses, restaurants, light industrial buildings etc.
CLASS B PROJECTS are construction projects in Bermuda that are either too large, too specialized or too complex for Bermudian Engineering firms to design on their own without foreign assistance. Projects that shall be classified as Class B are hospitals, new large hotels in excess of 250 bedrooms, major bridges, major industrial plants and generating stations. Prefabricated towers and prefabricated buildings shall normally be classified as Class B provided their foundations are designed by a Bermudian Structural Engineering firm. Class B projects may also include projects that need to be fast tracked in the national interest, such as after a major natural disaster.
1.2.
For Class A projects, the Bermudian Engineering firm must be the prime engineering consultant and the Engineer of Record for each respective engineering discipline. The Bermudian engineering firm shall decide whether they need any foreign engineering assistance and who those foreign engineers should be. If a foreign engineering firm is retained by the Bermudian firm, the foreign firm shall be a sub-consultant to the local firm. The Bermudian Engineering firm shall be retained from the beginning of the design stage and shall be involved in the design development, schematic design, shall perform or review the engineering calculations and shall participate in or review the permit and construction drawings before stamping them. The Bermudian Engineering firm shall provide the construction administration services for each discipline as required. All Engineering plans shall bear the name and logo of the Bermudian Engineering firm responsible for their preparation and they may also bear the name of the foreign engineering firm if any. The foreign engineering firm’s name shall be no bigger than the Bermudian engineering firm’s name and shall not appear higher on the drawing. Only the Bermudian engineering firm’s name and logo may appear on any construction signs erected at the project. If the foreign firm chooses to subsequently advertise the Bermuda project on their web site or other media, they must make due mention of their Bermudian co-consultants.
1.3.
All projects shall be deemed to be Class A with the following exceptions:
1.3.1.
Projects classified as Class B in 1.1 above.
1.3.2.
Projects that are pre approved by the Council as Class B prior to design development.
1.4.
For Class B projects, foreign engineering firms may be selected by the owner, but their Immigration Permits shall be held by a Bermudian Engineering firm unless otherwise approved by PERC. The foreign engineering firm should work as a joint-venture with a local engineering firm or by some other arrangement whereby the local firm shall assist in and learn from the project. If PERC is satisfied that no Bermudian Engineering firm is qualified or willing to stamp the Permit drawings for a Type B project, they shall advise the Department of Building Control that a foreign engineering company shall be allowed to stamp the engineering drawings of the specific project.
2. ENFORCEMENT OF THIS POLICY
2.1.
PERC shall continue to review and comment on all work permit applications for foreign engineers and engineering firms in accordance with its existing policy on these applications. BAPE members should report to PERC any engineering drawings they see with a foreign engineering firm’s name on them that do not also bear the name of a Bermudian engineering firm. BAPE Members should report to PERC all foreign engineer’s signs that appear at construction sites or any foreign engineer’s stamps that appear on Building Permit drawings without a locally registered engineer’s stamp. PERC shall investigate these reports and advise Immigration, Planning or the Police where they believe laws or policies have been broken.
2.2.
PERC will, in future, take the more strict interpretation of our present Code of Conduct in regard to the stamping of drawings as this Code is legally enforceable on all locally registered Engineers. Where the Code of Conduct states that an Engineer shall “only stamp drawings prepared by him/her or under his/her direct supervision”, PERC will interpret this to mean the Engineer shall only stamp drawings prepared by himself/herself or persons or firms employed by the locally registered Engineer. PERC may choose to publish an amendment to the Code of Conduct or a regulation clarifying what constitutes “under direct supervision”.
2.3.
If PERC becomes aware that a locally registered Engineer is rubber stamping foreign engineers drawings that are not employed by the local Engineer, without involvement by the local Engineer throughout the whole design process, PERC will write to the Engineer reminding him/her of the code of conduct, after which if the locally registered Engineer continues to rubber stamp foreign engineers drawings, PERC may hold a formal hearing to decide whether the Code of Conduct has been violated and if PERC concludes from the hearing that the Engineer has violated the Code of Conduct, take the necessary steps to discipline the offending Engineer.
Engineer’s Code of Conduct
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