The Board is in effect the licensing authority for Professional Engineers.
1.1 The Board
(a) four registered engineers nominated by and holding membership in the Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago;
The Chairman is appointed by the Board from among its members and only citizens of, or persons who are ordinarily resident in Trinidad and Tobago, are eligible to be appointed to the Board.
A person appointed to the Board holds office for a term of three years but is eligible for reappointment for a maximum of two further consecutive terms.
The Board appoints a registered engineer as a Registrar/Secretary whose functions include, inter alia –
(a) to maintain the Register of Registered Engineers and to keep the Register open for public scrutiny at such fee as may be prescribed;
1.0 INTRODUCTION – cont’d.
(d) to publish at least once in every year in the Gazette, the Register and a list of those persons whose Certificates of Registration have been suspended or cancelled, and
1.2 The Status of the Board
By instruments of appointment dated October 10, 2005, the following were appointed to serve on the Board of Engineering of Trinidad and Tobago for a period of three (3) years with effect from October 10, 2005:-
In accordance with the Act – Act No. 34 of 1985 – Clause 11(2), Eng. Imtiaz Hosein was appointed by the Board as Chairman from among its Members. The Board also appointed Mr. Madan Ramnarine as its Treasurer and Eng. Jerry Medford as Deputy Chairman.
In accordance with Clause 22 of that same Act, the Board continued the appointment of Eng. Derek M. Comissiong, a Registered Engineer, to perform the functions of Registrar/Secretary.
Mrs. Jameela Bynoe, who had also been employed by the Board since inception, also continues to perform as the Board’s Office Manager.
In accordance with previous precedent, and in lieu of the appointment of a new Board, the appointees continued managing the registration of engineers and otherwise regulating the practice of engineering in Trinidad and Tobago after their stated term of office ended on October 09, 2008. In April 2009, however, Eng. Emile Charles advised that he considered that the term of the Board had long expired.
1.0 INTRODUCTION – cont’d.
The Board was advised “that the Honourable Minister of Works and Transport has advised that the present Board can continue to function until such time as a new Board is appointed.”
This is the Annual Report of the Board of Engineering of Trinidad and Tobago for the year 2009.
2.0 BOARD OPERATIONS
The Board continued its operations as in previous years through the following Committees appointed in accordance with Act No. 34 of 1985:-
(a) The Accreditation Committee – chaired by Eng. Leopold Martin and comprising Eng. Prof. Winston Mellowes and Eng. Prof. Clement Imbert – assists the Board in assessing that the course of study successfully pursued by an applicant for registration is appropriately recognized by an accredited authority.
The Accreditation Committee assists the Board in the preparation and conduct of such examinations as the Board deems necessary, the preparation of the list of qualifications and institutions required for acceptance as registered engineers and advises the Board on the acceptability or otherwise of applicants for registration.
(b) The Assessment Committee chaired by Eng. Jerry Medford and comprising Engrs. Alvin Lutchman, David Bartholomew and Lawford Dupres.
The Assessment Committee reviews the engineering work done by applicants seeking to qualify for registration and makes recommendations in this regard to the Board.
The Board received fifty-two (52) applications for registration during the year 2009. Forty (40) were registered in 2009. The total number of engineers registered with/by the Board at the end of 2009 stood at seven hundred and eighty-two (782).
The Board maintains the Register of Registered Engineers as required by the Act and keeps the Register available for public scrutiny. The list is published annually in the Trinidad and Tobago Gazette. Additionally, Certificates of Registration and Registration Stamps have been issued to all registered engineers.
(c) Disciplinary Committee – chaired by Eng. Denis Singh and comprising Engrs. Hollis Charles and Cecil Chin.
The Disciplinary Committee is appointed by the Board and called upon if and when allegations of misconduct or breach of the Code of Ethics by a registered engineer may have occurred and advises on whether there are any grounds for disciplinary proceedings to be brought against such registered engineer. There were no calls on this Committee in the year 2009.
2.1 Other Committees
The Board continued its active involvement with stakeholders of the engineering fraternity on several committees involved with improving the performance of the industry during 2009. Encouraging strides were made in having existing legislation amended and improved.
The Ministry of Works and Transport established a Committee which includes the Association of Professional Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago (APETT) and the Board of Engineering of Trinidad and Tobago (BOETT), and engaged a legislative drafting expert to pursue legislative reform. The expectation was that an improved and strengthened Engineering Profession Act would result. The exercise was ongoing at the end of 2009.
In 2009, the Board further participated and continued to contribute to:
i) The Electrical Code Committee which has been particularly active in assisting with:-
- Development of Trinidad and Tobago Standards in collaboration with the Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards
- Review of the Draft Strategic Plan for the Electrical Inspectorate Division
- The Application Procedure for a Standby Generator License
- Counterfeit circuit breakers and electrical cables, and
- Issues with T&TEC including clarification of requirements for Reserve Capacity, Underground Distribution, Non-refundable Capital Contribution, Design of a Fireman Switch for the Shutdown of Unmanned Standby Generators.
2.1 Other Committees – cont’d.
- Workgroups for the derivation of a Trinidad and Tobago Building Code which will be submitted as a local contribution to the current CDB/CROSQ Caribbean Building Code Project
- Co-operation with the Seismic Research Centre which provides guidance regarding the design accelerations as would enable consistency in the earthquake load calculations of all practicing structural engineers relevant to IBC requirements.
- Eng. Fasil Muddeen – Chairman
- Eng. Prof. Winston Mellowes
- Eng. Simon Westcott
- Eng. Hollis Eversley
- Eng. Jerry Medford (BOETT Representative)
- Imtiaz Hosein (Chairman) 11
- Madan Ramnarine (Treasurer) 09
- Leopold Martin 10
- Emile Charles 03
- Jerry Medford (Deputy Chairman) 06
- Thornhill Carrington 09
- Rudin Austin 05
- Derek M. Comissiong (Registrar/Secretary) 11