1.0 The Board of Engineering of Trinidad and Tobago was established by Act No. 34 of 1985 – “to regulate the practice of Engineering in accordance with the Act”.
The Fourth Board served in office up to the eleventh month of 2001. The Members of that Board were Eng. Hollis Charles – Chairman, Eng. Fenrick R. De Four – Registrar, Eng. Ronald Nurse – Treasurer, Eng. Prof. Winston Mellowes, Eng. Hilton Charles, Eng. Jerry Medford with Mrs. Margaret Edwards and Mr. Hewitt Nicholson as members representing the public interest.
The Fifth Board was appointed on November 30, 2001. The members are Eng. Hollis Charles, Eng. Fenrick R. De Four, Eng. Prof. Winston Mellowes, Eng. Jerry Medford, Eng. Imtiaz Hosein, Eng. Rossini Castro, Mr. Hewitt Nicholson and Mrs. Margaret Edwards again representing the public interest.
The BOETT is one of the few regulatory professional bodies which has members representing the public interest. The Board has found the contributions of these members to be invaluable to its deliberations and work. The Board therefore wishes to place on record its deep appreciation of those contributions and to publicly thank the present members Mrs. Edwards and Mr. Nicholson for their support.
2.0 Registration of Engineers
The number of active Registered Engineers on roll at the end of the November, 2001 is six hundred and ninety-three (693). This is an increase of thirty-eight (38) from December, 2000. During 2001 sixty-two applications were received of which fifty-five were approved. Three are still pending subject to clarifications. During the year Registered Engineers Clive Chu Cheong and Vernon Carrington passed away. Clive Chu Cheong was a pioneer of local practice in civil engineering in Trinidad and Tobago. The Board places on record its recognition of his contributions and extends sincere condolences to his family and to the family of Vernon Carrington.
3.0 Accounts
The Accounts of the Board have been audited up to the year 2000 and show that the Capital Reserve had declined from $174,742.00 in 1999 to $158,794.00. This decline was the result of the continuing deficits in income against expenditure. Since the Board does not receive any outside subventions toward the cost of its operations, an increase of fees was necessary. An increase of TT $50.00 in annual dues was instituted from January 2001 and the desired effect of a balance between income and expenditure achieved during 2001.
The Board places on record its sincere appreciation to Eng. Ronald Nurse for his contribution as Treasurer of the Fourth Board.
4.0 Secretariat
The administrative operations of the Board are carried out in its Secretariat under the supervision of the Registrar. At this time the post of the Registrar is an unpaid position. The Board wishes to express its gratitude to Eng. Fenrick De Four for undertaking what increasingly is a series of onerous tasks. The Board also thanks the Secretariat’s Administrative Assistant Mrs. Jameela Bynoe who is the voice, face and hands of the Board of Engineering of Trinidad and Tobago.
5.0 Codes and Standards
During the course of the year the Board continued its work on Codes and Standards for engineering. This work is a substantial activity for the Board and particularly the Registrar – Eng. De Four. The work on Codes and Standards is carried out mainly with the Bureau of Standards but on occasion the Board works with other institutions including the Faculty of Engineering of the University of the West Indies, the Interim National Physical Planning Commission (INPPC), APETT etc.
In the past the Board has expressed its appreciation of the individuals who contribute to our work in this very important area. This year we again record our debt for the considerable technical resources made available to the Board and ultimately our Country by these individuals and organizations.
During the year the year the Board with the support of the Bureau of Standards and the Interim National Physical Planning Commission continued to work on the preparation, dissemination and monitoring of Codes and Standards for the construction industry.
Three (3) National Codes are at Stage I completion and have been posted on the Board’s website with an invitation for public comment. They are:-
(a) Small Building Code: covering standards of construction for residential and small commercial buildings of three hundred square metres or less.
(b) Physical Planning Standards: being an update of the existing Town and Country Planning 1989 document ‘Guide to Developers’.
(c) Electrical Wiring Code: being an update of the T&T Bureau of Standards document #171 for residential and commercial building wiring.
Other Code documents receiving attention are :-
(a) National Plumbing Code.
(b) Guidelines for design and construction of Water and Wastewater Systems.
(c) CUBiC 2000 (C2M): being an update of the structural requirement for design and construction in the Caribbean having regard to hurricane and earthquake conditions.
(d) General Conditions of Contract: being the determination of a set of Conditions for Construction Work that would be recommended as a National Standard for common use.
6.0 Amendments to Act No. 34 of 1985
Since last year the Board had prepared a list of amendments to the Act for discussion with the Office of the Attorney-General. With developments particularly in the area of engineering education, new areas for the rethinking of the provisions of the Act have arisen. In particular the developments in respect of training programs which create the categories of sub professionals such as Technologists and Senior Technicians.
The Board has established a Committee to review the original proposals for amending the Act and to recommend on any additional changes which may be necessary at this time.
7.0 Website
The Board’s website at www.boett.org was inaugurated last year and during 2001 was continually updated with information of relevance to engineering in Trinidad and Tobago. The list of all Registered Engineers in T&T is maintained on the website.
Major items on the Site during the year included:-
(a) Information on current design, approval and construction activities associated with the Churchill Roosevelt Highway and Uriah Butler Highway Interchange
(b) The FIDIC document on a new ‘General Conditions for Construction of Contract’
(c) The Small Building Code
(d) CUBiC 2000
8.0 Continuing Professional Development
Following the death of Eng. Samuel Naranjit last year, it has taken considerable effort to get the CPD Programme re-started. However the joint Board/APETT Committee which manages the Programme has been reconstituted under the Chairmanship of Eng. Myron Chin. The Programme is expected to be fully functioning in 2002.
9.0 Disciplinary Matters
The Board is required by its Act to investigate every complaint made against a Registered
Engineer. The Act requires that the Board establishes a Disciplinary Committee to investigate and advise the Board on the validity or otherwise of such complaint. The Board then decides on what action is to be taken.
The Board handled two disciplinary matters during 2001. In one case the Disciplinary Committee has reported and the Board is to decide on an appropriate action. In the other matter the Committee is still investigating.
10.0 Bursary
The Board has awarded a Bursary at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of the West Indies and has also renewed its appeal to all Registered Engineers to contribute to a Bursaries Fund to be able to offer Bursaries on a continual basis. Initial contributions of TT$250.00 from each Registered Engineer have been requested by the Chairman. The Board’s Bursaries Fund is intended to be an umbrella fund to which organizations or persons who do not wish to support an individual award, can make a contribution and thereby promote engineering education in Trinidad and Tobago.
11.0 Professional Centre
As a member of the Group of Professional Organizations of Trinidad and Tobago, the Board has been actively involved in plans to expand the Professional Centre at Fitz Blackman Drive, Port of Spain.
The Board’s Registrar – Eng. Fenrick De Four, chairs the Centr’s Expansion Committee. The expansion of the Centre is expected to begin in 2002 and the Board proposes to purchase accommodation for its operations in the expanded Centre.
12.0 Caribbean Council of Engineering Organizations (CCEO)
The Board during 2001 participated in the efforts of the CCEO to promote a common legislative framework for the Registration of Engineers in the Caribbean.
This is in the context of the Caricom Single Market and Economy and its proposals for the free movement of professionals within the Caribbean Community. The Board continued its participation in advisory groups to the regional and national negotiations on Trade In Services, in respect of WTO, FTAA, Caricom and bilateral Agreements. The provisions within these Agreements will have implications for the conditions under which Registered Engineers will compete in the offer of services both within the borders of Trinidad and Tobago and overseas.
The Board has also joined the CCEO in advising the University of the West Indies on a proposal for the establishment of a new undergraduate degree in engineering. In this regard the Board also met with the Dean and Heads of Departments of the Faculty when presentations were made to the Board on the proposals for the new degree.
13.0 Social Outreach
The Board continues to make contributions in matters where the engineering competence within the Board’s membership can be put to the assistance of the Society. The following are some of these activities :-
13.1 Carnival in Port of Spain
The Board together with the National Band Leaders Association has developed a route for Carnival bands in Port of Spain, which avoids the congestion experienced at the Savannah and creates multiple viewing points for the parade. This proposal has been put to the National Carnival Commission (NCC).The Board has also written to the NCC and the Transport Commissioner advising on the use of safety shields along the length of trucks, which are used in Carnival parades to ensure that members of the public are not in danger of falling under the trucks into the path of the wheels.
13.2 Terminal Building at Piarco Airport
The Board as a member of the Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry (JCC) has been participating in the on-going discussions in respect of this public facility.
13.3 The Role of Engineer and Architect as Project Managers on Buildings Projects
Arising out of concerns raised by the Trinidad and Tobago Institute of Architects the Board has been assisting the JCC and the Association of Consulting Engineers of Trinidad and Tobago (ACETT) with addressing issues arising from the emergence of project management as a discrete area of professional expertise.
13.4 Amendments to the Central Tenders Board Act
Amendments to this legislation have been outstanding for quite some time and the Board is attempting to use its influence to have the discussions expedited and concluded. This legislation is of great importance to all engineering industry practitioners, hence the Board’s efforts in that regard.
13.5 Technical Vocational Training and National Accreditation
The Board continued working with COSTAATT and the National Training Agency on efforts to bring rationalization to the somewhat confused situation which exists in respect of technical vocational training in the Country. In this regard the Board is also participating in the Interim National Accreditation Commission with the objective of bringing into being a single Agency for the accreditation of training programmes and organizations in Trinidad and Tobago.
14.0 Looking Ahead
Among the areas which will be the focus of the Board during 2002 are: –
(1) working with the office of the Attorney-General on the completion of the amendments to the Act.
(2) making the CPD Programme fully operational.
(3) progress in respect of the new undergraduate degree at the University of the West Indies – Faculty of Engineering, in the light of the implications for the accreditation of the UWI degree and the consequent registration of engineers.
(4) expanding the Bursaries Fund to include contributions from firms and organizations engaged in the use engineering expertise.
(5) working with the CCEO, the Caricom Secretariat and Private Sector interests to bring into being, provisions for the free movement of professionals under the Caricom Single Market and Economy.
(6) continuing to look for opportunities to increase the group benefits of registration for engineers as well as to ensure that the Trinidad and Tobago national community enjoys the highest standards of engineering competence from the profession.