November

2015

in this issue >>> PE & PS Week 2016-getting involved

pg 3,4

Surveyors: 10 Awards-$125,000

pg 7

Rules Update

pg 5

Time to Renew—deadline 12/31/15

pg 1

OUTREACH-getting the word out

pg 3

Enforcement Actions-published in Spring 2016 Edition

Wyoming Board of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors

Name the Newsletter Click here by December 11, 2015 to submit your suggestions current topics >>>

Renewal Season is upon us— Deadline ———December 31st

Below is a copy of the postcard that would have made its way to your mailbox earlier this Fall. Cards were sent October 1, 2015 to all expiring licenses, both individual and firms alike. If it has not arrived yet you may want to contact the Board Office to update address information. Visit us online to complete the renewal in a matter of minutes. If your firm is doing work or offering to do work in Wyoming, please check that your firm has an active license.

The Board remembers a Pioneer of Wyoming Surveying Paul N. Scherbel, LS Paul Neslen Scherbel, son of Paul Scherbel and Annette Neslen, was born Oct. 21, 1917, at Utah Holy Cross Hospital in Salt Lake City. He passed away Oct. 22, 2015, the day after his 98th birthday. He grew up in Salt Lake City, attending Lowell Elementary and Bryant Junior High. He graduated from West High School at 16 and attended the University of Utah for one year. After working for the Civilian Conservation Corps for one year, he enrolled in the School of Forestry at Utah State Agricultural College (now Utah State University), graduating in 1940. After college, Paul worked for the Forest Service and the Soil Conservation Service. In 1942, Paul enlisted in the U.S.

Navy and attended midshipman school at Columbia University in New York. Assigned to USS Pakana as a communications officer, Paul served in the South Pacific on this fleet tug and did rescue work at Kwajalein, Eniwetok, Guam, Saipan, Tinian, Okinawa and Ulithi, serving as navigation officer and executive officer. At the end of World War II, he was a lieutenant assigned to the USS Kennison as a communications officer. He retired from active duty in 1946 and went Continued on page 2

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back to work for the Soil Conservation Service and chose to work in Big Piney, Wyo. He was active in the Naval Reserve for the next 40-plus years and retired as a commander. On V - J Day, Sept. 2, 1945, he bumped into Rachel Anderson on Main Street in Salt Lake City and asked her for a date. They were married June 26, 1946, in the Salt Lake Temple. In 1951, he studied the required material then applied for a surveyor’s license so he could help with the legal aspects of water rights. The day he received his license, he was contacted by Arthur Belfer of Belfer Petroleum Co. and began to locate drilling wells. He then incorporated his land surveying company – Surveyor Scherbel, Ltd. – and continued to work with local ranchers on water rights and other land-related issues as well doing work for oil companies as petroleum production increased in the area. He registered the brand for the Saturday-Sunday ranch he hoped to buy but that dream was never realized. In 1955, he retired early from the SCS and the brand became his surveying trademark for all his monuments and stationery. He devoted the remainder of his working life to the profession of land surveying and often planned family outings to look for section corners and other important survey monuments. As part of his surveying career he was member of several professional organization including ACSM, WACES, WES, ASCE and NSPS. He was a charter member of the Professional Land Surveyors of Wyoming and served in several leadership positions. He was instrumental in initiating efforts by land surveyors throughout the country to locate re-monument and dedicate many of the most significant historical surveying monuments, such as state corners and the initial points from which the surveys of the federal lands began. He served on the Wyoming Board of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors. He served as county surveyor for 30 years for Lincoln and Teton Counties and as county surveyor for 67 years for Sublette County. He authored about 20 land-related amendments, which became part of the Wyoming Statutes. Paul was very active in community affairs. He was instrumental in obtaining funding for the fairgrounds and the landfill. He helped create the Joint Powers Airport Board, the Fire Department Joint Powers Board (as well as obtaining funding for its site and building), and helped convince the county to provide police services for the towns of Big Piney and Marbleton. He was instrumental in obtaining funding for both the Marbleton and Pinedale clinics. He proposed and paved the way for annexing the land between Big Piney and Marbleton so the two towns could be contiguous and helped develop their planning and zoning master plans. He also helped develop the mini parks in Big Piney, obtain the land for the library and museum and helped obtain additional land and water for the Plainview Cemetery. He was mayor of the town of Big Piney for two terms. Active in the Republican Party at the local and state level, he served as party treasurer for many years. He served on the Columbia River Basin Commission and on the Wyoming Board of Geographical Names. Paul was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and served in various teaching and leadership positions throughout his life. He was active in the Boy Scouts of America and received the Silver Beaver Award. He was preceded in death by his wife Rachel (Anderson). He is survived by his three sons Paul A. (Geri), Scott (Elsa) and Marlowe (Connie) and one daughter Annette (Bob) Priddis. He also has 32 grandchildren and 77 great-grandchildren so far. Funeral services for Paul were held at noon on October 31, 2015 at the LDS Church in Big Piney, Wyoming. In lieu of flowers Paul requested donations be sent to either the Professional Land Surveyors of Wyoming Scholarship Fund or the Southwest Sublette County Pioneer Center in Marbleton Wyoming.

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OUTREACH >>>

March 21-26, 2016

Week The Board of Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors (BPEPLS) recognizes a trend nationwide in

surveyors is increasing. These facts indicate that there will be a shortage of Wyoming licensed professional land surveyors in the future.

declining number of individuals pursuing the professional surveying careers. This trend is occurring in Wyoming and is coupled by the fact that the average age of professional

The Board’s mission is to safeguard life, health and property of the public by assuring that those who practice the profession of engineering and land surveying are

licensed and attain and maintain competence in those professions. The Board’s ability to pursue this mission in the future is affected if the current trend continues because there will not be enough licensed surveyors to meet the statewide need. In an effort to reverse this trend, the Board staff proposes ongoing outreach efforts to help raise the awareness of professional land surveying as a career. The Board is exploring a partnership with the Professional Land Surveyors of Wyoming (PLSW) to work jointly and promote the profession of surveying during National Surveyors Week, March 21-26, 2016.

OUTREACH>>>

Getting the word out The Board is taking a proactive approach to getting the word out in Wyoming that professional licensure is not just important to safeguard life, health and property, it is the law. Following is a list of entities, locations

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and events where board and staff are currently scheduled. If your organization would like a member of the staff or board to speak at your next meeting, contact Troy at 307 777-6156 and based on availability we would be pleased to join you.

Volunteers Needed for

Engineers Week

Sign up today by visiting www.uwyo.edu/ceas/outreach/programs.html

WWW.UWYO.EDU/CEAS/OUTREACH/PROGRAMS.HTML

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MAKE YOUR NEXT BIG MOVE

WYOMING Let Wyoming Grown help you find top talent! On May 11, 2015, Governor Mead and the Department of Workforce Services launched a new recruiting initiative called Wyoming Grown. Wyoming Grown invites people in Wyoming to refer their loved ones, friends and colleagues who have since left the State to consider continuing their career in Wyoming. If the referred individual is interested in exploring Wyoming’s career options, the program connects individuals with in-demand job opportunities with the State’s top employers. The program aims to place individuals in critical areas to help employers address workforce shortages and skill gaps. Wyoming Grown will primarily utilize existing resources -- the agency’s state-wide network of employment specialists -- to work hand-inhand with participants and connect them with job opportunities with businesses in our State. Personal recruiters, found throughout the state, are also a direct point of contact for businesses in the community. As a point person for community employers, personal recruiters assist employers in posting jobs easily and conveniently to the State’s largest job-matching database, Wyoming@Work. How can I participate in Wyoming Grown?

Following the submission of a résumé, Wyoming Grown contacts the individual via telephone to determine the candidate’s specialty and what community they are interested in relocating to. Wyoming Grown then connects the candidate with one of the agency’s personal recruiters in the community of the candidate’s choosing.

The program’s website, wyominggrown.org is the conduit to enrolling participants. Individuals are able to enroll in Wyoming Grown in two ways: 1. Referral: As mentioned above, the program allows family and friends living in Wyoming to refer their loved ones who have since left Wyoming to Wyoming Grown. The referral generates a letter from Governor Mead to their out-of-state loved ones, urging them to return home to their Wyoming roots. The letter will direct the individual to self-enroll on the www.wyominggrown.org website. 2. Self-enrollment: Qualified individuals interested in a job can simply visit the www.wyominggrown.org website and click on the “upload résumé” button. These individuals also receive a letter from Governor Mead.

Rules

Update

The Board initiated the rulemaking process August 6, 2015 and opened the draft rules for public comment September 14, 2015 through October 30, 2015. The proposed changes, in general, help clarify language, incorporate by reference

How can Wyoming businesses connect with Wyoming Grown participants? Here’s how to get started: post your high demand / high growth jobs with Wyoming Grown by contacting the agency’s Deputy Administrator of Business Operations Carmalee Rose, or by calling your local workforce center. The Department of Workforce Services will help you quickly and conveniently post your top jobs on Wyoming’s biggest job matching site, Wyoming@Work.

four different documents, address required language additions, fix formatting, and add a definition for public works. With the public comment period complete, each comment will be assessed and a determination made if the proposed rules will be affected. Dependent on the comment evaluation, the proposed rules may be reviewed at the Board’s December 14, 2015 meeting and if adopted then the rules package will be forwarded to the Governor’s Office, Secretary of State and Legislative Services Office for final certification and filing. 5

OUTREACH >>>

NCEES

Annual Meeting

The National Council of licensing standards and Examiners for Engineering professional ethics. In and Surveying (NCEES) addition to the business held their annual meeting meetings, attendees were August 19-22, 2015. involved in various sessions Wyoming had excellent on topics such as exam participation from both development, engineering the surveying and and surveying forums, engineering board Macy at the Podium employee engagement, team members. building and enforcement. A specific The NCEES Annual Meeting is ongoing concern addressed in several Wyoming’s opportunity to weigh in on sessions is the decline in numbers of important topics that impact the individuals pursuing professional engineering and land surveying surveying careers and efforts to industry such as uniform laws,

Business Sessions

reverse that trend, (see separate article, page 7). A topic with active discussion centered on the adoption of a position statement to recognize future demands for increasing technical and professional skills. The development of the position statement follows a 2014 vote to

remove from the NCEES Model Law and Model Rules the engineering licensure. The motion would have additional education requirements for engineering licensure incorporated the Generic P.E. licensure plus protected that were set to take effect in 2020 in order to allow work S.E. Title and Restricted S.E. Practice into the Model on implementation to continue without a set effective date. Law and Model Rules. The motion would have These requirements called for an engineering additionally designated a committee or task licensure candidate to obtain a master’s force be charged to develop specific language degree or its equivalent before initial licensure. for that purpose. The rationale was the The statement identified several future approach would protect the S.E. title but also pathways which would incorporate a master’s regulate the practice of structural engineering, degree or other levels of additional course and thus better safeguard the health, safety, work. “This is a complex issue with many and welfare of the public relative to structures stakeholders; NCEES will use this position with an elevated level of threat. The motion statement to guide its efforts to engage with failed with a 31/32 simple majority vote. Awards Banquet those stakeholders and ensure that licensing standards continue to protect the public in the future,” The group was also updated on continuing efforts by said NCEES Chief Executive Officer Jerry Carter. NCEES to transition from pencil and paper tests to computer-based testing (CBT). The Fundamentals of Ultimately, each jurisdiction makes its own decisions on Engineering (FE) and Fundamentals of Surveying (FS) future engineering licensure requirements. NCEES member exams began CBT in July 2014 and are now offered in boards maintain the Model Law and Model Rules as best testing windows throughout the year at approved practice manuals, but U.S. states and territories set their Pearson VUE test centers. The last paper and pencil own licensing laws and rules. “Each state and territory will exam for Professional Surveying (PS) will be decide individually whether to amend its requirements, but administered in April 2016. The PS exam as a CBT will the member boards of NCEES are working together to fully begin October 2016. consider these issues,” Carter said Another motion that garnered significant discussion (ACCA Motion 1) was a move toward title protection for structural 6

NCEES promoting surveying profession

Increasing

the

number

of

professional surveyors was another key concern at the annual meeting. NCEES member boards voted to fund a meeting of surveying organizations to discuss how to best attract a diverse cross section of people to the profession. The group will recommend additional outreach opportunities to promote surveying as a career, including potential collaborations with other organizations.

Delegates also voted to implement a new initiative to support surveying education at the college level. The program will recognize up to 10 professional surveying programs of distinction each year, awarding each up to $10,000. NCEES staff and members will work together in the coming year to develop the program, including finalizing award criteria. These efforts to promote the surveying profession follow the work of the Future of Surveying Task Force, which was formed in 2014 to address the decline in the number of surveyors entering the profession in the United States.

ask the question >>>

Q: A:

What is early examination? Take the exam before you have professional experience.

A 2-page application, exam fees, and verification of your fundamentals exam taken and passed is all you need to apply for the principles and practice examination at the national level (ncees.org). Get started with your application online at: engineersandsurveyors.wy.gov. After you pass the PE Exam and gain four (4) years experience, then you can apply for your professional license.

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Corner

The National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying is a nonprofit organization made up of engineering and surveying licensing boards from all U.S. states and territories and the District of Columbia. Since its founding in 1920, NCEES has been committed to advancing licensure for engineers and surveyors in order to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of the U.S. public.

April 2016 exam changes: As a reminder, the following changes are in place for the April 2016 exam administration. PE Naval Architectural and Marine Engineering—The PE Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering exam has new specifications starting in April 2016. The specifications are posted on the NCEES website. Principles and Practice of Surveying (PS)—The PS exam will be administered in pencil-and -paper format for the last time in April 2016. The exam will be converted to a computer-based test after that, with the first appointments available in October 2016.

OUTREACH >>>

WES P r e s i d e n t i a l

Project Award Program

The annual WES Presidential Project Awards competition seeks to recognize excellence in engineering and surveying projects utilized by and benefiting the people of the State of Wyoming. Separate awards are bestowed under the categories of engineering projects and surveying projects. Applications are not restricted to constructed projects but can include studies and computer applications. The deadline for submitting applications for the 2016

competition is January 6, 2016. Projects substantially completed in calendar year 2015 are eligible for the competition. Applications shall consist of a 3-ring binder notebook and a display panel. Guidelines for preparation of applications can be obtained by contacting Committee Chairman Dave Whitman, or by download:

2014 Engineering Project of the Year to Nelson Engineering for the “Path 22 West Pathway Bridge” project in Teton County near Wilson Wyoming.

Click here Project Award Guidelines

Software Update>>> With the start of fall the Wyoming Board’s Administrative Team is hard at work reviewing specs, approving mock-up’s and gearing up for user administrative testing (UAT). UAT is set to take two to three weeks and a go-live date is set for next year. Individuals and businesses that are due for renewal by December 31, 2016 will be able to experience the new system for themselves. At this time the professional license renewal (PLR) system continues to house the Board’s online renewals, once the GL Suites system is live, the button will simply be redirected to the new online system making the transition seamless. When the GL system is live, those wanting to renew online will need to create a new online account to be recognized by the online portion of the new software. 8

One major change that the new database will bring is the merging of licenses in the conversion process who currently hold more than one license with Wyoming. Although all numbers will still be searchable and associated to that individual, only one will be recognized as current and active, while the others will become historical. For those whom already have had one or more licenses expire out, those numbers will be placed in a historical state and the Board will move forward with their current and active numbers. For more updates on this and other happenings with the Board like us on Facebook and follow us on our Twitter.