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AN engineering office has been suspended for three years from practising the profession following a range of violations.
These included hiring unlicensed engineers, said the Council for Regulating the Practice of Engineering Professions (CRPEP) yesterday.
The government watchdog warned companies to only deal with engineers and offices that are licensed by council, and further ensure their rights and obligations are stipulated in the contracts.
Contracts
“An engineering office was shut down for three years for a number of violations including hiring unlicensed individuals,” it said.
“Other violations found included fraudulent supervision of projects and not signing contracts with clients.”
The rogue office was referred to the Public Prosecution, due to evidence that it further pushed another unlicensed firm to conduct engineering work on its behalf, which provided false data to the CRPEP to deny any wrongdoing.
“Disciplinary actions were taken according to the protocol after an investigation concluded there were violations,” the CRPEP added.
The watchdog has been licensing engineers and engineering offices in the private and public sector since 2014.
Earlier this year, it warned engineering offices against stamping project layouts prepared by unlicensed individuals or entities.
This followed the discovery of malpractices by rogue engineers who secured a seal of approval for their designs from licensed engineering offices.
“The council calls upon engineering offices, engineers and companies operating in the sector to check the licences of the firms or individuals they deal with,” the CRPEP advised.
“Clients are also encouraged to check the details of the engineering firms that are conducting work on their projects, especially related to design and supervision during the construction phase.”
Action
The CRPEP in April this year referred a rogue unlicensed engineering office in Manama to the Public Prosecution.
The watchdog took legal action in eight cases last year, including engineering offices and engineers.
The CRPEP investigated 27 complaints in 2019, 22 complaints in 2018 while four unlicensed engineering firms were probed in 2017.
It has the power to suspend firms from practising the profession for a period not exceeding three years, or even order a permanent closure.
Latest statistics in CRPEP’s quarterly report (July to September) show that the number of licensed engineers in the country rose from 3,241 in 2014 to 6,514 so far year, including 1,049 female engineers.
Majority of those licensed are architects or civil/electrical engineers.
The number of licensed engineering offices reached 188.
For engineers in the public sector, the CRPEP licences are valid until they retire, resign or move to the private sector.
Those in the private sector must renew their licences every year.
Bahraini applicants are required to hold a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in engineering and should not have had a criminal record or engaged in other professions.
In addition to the same requirements expatriate engineers are also required to have at least five years’ experience after obtaining their degrees.
The watchdog has started accepting licence renewal applications for next year.
sandy@gdn.com.bh
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