1Welcome to Control Systems Engineering
Licensing as Professional Engineer/Control Systems Engineer
A Professional Engineer (PE) license must be obtained to perform engineering work for the public and private sectors in the United States and most countries in the world. To protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public, the first engineering licensure law was enacted in 1907 in Wyoming. Now every state regulates the practice of engineering to ensure public safety by granting only Professional Engineers the authority to sign and seal engineering plans and offer their services to the public. Individuals who do not have a PE license cannot use the title of engineer to advertise for engineering work.
A control systems engineer (CSE) takes on responsibilities beyond those of most other disciplines of professional engineering. If a pump quits working, there is no water. If an electrical panelboard fails, there is no power. In plant control systems, a failure can mean absolute disaster. Without proper attention to these failures, the plant can explode, resulting in fatalities. The failure of systems can mean the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and loss of product and production can cost millions of dollars. There may also be class action and environmental lawsuits into the billions of dollars.
This is why I have taken a complete plant design approach to show the vast exposure and experience needed to be a CSE. Just like the saying in the Spiderman movie, “With great power comes great responsibility.” The CSE’s job cannot be taken lightly. People’s lives depend on CSEs knowing what they are doing and getting it right the first time. You cannot guess at control systems engineering. You must know. Being a PE does not just mean answering a minimum number of questions on an 8-hour exam.
The CSE cannot just say “the bottle is in place, now fill it.” The CSE must ask questions such as:
1.Is the bottle in place?
2.Is the valve open?
3.Is fluid available to fill the bottle in the tank?
4.Is the pump running?
5.Is the fluid flowing?
6.Did the bottle fill?
7.Did the valve close?
8.Did the fluid stop flowing?
9.Did the pump stop?
10.Did something fail?
The CSE must be ready to handle abnormal conditions and upsets at any time. This will be a major part of the programming and a large part of the instrumentation, with increasing concern for safety and compliance with government regulations now requiring safety instrumented systems (SISs) to be installed.
Explosions can occur in petrochemical and other similar hazardous plants, even though the electrical and process systems are designed to be explosion-proof per National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/International Society of Automation (ISA), American Petroleum Institute (API), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and other codes.
Why Become a Professional Engineer?
Being licensed as a PE is an important distinction that can enhance one’s career options. Many engineering jobs require that a person have a PE license to work as an engineering consultant or senior engineer, testify as an expert witness, conduct patent work, work in public safety, or advertise to provide engineering services. Although you may never need to be registered for “legal” reasons, you may find that you must be a PE to be eligible for engineering management positions.
On average, a PE makes significantly more money than an unlicensed engineer. Even if your first job does not require a PE license, you may need a license later in your career. In today’s economic environment, it pays to be in a position to move to new jobs and compete with others who have a PE license or are on a professional engineering track. It is also highly unlikely that a job requiring a PE license will be outsourced overseas.
The following excerpt is from the NCEES website.
What makes a PE different from an engineer?
•Only a licensed engineer may prepare, sign and seal, and submit engineering plan...
