v.

13 - October 2010

POLICY STATEMENT
PROFESSIONAL STANDARD DELEGATING AND SUPERVISING PROFESSIONAL
ENGINEERING WORK

PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF STANDARD

Delegating Professional Engineering Work
The Professional Engineers Act (the Act) prohibits persons, other than those licensed by
PEO, from performing those activities covered by the Act. However, article 12(3)(b)
states that the Act does not prevent a person from doing an act that is within the
practice of professional engineering where a professional engineer assumes
responsibility for the services within the practice of professional engineering to which the
act is related. For the purposes of this standard, a professional engineer who directs an
individual who is not licensed to carry out work that falls within the definition of the
practice of professional engineering is considered to be delegating the practice of
professional engineering. The delegator referred to in this document is the professional
engineer allowing an individual who is not licensed to perform an act of professional
engineering.
The Act also defines designing, composing, evaluating, advising, reporting, directing or
supervising as acts that are considered within the practice of professional engineering.
A professional engineer may choose to delegate any one or more of these activities to
an individual who is not licensed, provided the delegator assumes responsibility for the
associated professional engineering services.
However, there are necessarily limits to this power to delegate and a need to effectively
supervise those acting as delegates for professional engineers. For example, PEO has
learned of situations where professional engineers delegated by agreeing to take
responsibility for engineering work performed by non-licensed persons employed by
firms other than the firm employing the delegating engineer with little or no active
supervision, oversight or authority to direct the execution of the work. For this and similar
reasons, this standard is required to detail the circumstances under which delegation
can occur. This standard prescribes the steps to be taken by the delegator when
delegating work, how the work should be supervised, and rules establishing the
delegators responsibility for assessing the ability of the delegate to complete the task in
accordance with good engineering practice.
Individuals who are not professional engineers, such as clients and corporate managers,
assign engineering work to professional engineers. Assigning differs from delegating in
that the assignor has no authority to allow a person to perform an act that is within the
practice of professional engineering. Hence, the assignor cannot assign professional
engineering work to a person who is not licensed to practice professional engineering.
Professional Engineers may also choose to assign engineering work to other
professional engineers. In this case the assigning engineer does not retain any
professional responsibility for the assigned engineering work.

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A delegator may be different from the person identified as an employees administrative

supervisor in the organizational administrative or management hierarchy. Since the
professional engineer who delegates professional engineering work assumes
responsibility for that work he or she must have the ability to direct and control the
delegates performance of that work. If this condition cannot be met then the
professional engineering work must not be delegated.
This standard prescribes the professional engineers responsibilities when he or she
assumes responsibility for the work of individuals who are not licensed in the province of
Ontario or for practitioners who are not sufficiently experienced or knowledgeable to
work independently.
This standard defines the legal and ethical issues that regulate the supervision and
delegation activities in the context of professional engineering practice. The intent of the
standard is to ensure that the quality of engineering work performed by delegates under
the direction of a professional engineer is the same as if the engineering work had been
performed directly by a professional engineer.
This standard is intended to provide the minimum requirements by addressing the
following questions:
1. To whom can professional engineering work be delegated? Is it possible to
delegate to persons outside the practitioners organization?
2. What is the delegators role after delegation?
3. Does the delegator have the same responsibility for work delegated to
engineering interns and non-engineers as he or she does for their own work?
4. What are the signing and sealing requirements for professional engineering work
done by non-licensed persons?
Supervising Professional Engineering Work
The Act and its regulations make several references to supervision by professional
engineers. Supervision is included in the list of prescribed activities given in the definition
of the practice of professional engineering in Section 1 of the Professional Engineers
Act. References to the supervisory role of professional engineers are also made in
sections of O. Reg. 941 dealing with the experience requirements for applicants,
requirements for a certificate of authorization, and practising with a provisional licence.
As supervision of professional engineering work is an activity given in the definition of
the practice of professional engineering it is acceptable for a professional engineer to
delegate this supervision to a non-licensed person. That is, a non-licensed person can
supervise the professional engineering work of both professional engineers and nonlicensed persons as long as a professional engineer delegates the supervisory
responsibilities and authorities to the supervising person. The delegating professional
engineer must assume responsibility for the supervision of the delegate providing the
supervision and for the work of the delegate performing the work.
The above referenced articles in the professions governing statutes stipulate
supervisory roles for professional engineers but fail to define conditions and restrictions
that provide guidance on best practice for these roles. Consequently, PEO is concerned
that practitioners may not carry out these tasks in a manner consistent with PEOs
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expectations of professional behaviour. Specifically, PEO requires a standard that can

clearly answer the following questions:
1. What key attributes must be present in the supervisory role to ensure a quality
job is produced by the individual performing the work.
2. What contact does the supervisor need to have with the supervised individual?
3. How many individuals can one person simultaneously supervise?
4. To what degree of verification of the work is the supervisor responsible?
5. What is the role of the designated professional engineers named on the
Certificate of Authorization with respect to responsibility for and supervision of
the services of a business providing professional engineering services (see
Sections 47.1, 60(b), 68, 69 and 70 of O. Reg. 941/90)? What corporate and/or
legal authority should be provided to professional engineers tasked with this
responsibility who are not directors or officers of the firms?
6. What are the additional roles and requirements of the supervisor under whom a
person obtains the experience needed as qualification for the licence or limited
licence (Section 33.(1)4, 45 of O. Reg. 941)? Must the engineering intern be a
direct report to the supervisor? Is this supervisor required to be a mentor to the
intern? Is the supervisor required to provide training in professional conduct and
exhibit exemplary professional behaviour? What degree of organizational support
should the practitioner confirm prior to assuming the responsibilities for
supervising the intern?
7. What are the additional roles and requirements of the supervisor under whom a
person with a provisional licence is allowed to practice (Section 44.1(2).2)?

CONTENT OF THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARD

The following is proposed to be incorporated, after legislative drafting, into O. Reg.
260/08 and will become a regulation under the Professional Engineers Act.
1.

DEFINITIONS

The following terms are used in this standard and their definitions for the purposes of
this standard follow:
Approve - an acknowledgment that the professional engineer or holder of a limited
licence responsible for preparing the engineering document, or for integrating
documents prepared by other practitioners, is satisfied that the content of the document
or documents meets professional standards and, in recognition of the approval, takes
professional responsibility for the content of those documents.
Accepted - has been examined by a person, other than the professional engineer who
prepared the document, who has acknowledged that the document is suitable for the
intended use.
Assign to appoint a practitioner to (a) carry out specific duties and tasks and (b)
assume the professional responsibilities for that work.

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Constraints factors that constitute the limits of flexibility that a person has for decision
making.
Contractor - a person or business, possessing a Certificate of Authorization, which
provides professional engineering services to another person or business under terms
specified in a contract.
Delegate (noun) the individual who receives delegated professional engineering work
from a professional engineer.
Delegation directing non-licensed individuals, or practitioners who do not have
sufficient knowledge and experience to work independently, to undertake certain
professional engineering activities or make certain professional engineering decisions on
behalf of a professional engineer who retains professional responsibility for the work.
Delegator the professional engineer who delegates professional engineering work,
responsibilities and authorities to another individual and who approves their professional
engineering work.
Direction instructions given to a subordinate describing a course of action that must be
followed.
Engineering Intern an individual who is registered in the PEO's Engineering Intern
Training Program. Typically this will be a licence applicant who holds an undergraduate
degree from a CEAB accredited program or equivalent and is working toward their
experience requirements for licensure.
Mentor a professional engineer who provides guidance and support to, but who does
not have organizational authority over, an engineering intern.
Organizational authority ability to decide and implement decisions regarding the
distribution of work within an organization, to allocate work to individual employees, and
accept the output of that work on behalf of the organization.
Practitioner an individual who is a holder of a license, temporary license, limited
license, provisional license or certificate of authorization.
Procedures a series of activities, tasks, steps, calculations, analyses, decisions and
other processes, that when undertaken in the sequence laid down produces the
anticipated outcome.
Professional engineer a holder of a license or temporary license.
Professional responsibility requirement for a licence holder to act in accordance with
the duties and obligations set out in the Professional Engineers Act and its regulations,
and to ensure that any persons carrying out professional engineering activities under the
licence holders supervision also act in accordance with those duties and obligations.
Quality Assurance The policies, procedures, and systematic actions including audits
established in an organization for the purpose of providing and maintaining a specified

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degree of confidence in the quality of the professional engineering services provided by

the licence holders and those working under their supervision.
Quality Control Review of the completed work to assess compliance with standards
applicable for the work.
Review a critical appraisal of the work against the requirements.
Standards Established or widely recognized minimum requirements applicable to the
work.
Subject Matter Expert (SME) an individual who is recognized by experienced peers as
having valuable knowledge and experience in a particular area, and who has
demonstrated ability to deal with a particular task or problem much more effectively than
most people in that area.
Supervision directing and controlling professional engineering work performed by
others and examining the output of that work at intervals appropriate to the skill level of
the supervised persons, the complexity of the work and the impact the work will have on
public safety.
Supervisor the person who provides the supervision for the professional engineering
work performed by others. The supervisor may or may not also have administrative
responsibility for the individual(s) being supervised.
Validation the act of confirming the design, report or other output of a professional
engineering activity meets the needs of the intended user.
Verification the act of reviewing to establish and document that a design, report or
other output of a professional engineering activity complies with the applicable
contractual, regulatory, standard or specification requirements.
Work the professional engineering tasks, activities, actions, calculations, analyses,
decisions that lead to a document or verbal opinion or direction.

2.

PRE-REQUISITES AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS FOR DELEGATION AND

SUPERVISION

Delegation and supervision must only take place within the same organization.
When a delegate receives work from more than one delegator each of the delegators
must:
1. ensure there are no conflicts of direction or priorities or work overloads that have
been created by the various delegators.
2. co-operate and collectively seek solutions to conflicts in direction or work
priorities and any work overloads before the quality of the work performed by the
delegate suffers.
The delegator may
1. supervise the work directly; or
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2. assign another professional engineer to supervise the non-licensed individual; or

3. delegate a second non-licensed individual to supervise the first non-licensed
delegate who is performing the work.
The delegator must ensure that the delegate submits the output of the delegated work to
the delegator or a supervisor for approval when completed.
The delegator is required to specify the verification and validation procedures required to
ensure that the work is completed and that any quality issues have been resolved and to
communicate these to the delegate.
When a project involves work by more than one delegator, each delegator shall
understand which professional engineer holds the integrating responsibility for the
project and cooperate with that individual to achieve an acceptable integrated result.
The delegator must hold a licence or temporary licence for the period during which they
are responsible for the work and must have sufficient knowledge and experience related
to the work.
Individuals who are not professional engineers may not assume responsibility for the
professional engineering work of others. Holders of limited licences and provisional
licences are not professional engineers and therefore cannot delegate professional
engineering work.
The delegator is required to ensure he or she has the organizational authority to
exercise the responsibilities required by this standard.
The delegator must ensure:

The clients and regulatory requirements are clearly understood by the

delegate.

The individual or team of individuals carrying out the work has the collective
engineering competence (knowledge and experience) to complete the work
successfully. If necessary this includes reasonable access to subject matter
experts and other non-labour resources.

The level of verification and/or validation required for the work, in order to
ensure conformance to the clients and regulatory requirements are clearly
understood and documented in a suitable form.

Prior to a delegate starting the work, the delegator must ensure the supervisor:
(1) Assesses the requirements of the work with respect to the knowledge, experience
and capabilities required of the delegate and identify the tools and other resources
required to successfully complete the work.
(2) Assesses the delegate to determine whether there is a gap in knowledge, experience
and capabilities of the delegate compared to the requirements of the work.

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(3) Arranges to make available the required tools and other resources identified in 3 (1)
or identify the gaps between the required and available tools and other resources.
This includes reasonable access to subject matter experts that must be consulted
during the course of the work.
(4) Identifies the means by which the gaps identified in 3 (2) and 3 (3) above will be
mitigated either directly by the delegator or supervisor or by other individuals who
have agreed to assist. However, for engineering interns, the delegator or supervisor
should ensure that the engineering interns skills, knowledge, experience and
capabilities are expanded beyond their current level. The delegator or supervisor
should not simply offload work that is identified as a gap from the engineering intern
to another person. The process should involve letting the engineering intern do
unfamiliar work and have that work reviewed in detail between a professional
engineer and the engineering intern as a learning opportunity.
(5) Establishes a scope of work, duties, responsibilities and authorities of the delegate
and the limitations with respect to acting alone.
(6) Plans for the review of the professional engineering work output of the delegate
(when, how, and by whom).
(7) Provides the required direction needed to begin the work.
Delegators must ensure supervisors who perform detailed reviews of the engineering
calculations of delegates, limit the number of delegates to no more than 3 full time
equivalent people. Delegators must ensure supervisors who perform reviews of higher
level outputs such as descriptions, requirements, test specifications, test reports, etc.,
limit the number of delegates to no more than 6 full time equivalent people. These
numbers should be reduced if the supervisor is also required to undertake other duties
beyond the supervision of delegates. The overall objective is to provide the supervisor
with sufficient time and focus to carry out an effective review and ensure public safety is
not compromised. Consequently, consideration of the following factors may require a
further reduction of the maximum limits above in specific situations:
(i)

the difficulty of the work (complexity, novelty, etc.),

(ii)

the level of knowledge and experience of the delegate reporting to the

supervisor,

(iii)

the level of knowledge and experience of the supervisor,

(iv)

the public safety impact of an error, or

(v)

whether or not there are additional layers of quality assurance processes that will
detect an error before it reaches the public.

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3.

OBJECTIVES FOR THE DELEGATION AND SUPERVISION OF

ENGINEERING INTERNS

The purpose of the engineering intern program is to ensure the development of

approved candidates to a qualified professional engineer, who is capable of assuming
responsibility for the practice of professional engineering.
Consequently the supervision of engineering interns places a greater responsibility on
the delegator and supervisor to ensure sufficient opportunities are provided to the
engineering intern to develop professionally within the context of the delegated work.
3.1

Nature of Tasks Suitable for Engineering Interns

To the extent the delegated work permits, the delegator or supervisor shall ensure the
engineering interns work program provides exposure to the following:
(i)
(ii)

The paramount duty to protect the public interest.

The application of Professional Engineers Act, Regulations including the
Code of Ethics in a professional work environment.
(iii) An understanding of the issues of responsibility, accountability and liability.
(iv) The applicable laws and regulations in the jurisdiction for which the
engineering work is being done.
(v) Application of principles of engineering.
(vi) Development of technical competence in the area of practice.
(vii) Exposure to the application of sound judgment in carrying out assigned
responsibilities.
(viii) Obligations of membership in a self-regulated profession
(ix) Understanding the role of the engineering profession in society.
3.2
Qualifications and Roles of the Delegator, Supervisor and Mentor for
Engineering Interns
The delegator of the engineering intern shall be a professional engineer in the province
of Ontario and shall approve the work of the engineering intern.
If a mentor is also assigned to the engineering intern, the mentor shall be a professional
engineer in the province of Ontario.
The mentor shall guide, counsel, provide inspiration and be a role model for the
engineering intern but shall neither delegate work to nor assume professional
responsibility for the work done by the engineering intern.
Each engineering intern supervisor shall review the work of the interns under their
direction and ensure it meets acceptable quality standards. Supervisors who are not
professional engineers must be delegated their supervisory responsibilities and
authorities by a professional engineer.

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3.3

Responsibilities of the Supervisor of the Engineering Intern

The delegator or supervisor shall provide direct supervision to the engineering intern.
The engineering intern may have more than one delegator or supervisor if he or she is
involved in more than one work project.
The roles of the supervisor and mentor shall be clearly explained to the engineering
intern by the delegator.
Any delegator who delegates responsibility to the engineering intern for independent
decision-making must ensure the engineering intern has sufficient knowledge and
experience to exercise this discretion and the interns supervisor must be informed of
this delegated authority.
The amount of supervision and direction required will vary depending on the size and
complexity of the task, the degree of skill and experience of the engineering intern and
the public safety impact of the work. The delegator or supervisor must have sufficient
knowledge and experience of the assigned work to exercise effective control of the work
with respect to quality and safety.
The delegator or supervisor shall be actively involved in the following:

Establish the required procedures appropriate for the task and confirm that they
are clearly understood by the engineering intern.
Periodically instructing, guiding, inspecting and examining the work as it
progresses.
Monitor the progress with sufficient frequency to be satisfied that the task has
been performed to an acceptable quality level in accordance with the applicable
codes and standards.
Ensuring the planned verification and validation activities have been performed
and the quality issues have been resolved.
Inspecting and examining the final product (design, drawings, analysis, etc.), prior
to issuance.

The delegator must approve the engineering interns work and certify the interns
logbook entries.
3.4

Responsibilities of the Engineering Intern

It is the responsibility engineering interns to ensure a professional engineer is
approving their engineering work.
Engineering interns shall submit periodic reports stating their progress to PEO for
review and evaluation.
Engineering interns shall follow the instructions of their delegators or supervisors
during the period of their internship and shall not implement any engineering
decision without consultation with and approval of the delegators or supervisors.
Keep a logbook to facilitate assessment by the PEO of the interns career
development progress.
The logbook shall identify projects undertaken by the engineering intern, the
supervisor, the professional engineer taking responsibility for the work, and the
engineering principles implemented in the work.
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4.

Engineering interns who encounter an unsafe engineering practice or engineering

decision shall raise the matter with the relevant delegator or supervisor
immediately; if the matter is not resolved to the interns satisfaction they shall bring
the issue to the attention of PEO for an independent assessment.
OBJECTIVES OF SUPERVISION UNDER THE CERTIFICATE OF
AUTHORIZATION

The purpose of designating a professional engineer(s) on the Certificate of Authorization

to assume responsibility for and supervise the services of a business providing
professional engineering services is to ensure that the professional engineering services
provided to the public are safe, technically sound and in compliance with applicable
codes and standards.
Consequently the supervision of services of a business providing professional
engineering services places a responsibility, jointly and severally, on the designated
professional engineer(s) on the Certificate of Authorization to ensure that to the extent
that portions of the professional engineering services provided by the business are
assigned to licensed individuals or delegated to non-licensed individuals including
engineering interns that the work is supervised in compliance with this standard.
4.1

Qualifications for Supervision under the Certificate of Authorization

The professional engineer(s) identified on the Certificate of Authorization to supervise

and assume responsibility for the services provided by the organization shall be PEO
Member(s) with at least five years experience after conferral of degree as required by
Section 47.1 of O. Reg. 941/90 ().
In the event that the business providing professional engineering services uses the title
consulting engineers or a variation approved by Council then one or more of the
professional engineer(s) identified on the Certificate of Authorization to supervise and
assume responsibility for the services provided by the organization must be a
designated consulting engineer.
4.2

Supervision Responsibilities of the Designated Professional Engineer(s) on

the Certificate of Authorization

The professional engineer(s) identified on the Certificate of Authorization shall provide

supervision of the professional engineering services.
The professional engineer(s) identified on the Certificate of Authorization as providing
supervision may directly supervise individuals doing the work or may assign
responsibility for portions of this supervision to other licensed individuals, or delegate to
non-licensed individuals, within the business subject to the organizations quality
assurance policies and procedures as a minimum. The engineer(s) identified on the
Certificate of Authorization shall be satisfied with these procedures and, if not, shall
implement his or her own additional quality assurance requirements.
The amount of supervision and direction exercised by the assigned or delegated
supervisor shall be based on the size and complexity of the task, the degree of skill and
experience of the individuals performing the work and the public safety impact of the
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work. The assigned or delegated supervisor must have sufficient knowledge and
experience of the assigned work to exercise effective control of the work with respect to
quality and safety.
The professional engineer(s) identified on the Certificate of Authorization shall ensure
that the assigned or delegated supervisor is actively involved as a minimum in the
following quality assurance requirements:

Establishment of the required procedures appropriate for completing the work.

Periodic guidance, inspection and examination of the work as it progresses.

Monitoring the progress of the work with sufficient frequency to be satisfied that
the work has been performed to an acceptable quality level in accordance with
the applicable codes and standards.

Approval of the final document (design, drawings, analysis, etc.) before issuance.
5.

OBJECTIVES OF DELEGATING PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERING WORK TO

OTHERS

This standard provides the minimum requirements for professional engineers who
assume responsibility for directing or supervising the practice of professional
engineering and/or delegating the practice of professional engineering to non-licensed
individuals.
The Professional Engineers Act permits a professional engineer to delegate activities
that are within the practice of professional engineering to a non-licensed individual
(delegate) provided that the proper degree of direction, supervision and responsibility
over the professional engineering work is exercised by a professional engineer.
The delegator must first meet the pre-requisite requirements for delegation and
supervision outlined in Section 3 of this standard. The proper degree of direction and
supervision will vary depending on the size and complexity of the task; knowledge,
experience, and the skill of the delegate; as well as the delegators level of knowledge
and experience of the assigned work. The delegator must exercise due diligence to
ensure the professional engineering work is performed in compliance with the applicable
requirements with emphasis on:

Protection of public health and safety

Achieving an acceptable level of technical quality
Compliance with lawful standards, rules or regulations

If a non-licensed individual is delegated supervisory responsibility and authority, the

ultimate responsibility for compliance with the above requirements remains with the
delegator.
5.1

Assigning Professional Engineering Work between Professional Engineers

in the Same Organization

5.1.1. When a professional engineer assigns engineering work to another professional

engineer in the same organization, the assigned engineer assumes complete
responsibility for the professional engineering work he or she is expected to complete.
The assigned engineer confirms his or her acceptance of this transfer of responsibility by

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signing, dating and affixing his or her seal for the professional engineering work he or
she has performed.
Only work compatible with the knowledge and experience of the assigned engineer shall
be assigned as in 5.1.1. otherwise the work shall be delegated as defined in 2.
5.2

Delegating and Supervising Professional Engineering Work to NonLicensed Individuals in the Same Organization

When a professional engineer delegates a non-licensed individual to carry out

professional engineering work, the delegator must assume the responsibility for that
work the delegate performs and completes. The delegator may choose to supervise the
work himself or herself or may assign another professional engineer to supervise the
non-licensed individual or may delegate a second non-licensed individual to supervise
the first non-licensed delegate who is performing the work.
The delegator must ensure the supervisor provides the proper degree of direction and
supervision of the delegate that meets the following minimum criteria:
The direction and supervision must be exercised at a level of care, skill and
attention in order for the supervisor to maintain an adequate knowledge and
control of the professional engineering work.
The delegate is to have direct and frequent communication with the supervisor
for advice and direction, for the full duration of the professional engineering work
the delegate is expected to perform and complete.
The supervisor should review and verify the work performed by the delegate for
assurance of quality and accuracy of the work prior to a deliverable being sent to
the client or employer or prior to it being issued to downstream engineering
groups for use. If the professional engineering work involves several phases, the
delegator should review and verify the work performed by the delegate at each
phase.
The required activities to be performed are clearly understood between the
supervisor and the delegate.
The number of delegates the supervisor may simultaneously supervise will depend on
the following:
Level of skill, knowledge and experience of the supervisor and the delegate(s).
The supervisors ability to provide effective direction and supervision of each
delegate with sufficient frequency to be satisfied that the task has been
performed to an acceptable quality level.
The supervisors ability to establish and maintain an adequate knowledge and
control of the task by each delegate.
Availability of the supervisor to provide direct communication at a frequency that
will ensure effective monitoring and transmission of information to the delegate.
The delegator shall:
Review, verify and approve the completed work of the delegate(s); and
Sign, date and affix his or her seal to the professional engineering work.

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5.3

Requirements on Holders of Limited Licences in the Same Organization

Holders of limited licences are not professional engineers and therefore may not assume
responsibility for the professional engineering work of others.
When the individual is a limited licence holder, the professional engineering work
assigned to him/her shall be restricted to the limited services within the practice of
professional engineering specified in the limited licence if the limited licence holder is
expected to work independently. The delegate shall sign, date and affix his or her seal
for the professional engineering work performed.
Otherwise, the pre-requisites for delegation and standards for proper direction and
supervision of a delegate who is not licensed apply to a limited licence holder delegated
with professional engineering work outside of his or her areas of limited services allowed
by the limited licence.
5.4

Requirements for Holders of Temporary Licence in the Same Organization

When the delegator is a holder of a temporary licence, the professional engineering work
to be performed must be completed prior to the expiry of the temporary licence and the
pre-requisites for delegation and standards for proper direction and supervision of a
delegate applies to the delegator. Also, the collaborating engineer named in the
delegators temporary licence must be involved in collaborating with the delegate with
respect to the delegated work.
The temporary licence holder shall sign, date and affix his or her seal for the
professional engineering work performed. Also, the collaborating engineer named in the
professional engineers temporary licence must be involved in collaborating with the
engineer with respect to the delegated work and must sign, date and affix his or her seal
to the work.
Otherwise, for work that extends beyond the expiry date of a temporary licence, or work
that extends beyond the knowledge and experience capability of the assigned engineer,
the pre-requisites for delegation and standards for proper direction and supervision of a
delegate who is not licensed apply.
5.5

Requirements for Holders of Provisional Licences in the Same

Organization

Holders of provisional licences are not professional engineers and therefore may not
assume responsibility for the professional engineering work of others.
Provisional licence holders may be delegated professional engineering work only under
the supervision of the professional engineering supervisor named in the provisional
licence, and prior to the expiry of the provisional licence. The supervising professional
engineer named in the provisional licence is responsible for the work performed by the
provisional licence holder. That supervising professional engineer shall ensure that the
requirements imposed on the delegator and supervisor in this standard have been met
and shall sign, date and affix his or her seal adjacent with the signature, date and seal of
the provisional licence holder he or she supervised.

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Otherwise, for work that extends beyond the expiry date of a provisional licence, the prerequisites for delegation and standards for proper direction and supervision of a delegate
who is not licensed apply.
5.6

Professional Engineering Work Contracted to other Organizations

Transfer of professional engineering work from one organization to another must be

done under a formal contract that outlines the respective roles, responsibilities and
authorities of the two organizations and which organization retains overall responsibility
for integration of the work of the two organizations.
The contractor is required to comply with the provisions of the Act and this standard with
respect to the engineering work that the contractor performs including provisions related
to the Certificate of Authorization.
When the work is contracted to another professional engineering organization, it is the
holder of the Certificate of Authorization in the contracting firm and its identified
professional engineer(s) who assumes full responsibility for the professional engineering
work.
When the work is contracted to an organization not required by the Professional
Engineers Act to hold a Certificate of Authorization (e.g. supplier, manufacturer,
fabricator or similar organization), a professional engineer within or retained by that
organization must assume responsibility for the contracted professional engineering
services and comply with the requirements of this standard.
When external individuals are employed on contract to augment internal staffing and to
undertake professional engineering work they are considered internal staff resources
within the employing organization for the purposes of this standard and the delegation
and supervision requirements in this standard apply.

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