Michael Chan

The Discipline Committee determined the penalty for a professional engineer and his company found guilty of professional misconduct for negligently designing a solar tracking device prototype outside his area of competence.

The Committee ordered a reprimand, a one-month licence suspension, a permanent restriction limiting his practice to mechanical engineering, successful completion of the Professional Practice Examination, publication of the decision with names, and $2,000 in costs.

The Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario alleged that the member and his company committed professional misconduct in the design of a solar tracking device prototype.

The prototype experienced multiple structural failures after installation due to inadequate wind load calculations.

The Discipline Committee found the member guilty of professional misconduct for negligence, failing to safeguard life and property, undertaking work outside his competence, and unprofessional conduct, noting he was a mechanical engineer with no prior experience designing solar rack structures.

The member and his firm faced professional discipline for signing and sealing deficient shop drawings and calculations for structural support beams, and for undertaking structural engineering work outside their competence.

The member admitted to the allegations of professional misconduct.

The Discipline Committee accepted the admission and found the member guilty.

In determining the penalty, the Committee considered the member's cooperation, out-of-pocket remediation of the errors, and changes to his practice.

The Committee ordered a reprimand, a restriction prohibiting the member from practicing structural engineering (with limited exceptions for platforms), and a limited practice review, but declined to impose a licence suspension.

The member, an electrical engineer, signed and sealed a letter to a municipality certifying that structural work for a solar panel installation had been completed in accordance with engineering drawings.

In fact, the member had not inspected the work, and approximately half of the required attachment plates were missing, creating a potential risk to public safety.

The member admitted to professional misconduct.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, a one-month suspension of the member's licence and his company's Certificate of Authorization, publication of the decision, and a requirement that the member pass the Professional Practice Examination.

The Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) brought professional misconduct allegations against a member and his engineering firm regarding inaccurate heating and cooling load calculations for a residential solarium.

The member signed and sealed revised calculations prepared by a technician without checking them, resulting in a significantly undersized cooling unit.

The member admitted to the facts and pled guilty to professional misconduct for negligence and for sealing documents not actually prepared or checked by him.

The Discipline Committee accepted a joint submission on penalty, ordering a reprimand, publication without names, and successful completion of the Professional Practice Examination within 14 months, failing which a 10-month suspension would apply.