Innovation Winter 2025/26

Registrants play a role in the development

T o develop effective professional practice guidelines and advisories for registrants, Engineers and Geoscientists BC seeks input from relevant sources. In that process, registrants have several ways they can be involved. Guidelines and advisories are proactive regulatory tools designed to set the expectations and obligations of registrants and guide their professional practice. “They are there to set the minimum bar of professional practice,” explained Amy Fehr, P.Eng., Acting Associate Director, Professional Practice at Engineers and Geoscientists BC. Without these resources, Fehr continued, “the alternative is to have case law determine what practice standards are,” which is a less focused process in which outcomes can vary widely in terms of applicability. “By proactively stepping in and providing what the expectations and obligations of professional practice are, [advisories and guidelines] fill that gap and support what good professional practice looks like within a broader context,” she said. Identifying guideline topics Registrants can play a crucial role in the development of advisories and guidelines by helping to identify practice areas of risk. Engineers and Geoscientists BC develops guidance based on an assessment of risk.

“We are finding that we get requests directly from government, industry, and the professional community saying, ‘we need to fill this gap,’” Fehr said. “We see that more and more as we develop these guidelines and advisories,” dubbing these requests “demand-based.” Registrants can also indirectly influence these resource documents’ development by their interactions with the organization. Practice-based topics are developed as a result of Engineers and Geoscientists BC tracking “our practice inquiries [and] talking to registrants every day about what’s happening in industry and practice,” Fehr explained. “We also have data from practice reviews, audits, investigations, disciplinary proceedings, and general feedback to staff or to our Board around issues in practice.” Reaction-based advisories and guidelines are a result of an engineering or geoscience failure, or a near miss, that brings to light an issue that needs urgent attention. Once a topic is identified, Engineers and Geoscientists BC uses a risk-based approach to prioritize and develop practice guidelines and advisories. Considerations include, but are not limited to: • public safety and environmental risks; • the applicability and scope of existing guidance on the topic;

Innovation Innovation

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Winter 2025/26