Engineers work hard to gain their technical knowledge to be used in real life applications. For example, civil engineers studied the design of structures and buildings to know how such designs work through principles of math and physics.
But what would civil engineers feel that they are being robbed of their job by some phony engineers? Furious, of course.
Such would be felt by civil engineers about the case of two men, Wilfrido Rodrigues and Ruben Gutierrez, who posed as licensed civil engineering professionals in California. They have no training, expertise or credentials whatsoever to protect their right to design structures. Their undiscovered fake credentials have built hundreds of buildings, from houses to strip malls, in a span of over a decade.
Source: LA County Sheriff via Fox News
The two were able to fabricate plans of such structures by stealing software to craft bogus blueprints from a company they worked for, the Palos Verdes Engineering Company, a firm based in Rolling Hills Estates. They managed to work on engineering and architectural plans for homes, apartments, commercial properties and strip malls, which covered 56 Southern Californian cities starting in 2003 when they are already out of the company.
Detective Rod Barton of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Fraud and Cyber Crimes Bureau reiterated that this is by far the only case involving alleged engineering fraud of this magnitude.
The pair convinced architects, builders, and homeowners that they are real structural designers by pirating the software they got from Palos Verdes Engineering Company – from which they got the copy of the civil engineer seal and forged signature to make the plans appear look approved by a professional civil engineer.
Their previous company reported to authorities the alleged fraud the two has committed after a customer complained about an offer made by the two in April 2014. The two had no business relations at all with the company between 2003 and 2014, during the time the alleged fraud transpired.
The question now lies whether the buildings constructed as designed by the fake engineers were safe, unsafe, or suitable for habitation. Provided that the earthquakes now frequent in California, the need to assess the built structures as structurally sound is urgent.
Civil engineers, the legitimate ones at that, need to verify every design they make with calculations. Source: Carey Consulting
Professor and chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Hawaii-Manoa Panos Prevedouros weighs in: “A significant concern is foundations. Experienced drafters can work out safe designs for small masonry structures, but proper foundation design and specialized structural components required detailed engineering analysis.”
The two has cheated their way out of surviving a degree in civil engineering, passing several difficult exams, and getting five years of experience before they sign plans for implementation. But looks like the two will not get the last laugh, and real hardwork of civil engineers shall always prevail.
Source: Fox News
