Be prepared for more challenges, engineers told

Filipino civil engineers have faced the challenge of providing solutions to the demands for better, safer and more comfortable environment and they must prepare for the future challenges of the profession, engineer Ernesto S. De Castro said in addressing those who attended the recent Civil Engineering Summit 2015 and 12th NCR Technical Conference of the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers held in Marikina City. 

De Castro said that through the engineering accomplishments of the past, the world has become smaller, more inclusive, and connected.

The challenges facing engineering today are not those of isolated locales, but of the planet as a whole and the people, De Castro said adding that, meeting all those challenges must make the world not only a more technologically-advanced and connected place, but also a better place.

Today’s civil engineers need to transform themselves to meet the challenges of tomorrow, he said.

Some of these challenges are the following: lack of engineer training or OJT of Filipino professional engineers; the issue of the number of years of education of Philippine engineers compared to other countries; advanced degree faculty to teach advanced degree subjects; infrastructure demand; problems of the current practice; communication skills of engineers; updating of transportation systems suitable to Philippine settings; and disaster preparedness and mitigation.

The Philippines, according to De Castro, is susceptible to high risks like earthquakes, steep and unstable slopes, frequent typhoons, urbanization, rising seal levels, land subsidence in flood plains, natural disasters averaging P5.7 billion in damages per year aside from man-made disasters.

Civil engineers, he said, are entrusted by society to help achieve a sustainable world and raise the global quality of life adding the need for coordinated or integrated academic curricula, learning skills in management, communication, research and development must be achieved.

All areas of civil engineering like construction, environmental, structural, transportation, geotechnical, water resources and urban planning must strive to update their technologies, codes, design innovations and global initiatives to face the current demands.

“We should help our local civil engineers develop their full potential and take the opportunities of the current economic development because if we do not pay attention to the quality of our civil engineers, disasters would likely to happen. Floods and flash floods, storm surges, tsunami, debris flow, landslides, mudslides, typhoons, and volcanic eruptions are some of the natural disasters,” De Castro explained.

Untrained and unqualified civil engineers, he added, can cause death and destruction caused by failures. At the very least, poor design by civil engineers can increase the cost of construction, and operation and maintenance or both. And major consequences for public health, safety, and welfare when there are poorly trained civil engineers.

The need for coordinated and/or integrated academic curricula, learning skills in management, communication and research and development must be achieved to help improved the civil engineering profession.

We should also take a look at the following areas to make some adjustments:

· Public and private partnership and institutional strengthening.

· Financial requirements, investment needs for training, risks assessments.

Access and exposure to new and developing technologies.; Information on the economic benefits and quality of life improvement brought about by investment in research and development and mitigation measures.;

Adopting an integrated management and monitoring approach in the quality of the constructed project.; Seismic, Hydrological, geological and meteorological data processed, synthesized and disseminated to concerned agencies, LGUs and private organizations.; and Rationalization of various agencies’ responsibilities as building officials, local government engineers and responsibilities of “Project Construction Managers.”