Engineer Found To Have Breached Building Consent Process

A Disciplinary Committee has upheld a complaint raised by Tasman District Council about Steven King-Turner, Chartered Professional Engineer and Chartered Member of Engineering New Zealand.

Mr King-Turner issued a producer statement 4 for construction review (PS4), certifying construction work completed complies with the Building Code, before building consent had been obtained. The Council became aware of this while processing the building consent application to

authorise the work.

Mr King-Turner was found to have failed to enquire whether building consent had been granted before issuing the PS4.

He was also censured and ordered to pay a fine and contribute 50 percent of all investigation costs, totalling $8,837.50.

The Disciplinary Committee said construction should not occur without consent, and is “a behaviour which should be deterred, given engineers play a vital role in maintaining the building consent process”.

“A reasonable engineer should have checked whether building consent had been applied for and granted before issuing a PS4.”

The Disciplinary Committee said Mr King-Turner’s actions showed “a lack of care” but the departure from expected standards was “at the lower end of the scale”. Further, no wide-ranging competency issues were identified.

The Committee also commended Mr King-Turner for taking steps to prevent the omission from recurring in his own practice and that of his firm.

Engineering New Zealand expects engineers to play their part in ensuring building consent process are followed, as part of their professional obligations and their commitment to the Code of Ethical Conduct. We have published an article for members about the pitfalls of not doing so and the implications for clients, consenting authorities and engineers.

Read the decision

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