Who Are Civil Engineers?

Civil Engineers are the people who design, build, maintain and improve the physical fabric of civilisation.

They work in an amazing range of areas and can make a difference both good and bad to how society functions. Much of what they do is taken for granted, used without thought or even hidden from our eyes;

• Roads & Highways (including Walking and Cycling Infrastructure)
• Bridges
• Dams
• Canals
• Power stations
• Wind Farms
• Flood Defence
• Water Supply
• Sewerage
• Tunnels
• Land remediation
• Airports
• Tidal Power
• Gas & Oil Exploration
• Government Advice
• Insurance
• Construction
• Building
• Reservoirs
• Railways
• Power Distribution
• City Planning

The work of Civil Engineers can be seen everywhere, they provide the networks and infrastructure for our modern civilisation.

When an infrastructure system fails, it is often Civil Engineers who are blamed, but this blog tries to tempt the reader to look behind the headlines to who really makes the decisions and why.

Professional Civil Engineers will have received higher education, will be registered with the Engineering Council as a Chartered Engineer, Incorporated Engineer or Engineering Technician and be a member of one of many professional engineering institutions such as the Institution of Civil Engineers. They will also maintain their knowledge and training through Continuing Professional Development (CPD), so they are able to demonstrate their competence to practice.

One, Great George Street, HQ of the Institution ofCivil Engineers (ICE) and the home of modern professional civil engineering. Image from ICE.

"Engineer" is a much used and abused title with no legal protection, so unless you are dealing one of the three grades listed above (which are legally protected), you have no guarantee that the person is sufficiently qualified or trained to advise you. Professional engineers are not allowed to practice in areas which they are not properly qualified and they are subject to codes of professional conduct.