What happens if my QP stops acting halfway through the works?
The QP must notify the Commissioner of Building Control and the builder within 14 days of ceasing to act. The developer must appoint a replacement without delay and notify the Commissioner within 7 days. Under the Building Control Act, the builder must stop work, or not start it, until another appropriate QP is appointed. A mid-project change is therefore a programme risk, which is one reason owners prefer to hold the engineer's appointment themselves.
From the RRD Field Guide, checked against the sources cited in PE Endorsement in Singapore: What It Legally Means and Why Engineer Independence Matters. General information, not advice for your project.
The fuller picture
A PE endorsement is a statutory signature: only a Professional Engineer registered with the PEB and holding a practising certificate in force may sign plans or certificates that the law requires a PE to sign, and documents signed otherwise are invalid. The endorsing PE owes duties to the client, the regulator and the public, which is why owners are better served appointing and paying the engineer directly.
More questions on this topic
- What does it mean when drawings are 'PE-endorsed'?
- How do I check that an engineer is a real, practising PE?
- Is it illegal for a contractor to arrange the PE for my works?
- What is the difference between a PE and a Qualified Person (QP)?
- Can the same PE design and supervise my works?
- Can a PE give a contractor a commission for referring work?
- Who does the PE owe duties to if the contractor pays the fee?