Certified Engineer Process

MDOT Certified Engineer Process

MDOT has a four-year record certification program, approved by the FHWA, for construction engineers, licensed assistant construction engineers, licensed consultant project engineers and licensed local agency project engineers. Engineers who are certified have demonstrated proficiency in oversight, administration, and proper documentation of federal-aid projects. Certified engineers in good standing may close out projects they have overseen without an MDOT Final Project Review. Certified engineers are also randomly audited to ensure proper documentation procedures are followed and to maintain the integrity of the certification process. The engineer certification status will be considered independent of where the engineer works and will be transferable to other projects, offices, and teams where the engineer oversees the project construction administration process. The certified engineer is ultimately responsible for the project documentation regardless of who is on their team or how long they have been in charge of the project. Certified engineers who are currently certified will follow the recertification process when their current certification expires. Certified engineers are required to update and maintain their contact/employment information with the Construction Field Services (CFS) Construction Contracts Unit, Certification Engineer if they wish for their certification to remain in effect.

Current Certified Engineers

See the revised record certification list (November 2023) below.

Certified Engineer Application Process

The process to apply for certified engineer status is as follows:

• Submit electronic request to the CFS Certification Engineer requesting certification application.
• Submit certification application and required supporting documents to the CFS Certification Engineer.

Certified Engineer Application Requirements

Required supporting documents for Certified Engineer Application:

• Copy of current professional engineer license as issued by the State of Michigan
• MDOT Office Technician certification. Provide either:
  • Current Office Technician Certificate of Completion OR
  • Expired Office Technician Certificate of Completion and Current Office Technician Exam (Recertification) Certificate of Completion
• The applicant must submit a list of all projects they were in responsible charge of for the previous two years and all projects they are currently administering. Engineers will not be eligible for Engineer Certification until they can produce two closed projects and one active project for review that have occurred in the past two years. Projects eligible for engineer certification application must meet the following criteria:
  • The engineer must have been in responsible charge (contract modifications, pay estimates, extensions of time, notices of non-compliance, etc.) for the majority (51% or greater) of the duration of the projects and at the time of closeout.
  • Projects must contain major items of work from multiple divisions of the Standard Specifications for Construction. Projects with all major work on a single pay item or division will only be considered if the other submitted projects contain a more diverse cross section of work over multiple divisions.
  • The CFS Certification Engineer will examine two completed or closed projects that have had Final Project Reviews completed and one active project (final estimate not generated) from the list submitted.

The CFS Certification Engineer, with approval from the CFS Construction Contracts Engineer, may waive specific requirements in special circumstances such as if the engineer has been working a single large multi-year project or other special circumstance.

Certified Engineer Application Review Procedures

• The CFS Certification Engineer will review the applicant’s recent history of timely project closeout and review their recent Final Project Review reports.
• The CFS Certification Engineer will compare the applicants submitted project list with the central office project list and select the 3 projects to be examined for review. (2 closed and one active project)
• The CFS Certification Engineer will select a new sample of pay items independent from the original file review items.
• Reviews will be performed on the file documentation “as is”. Deficient items will receive a negative score.
• All deficient items are to be addressed by the Engineer seeking certification.
• Any deficient item scoring appeals must be directed to the CFS Certification Engineer. If unresolved, the engineer may appeal to the CFS Construction Contracts Engineer who will make a final decision.
• Discovery of any major deficiencies in the review will result in the engineer being denied certified engineer status. See Project Closeout Escalation of Accountability for Major Deficiency definition and examples..
• The engineer must score 80 percent on the Form 1117 to pass the review. If a score of 80 percent is not achieved, then the engineer must wait an additional year to reapply.
• The projects reviewed in the initial certification application cannot be used to reapply for certification if initial application review fails.

Certified Engineer Status

• Engineers may only certify projects for which their certification was in effect prior to the project contract completion date.
• Engineers may not certify projects where they were not in responsible charge for a majority portion of the project and project closeout.
• Engineer certification is effective for a period of four years or less if the certification status is revoked or engineer is on probation status.
• Engineers on probation may not certify any projects and Engineers may not certify projects after losing certification status (unless approved by CFS).

Certified Engineer Review Audits

The CFS Certification Engineer or designee (consultant) will perform periodic engineer certification review audits. The purpose of these review audits is to ensure the certified engineer is properly completing project documentation as expected. This process ensures the certification program has integrity over the four-year life of the certification.

• Review audits may be performed on projects that the certified engineer has closed in the previous 12 months.
• If the certified engineer has not closed a project in the previous 12 months, the review audit will be postponed until the following year.
• Projects will be selected on a random basis without prior notice.
• Review audits will generally not occur more than once a year.
• Review audits may be performed remotely through ProjectWise.

If a review audit is unacceptable:

• The certified engineer may be placed on probation.
• Engineers on probation may not close out projects as a certified engineer.
  • Probation:
    • The CFS Certification Engineer will re-examine the project that failed after 30 days.
      • If the project with deficiencies was not addressed, then the engineer’s certification will be revoked.
      • If the project with deficiencies was addressed, then a second random project will be reviewed.
        • If the second project passes, probation is lifted.
        • If the second project fails, the engineer's certification is revoked. The engineer may not apply for recertification for a minimum of one year from the date that their certification was removed.
  • Loss of certification:
    • All projects (from that point forward) are required to have standard project file reviews.
    • Any appeals on loss of certification must be made to the CFS Construction Contracts Engineer.

Certified Engineer Renewal Process

• The certified engineer status will continue for a duration of four-years providing the certified engineer has not lost their certified engineer status. After the four-year certification period, the certification must be renewed.
• The certified engineer wishing to renew their certification must:
  • Send the CFS Certification Engineer a request to renew certification a minimum of 3 months prior to the certification expiration date.
  • Send a list of all MDOT let projects where the engineer was in responsible charge over the previous two years. Note that certification will only be allowable if the Certified Engineer has a minimum of 2 closed and 1 open project to show in the past two years, similar to Certified Engineer Application Requirements..
• A sample of projects will be selected for review using the same requirements as the initial certification application.
• The engineer’s performance on audit reviews may be reviewed.

Engineers seeking renewal of their MDOT certified engineer status must submit: Certificate of completion for the full five-day course for MDOT Certified Office Technician certification within the prior four years;

OR

Expired Certificate of Completion for Certified Office Technician AND Current Certificate of Completion for Certified Office Technician (Recertification) Exam.

Applicants failing the certified engineer renewal process will follow procedures of the certified engineer application process after one year.

The CFS Certification Engineer, with approval from the CFS Construction Contracts Engineer, may waive specific requirements in special circumstances for renewal.

LAP Project Considerations

If a local agency engineer performs federally funded local agency projects by non-competitive bid contract (force account) projects, one of these force account projects must be selected for review as part of their Certified Engineer application or renewal.

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