THE Philippine Society for Mechanical Engineers (PSME) in Cebu will lobby for the strict implementation of Republic Act (RA) 8495 requiring companies to hire only competent mechanical engineers.
“Handling mechanical equipment can be dangerous and hazardous. It can kill. If you don’t hire competent mechanical engineers (MEs) to run it, people will die,” said PSME president Vicente Vosotros, citing an incident where a boiler in Manila blew up killing five people.
He cited Article IV, Section 35 of RA 8495, otherwise known as the Philippine Mechanical Engineering Act of 1998, which states that: “It is unlawful for any person to order or otherwise cause the fabrication, construction, erection, installation or alteration of any mechanical equipment, machinery or process for any mechanical works, projects, or plants, unless the designs, plans, layouts or specifications have been prepared by or under the responsible charge of, and duly signed and sealed by a professional mechanical engineer.”
Convention focus
Vosotros, in a press interview last Saturday at the City Sports Club Cebu, said the strict implementation of the law will be the main focus of the 55th PSME Annual Convention this Oct. 24 to 27 at the Cebu International Convention Center.
PSME member Antonio Tompar said the organization will be writing to the Department of Interior and Local Government, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Department of Health as cooperators for the convention, ensuring the competency of Philippine MEs.
“Just like any other profession, mechanical engineering is important. You need competent people to run a plant or business, especially if it’s ISO (International Organization for Standardization) certified,” he said.
Vosotros said despite the popularity and high enrollment base of medical and information technology courses, mechanical engineering continues to show strong demand among industrial and tourism-related establishments in Cebu.
“The demand is still high. There’s an assurance of job placement even in hotels,” he said.
He added that mechanical engineering “is not a sunset rofession.”
Edwin Carcasona, PSME convention vice chairman, said a two-megawatt industrial plant, for example, will require three to four mechanical engineers.
He said that even Lexmark Research and Development in Cebu needs some 500 MEs to fill its mechanical engineering laboratory.
Highly competent
Competency wise, ME graduates in the country are “highly competent,” said Vosotros.
Of the 3,500 ME graduates a year, he said 1,700 are board passers.
Cebu graduates, in particular, have an average passing rate of 55 percent, which is above the national rate of 50 percent.
But while the profession continues to be “promising” here and abroad, Vosotros admitted that the profession is challenged by a decrease in enrollees and the exodus of “seasoned engineers” for higher-paying jobs abroad.
This is why he said PSME will be conducting career orientations in various schools.
To entice more enrollees, Carcasona said there would be a need to reduce the curriculum to only four years, taking out general education subjects, similar to the ME courses offered abroad.
The 55TH PSME convention, with the theme “Mechanical Engineers for a Sustainable Fiture” will also update members on strategic issues and latest technologies that will impact and sustain their professional practice.
PSME is targeting 700 to 1,200 delegates this year. There are 45,000 to 50,000 MEs nationwide. (MMM)
