Standards Engineering Practice

Question: What does standard engineering practice mean? Should an engineer deviate from government rules and regulations if the engineer believes that she is following standard engineering design practices but the design does not conform to the regulation or rule?
posted by Michele, Staunton, VA on March 28, 2012

Answer by Dr. Annette von Jouanne

It means following and meeting approved Standards. The approved engineering standards must be met. If, for example, a govt. regulation requires a tighter standard, then the approved engineering standard can be presented as a means of modifying the govt. reg. However, there are cases when the govt. (e.g. military) has a tighter standard, for valid reasons, and then that tighter standard should be pursued. Take Care, -Dr. von Jouanne