Professional Practice and Regulations: The Statutory Chain and Professional Conduct
The Professional Practice and Regulations domain tests whether you can run a project lawfully and behave as a registered professional in Hong Kong. Questions cluster around the statutory submission chain, the division of responsibility between the Authorized Person (AP), Registered Structural Engineer (RSE), Registered Geotechnical Engineer (RGE) and Registered Contractor (RC), and the HKIA Code of Professional Conduct.
The statutory chain under the Buildings Ordinance
- Plans are prepared and signed by the AP, with the RSE and RGE where structure or geotechnics are involved, and submitted to the Building Authority (the Director of Buildings).
- Approval of plans is not permission to build. Consent to commence work is applied for and granted separately, and consents can be staged, so foundation and superstructure may be authorised at different times.
- During construction the AP and RSE supervise in accordance with the supervision plan; specialist works - foundation, demolition, site formation, ground investigation - require a Registered Specialist Contractor.
- At completion the AP applies for an occupation permit (OP), or a temporary occupation permit (TOP) for part of a building. The Building Authority must be satisfied on structure, fire safety, means of escape and drainage, and the Fire Services Department certifies the fire service installations.
Conduct the examiners probe
- Certify only work you have actually supervised; signing for site attendance you did not provide is a disciplinary matter.
- Declare conflicts of interest, including any interest in a contractor or supplier, and never accept undisclosed commissions.
- Keep client information confidential and avoid advertising that the HKIA Code prohibits.
Worked example
The site agent telephones on Friday: piling is finished, he wants to start pile caps on Monday, and the plans were approved last month. What is your response?
Reasoning: approval is not consent. Check whether consent to commence covering that submission has actually been issued. If it has not, instruct in writing that work must not start and confirm the instruction to the developer. Apply for consent with the required supervision plan and notifications, and record the date. If work nevertheless proceeds, the AP has a duty to report the contravention to the Building Authority, and silence exposes the AP to disciplinary action.
Traps that cost marks
- Assuming an approved plan authorises construction.
- Confusing practical completion under the building contract with the statutory OP.
- Overlooking that small alteration works may fall under the Minor Works Control System rather than full plan submission.
- Letting the AP's practice act as RC on the same project, or holding an undisclosed interest in it.
- Forgetting that a TOP carries conditions, including that uncompleted parts be separated and not occupied.