Discussion: View Thread

Hello Engineering Community, my firm is looking for a good solution to electronically/digitally seal and sign engineering drawings.  What are your firms using and how is working for you?  

Thank you for your input!

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Lisa Wipplinger Ph.D., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
Shoreline WA
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I currently use a certificate verification from Identrust (other service providers are available) and Adobe Pro to sign and seal.  Most of my work occurs within the State of Florida and is subject to their rules.  In Florida, "electronically" signed is different than "digitally" signing, so one needs to be careful with the use of the terms.  To assist and educate the PE's, the Florida Board issued guidance which attempts to explain what to do.  These are all available for reading from the FBPE website.  

I have found (the hard way) that there are a few subtle tricks within Adobe Pro which assist the process. The overall process works well as long as you are not in a rush.

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Douglas MannP.E., D.CE, M.ASCE
Lake WorthFL
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-01-2023 01:50 PM
From: Lisa Wipplinger
Subject: Electronic/Digital Seal

Hello Engineering Community, my firm is looking for a good solution to electronically/digitally seal and sign engineering drawings.  What are your firms using and how is working for you?  

Thank you for your input!

------------------------------
Lisa Wipplinger Ph.D., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
Shoreline WA
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Have you tried CivCast? 

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Jennifer Chapa P.E., S.M.ASCE
Project coordinator
Benchmark Engineering Corporation
Houston TX
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-01-2023 01:50 PM
From: Lisa Wipplinger
Subject: Electronic/Digital Seal

Hello Engineering Community, my firm is looking for a good solution to electronically/digitally seal and sign engineering drawings.  What are your firms using and how is working for you?  

Thank you for your input!

------------------------------
Lisa Wipplinger Ph.D., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
Shoreline WA
------------------------------

I don't have a direct answer to the question, but am interested in responses from others.

Just last week I purchased a set of digital PE stamp files from an online vendor that provided them in multiple file formats for a single state PE license. I haven't had the opportunity to use them yet.

The state that I purchased the electronic stamps for also allows use of an electronic signature that meets Electronic Signature and Records Act (ESRA). I take that to mean a PDF software generated 'signature'.

This whole process will be a very different approach than the accustomed hard stamp on a physical paper copy with handwritten signature and date.

One of my coworkers created an electronic PE stamp in a PDF software program that has his scanned PE stamp with a scanned copy of his signature overlayed and no background so it can be placed on documents without obscuring the background. He adds the date with an app that mimics his handwriting.

It's an exciting time with these developments especially as so much of what we do is electronic. It's rare to print hard copies at our office anymore. I do plan to flatten my stamp on electronical documents to reduce the potential of my stamp being lifted off the document.

I am looking forward to insights and comments from others.

Thank you.

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Brent Tobler P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
Orem UT
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-01-2023 01:50 PM
From: Lisa Wipplinger
Subject: Electronic/Digital Seal

Hello Engineering Community, my firm is looking for a good solution to electronically/digitally seal and sign engineering drawings.  What are your firms using and how is working for you?  

Thank you for your input!

------------------------------
Lisa Wipplinger Ph.D., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
Shoreline WA
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Hello Dr. Lisa;

In Kirby Kuwait we Used to sign then  scan  all documnets that related to  drawings or contract  then upload to a company server  .

 

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Seham Elsaeed Aff.M.ASCE
Enginnering Technical Manger
Kuwait
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-01-2023 01:50 PM
From: Lisa Wipplinger
Subject: Electronic/Digital Seal

Hello Engineering Community, my firm is looking for a good solution to electronically/digitally seal and sign engineering drawings.  What are your firms using and how is working for you?  

Thank you for your input!

------------------------------
Lisa Wipplinger Ph.D., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
Shoreline WA
------------------------------

Hi All,

I've done some research into this. I have found Utah (UDOT) to be a very progressive state that has been working toward Modal as the Legal Document (MALD) since 2010.  Here's a link to their guidance: 

https://digitaldelivery.udot.utah.gov/pages/5e1b68c2e4d74853823c56bac31e8651

I found that George Lukes at UDOT has been a valuable resource to answer my questions.  But you can also just email UDOT digital delivery using the link at the bottom of their page. 

 udotdigitaldelivery@...

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Elias Karam P.E., M.ASCE
Caltrans
Marysville CA
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-01-2023 01:50 PM
From: Lisa Wipplinger
Subject: Electronic/Digital Seal

Hello Engineering Community, my firm is looking for a good solution to electronically/digitally seal and sign engineering drawings.  What are your firms using and how is working for you?  

Thank you for your input!

------------------------------
Lisa Wipplinger Ph.D., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
Shoreline WA
------------------------------

I use Docusign.  Unless they have developed a fix, I found out that with Civil 3d that all of the files have to be plotted individual and then combined with Adobe Pro for it to accept for some reason. 

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Todd Powell P.E., M.ASCE
City Engineer
City of Thomasville
Thomasville GA
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-01-2023 01:50 PM
From: Lisa Wipplinger
Subject: Electronic/Digital Seal

Hello Engineering Community, my firm is looking for a good solution to electronically/digitally seal and sign engineering drawings.  What are your firms using and how is working for you?  

Thank you for your input!

------------------------------
Lisa Wipplinger Ph.D., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
Shoreline WA
------------------------------

We use Bluebeam to sign ours. It seems to work well enough. We have digital versions of our stamps and our signatures as png files so the signatures can have a transparent background and be placed across the stamp.

I like Bluebeam for other reasons as well. Scalable PDFs, ability to create and import/export new line styles, markups, live collaboration in one document, etc.

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Heidi C. Wallace, P.E., M.ASCE
Tulsa, OK
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-01-2023 01:50 PM
From: Lisa Wipplinger
Subject: Electronic/Digital Seal

Hello Engineering Community, my firm is looking for a good solution to electronically/digitally seal and sign engineering drawings.  What are your firms using and how is working for you?  

Thank you for your input!

------------------------------
Lisa Wipplinger Ph.D., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
Shoreline WA
------------------------------

We have drawn all of our seals and signatures in AutoCAD format/linework, and they plot to the pdfs that we produce. At my last firm we inserted a pdf of the signed seal into the AutoCAD drawing and plotted to pdf. 

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Casey Leach P.E., M.ASCE
Project Manager
Davisburg MI
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-01-2023 01:50 PM
From: Lisa Wipplinger
Subject: Electronic/Digital Seal

Hello Engineering Community, my firm is looking for a good solution to electronically/digitally seal and sign engineering drawings.  What are your firms using and how is working for you?  

Thank you for your input!

------------------------------
Lisa Wipplinger Ph.D., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
Shoreline WA
------------------------------

I understand that Autodesk sells a variety of software packages for a number of different budgets. A colleague of mine works there and has suggested that normally, someone who used to work in your field will basically interview you to understand your needs and then present some options they have that might (or might not) meet them. Worth looking into depending on the size of your company and budget. 

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Christopher Seigel P.E., M.ASCE
Civil Engineer
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-01-2023 01:50 PM
From: Lisa Wipplinger
Subject: Electronic/Digital Seal

Hello Engineering Community, my firm is looking for a good solution to electronically/digitally seal and sign engineering drawings.  What are your firms using and how is working for you?  

Thank you for your input!

------------------------------
Lisa Wipplinger Ph.D., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
Shoreline WA
------------------------------

I use GlobalSign for certificate authority backed digital signature. I typically digitally sign final documents, contracts, and etc. using the certificate with BlueBeam. This is generally useful, but has some cumbersome aspects for instances of needing multiple people's signatures or managing documents through their lifespan with revisions/etc.

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Ryan Kilgren P.E., M.ASCE
Civil & Water Resources Engineer
Kilgren Water Resources, LLC
Eugene OR
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-01-2023 01:50 PM
From: Lisa Wipplinger
Subject: Electronic/Digital Seal

Hello Engineering Community, my firm is looking for a good solution to electronically/digitally seal and sign engineering drawings.  What are your firms using and how is working for you?  

Thank you for your input!

------------------------------
Lisa Wipplinger Ph.D., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
Shoreline WA
------------------------------

We hand stamp and sign paper and scan it each time, then attach it to the drawing in Cad or BB. We also write a date and a job number next to the signature. I find this is a very effective because:

-The engineer must still physically stamp/sign anything that leaves the office.

-The stamp is tied directly to the document by date and job number, in the engineer's own writing. 

This way, if a drawing is updated with a new date, a new stamp is required. Also, a stolen stamp is easier to catch if it doesn't have the date and/or job number, or it's wrong (I actually recently caught a drawing on a job with my stamp lifted off another drawing). 

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Jeffrey Walkley P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
Vice President
Michael J Walkley, PA
Towson MD
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-01-2023 01:50 PM
From: Lisa Wipplinger
Subject: Electronic/Digital Seal

Hello Engineering Community, my firm is looking for a good solution to electronically/digitally seal and sign engineering drawings.  What are your firms using and how is working for you?  

Thank you for your input!

------------------------------
Lisa Wipplinger Ph.D., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
Shoreline WA
------------------------------