History
The profession of design review engineers dates back to the 19th century. With the rise of industrialization, building projects became more complex and building inspections were tasked to the technical officers of the building police. The supervision of compliance with building regulations was carried out within the framework of hazard prevention by building authorities, whose preventive action had become an essential characteristic of modern building administration in the 20th century.
The increasing complexity of buildings in terms of structure and design led to the establishment of specialized inspection bodies, such as the governmental Building Construction Offices. They supervised the review of structural calculations of difficult constructions, and commissioned special assessors, who possessed extensive expertise due to their long-term experience as independent civil engineers.
In 1926, the institution "Design Review Engineers for Structural Analysis" was established. These engineers were subordinate to the building authorities and acting on behalf of the authorities.
Right from the start, design review engineers had to be approved by a recognition committee. The requirements for recognition as a design review engineer for structural analysis largely corresponded to today's regulations: In addition to at least ten years of professional experience in structural design and construction for building inspectorate purposes, the professional and personal suitability for working as a design review engineer had to be proven.
The individual German states had different regulations regarding licensing, which were standardized in 1942 due to a shortage of materials and personnel caused by the Second World War. From then on, the design review engineers for structural analysis were regarded as subsidiary bodies of the building police and were only obligated to the state. At the beginning of the 21st century, following the example of the design review engineer for structural analysis, the design review engineer for fire protection was introduced in Germany and henceforth entrusted with the preventive and sovereign enforcement of technical fire laws.
In 1960, the Federal Association of Design Review Engineers for Structural Design was founded as the German umbrella organisation and interest group for all German design review engineers for structural integrity. In 1998 it was renamed and has since been known as the Federal Association of Design Review Engineers (BVPI). Design review engineers for fire protection or for preventive structural fire protection were first admitted to this association in 1999.