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3.4 ETHICS

•professional ethics have a number of purposes,

-maintain personal integrity

-maintain public respect and trust in the profession

-avoid legal problems (criminal and civil)

•The engineering code of ethics should guide the practitioner, but a violation of the code alone would not constitute professional misconduct.

•ethics cases come in different levels of severity, ranging from trivial to real. It is up to the ethical professional to focus as appropriate.

•Some common types of ethical dilemmas are,

1.The worst of two evils - for example, a factory is polluting the local village, but to close the facility would eliminate 50% of the regional employment

2.Ethic or Moral - for example, would you pick one member of your family to send away so that the rest might stay.

3.Suspected Hazard - some problems are suspected but not certain. Is the suspicion enough to act on?

4.Whistle Blowing -

5.Conflict of Interest -

6.Serving Two Masters - Sometimes and engineer is engaged to act as an intermediary by one of two parties in a dispute. Care must not be taken to lean towards the party that hired you.

3.4.1 Typical Misconduct Guidelines

•This is basically dictated by the “engineers standard of care”.

•Typical categories would include,

a)negligence

b)failure to consider the safety and well-being of the ultimate user or consumer

c)failure to correct a situation dangerous to the public

d)failure to follow guidelines, codes and standards

e)certifying work (e.g. stamped drawings) without verifying the content (this is ignorance as opposed to negligence)

f)if engineering directions are not followed point out the potential outcomes (no ostrich approach)

g)failure to follow the guidelines in the engineers act and regulations

h)only do work you are qualified to do

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i)always disclose conflicts of interest (you must not profit from decisions, they must be entirely objective.

j)act in a “respectable way” - (don’t disgrace the profession)

k)observe the limitations of the engineering licence.

l)you should always disclose information when requested officially

m)don’t encourage or assist non-engineers to act as engineers.

•An engineer can be disciplined for acts of misconduct

3.4.2 Typical Ethics Guidelines,

•General principles include,

1.Be fair and loyal to those around you

2.Place public need ahead of all other responsibilities

3.Act with honor and integrity

4.Promote engineering and dissuade detractors

5.Don’t express opinions that are not well supported technically

6.Display professional credentials

7.Develop employer trust by guarding confidential secrets and disclosing any personal conflicts of interest

8.Disclose any interests that might be interpreted as prejudicial in making decisions

9.When employed, disclose any other employment and ensure that professional standards don’t decline.

10.Cooperate with other professionals when working on common projects

11.Act with courtesy and good faith

12.Do not secretly review the work of another engineer, unless they have been terminated

13.Avoid malicious damage of other professionals

14.Don’t give/get commissions to get work

15.Fair pay for work to advance the profession

16.Advance the profession through enabling and supporting others.

17.Disclose misconduct, unethical/unprofessional behavior, etc. when called to do so.

•An engineer cannot be disciplined for an unethical act alone.

3.4.3 Whistle Blowing (aka A Professional Engineers Duty to Report)

•There can be a natural conflict between the duty of an engineer to the general public and the objectives of an employer/client

•An engineer is often privy to confidential technical information about products, processes, etc. And, from time to time will become aware of dangers to an unsuspecting public. Sometimes