Objective

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Presented by
Insert Presenters name Titleetc
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Ethics ....
Lies at the Core of the Civil Engineering
Profession
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ETHICS
Transportation
Water
Structures
CIVIL ENGINEERING
Environmental
and many other Civil Engineering specialties
Idea for graphic based on Professional
Responsibility The Role of the Engineer, Jnl. of
Science and Engineering Ethics, Vol. 3, No. 3,
1997 by Drs. Steve Nichols and Bill Weldon,
UT/Austin
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What is a Licensed Engineer?
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Licensing the product of collaboration between
Industry, Government Education
INDUSTRY
Professional Associations
ABET
NCEES
State Licensing Boards
Program Accreditation
EDUCATION
GOVERNMENT
ABET - Accreditation Board for Engineering and
Technology
NCEES - National Council of Examiners for
Engineering and Surveying
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What is a Licensed Engineer?
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Engineering Licensing Jurisdictions- United
States -

• All 50 states plus the District of Columbia,
  Guam, Puerto Rico, Northern Marianas Islands,
  Marshall Islands and Virgin Islands
• ? 400,000 Licensed Engineers (U.S. Engineering
  Population ? 2,000,000)
• Wyoming Enacted First Licensing Law in 1907
• Montana Last State to Enact Licensing (1947)

Source NSPE Grows as State Licensure Laws
Spread, Engineering Times, Vol. 16, No. 2,
February, 1994.
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Typical Licensure Requirements for Civil
Engineering Students

• Degree from ABET-accredited program (BS, MS)
• NCEES Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam
• Engineer-in-Training Internship (4 yrs, 3 yrs)
• Application for Licensure
• Character References
• Experience Record
• etc.
• NCEES Principles and Practices of Engineering
  (PE) Exam
• Licensure!

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Licensing Eligibility Based on Educational and
Employment Experience
Educational Experience
Time
Eng. Ph.D.
Eng. M.S.
Eng. Bachelors
Eligible to Apply for License
Other College Degrees
Engineer-In-Training
Employment Experience
Fundamentals of Engineering Exam (Sometime
Waivable)
Principles and Practice of Engineering Exam
(Sometime Waivable)
Six to Eight Years is the Nominal Minimum
Experience Requirement
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Idealized Engineering Licensure Model
Yes
ABET Accredited Engineering Bachelor of Science
Degree or substantially equivalent engineering
degree
Mandatory Continuing Professional Competency
Licensed Professional Engineer
No
Pass
Fail
Inactive
4 Years of Acceptable Experience
Pass
FE Exam
Engineer-in Training
PE Exam
Fail
Note The number of years of acceptable
experience depend on the academic career and
highest earned degree.
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Civil Engineering Students are Encouraged!
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Why Should I Become Licensed?
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Why Should I Become Licensed?
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Why Should I Become Licensed?
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Why Should I Become Licensed?
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Why Should I Become Licensed?
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Why Should I Become Licensed?
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Why Should I Become Licensed?
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Technical and Ethical Responsibilities of
Licensed Engineers?
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Technical and Ethical Responsibilities of
Licensed Engineers?
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Technical and Ethical Responsibilities of
Licensed Engineers?
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-- Critical Skills --- beyond technical skills
-that CE Students Need
To achieve skills to resolve ethical issues, here
are some traits we should develop
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Students Need to Develop
Understanding
... A clear understanding of professional ethics
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Students Need to Develop
Communication Skills
A capability and willingness to communicate
ethical issues.
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Students Need to Develop
The Ability
to recognize ethical issues.
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Students Need to Develop
An Appreciation
for the frequency at which ethical issues occur.
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Students Need to Develop
An Awareness
that guidance on ethical dilemmas is available
from ASCEand elsewhere.
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Students Need to Develop
Comprehension ...
Knowing Whats Right
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Students Need to Develop
A Desire ...and the
Willingness
...to Do Whats Right
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Students Need to Develop
The Ability
to resolve ethical issues by using traditional
engineering methods of inquiry, namely

• Listing our options

• Testing our options

• Making a decision, and

• Most importantly, Acting !

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If the Ethics Rope Breaks,
Ethics
We all lose !
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Questions Discussion
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End of 20 Minute Presentation Suggested
Further Studies
Distribute the ASCE Brochure. It is suggested
that students read Saras Story in the ASCE
Brochure, and consider the ways the ASCE Code of
Ethics can provide helpful guidance when
confronting ethical issues.
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Sara's Story

• A Case Study in Engineering Ethics

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We ask you to consider Saras situation from 3
viewpoints

• 1. A personal viewpoint -- consider that you
  are the engineer facing the ethical issue.
• 2. An impersonal viewpoint -- assume you are
  aware of the situation, but not directly
  involved.
• 3. A responsible viewpoint -- assume that you
  are directly responsible for future decisions.

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Also... Apply Some Questions

• 1. Am I solving this issue in such a way that
  will cause people to trust me?
• 2. Am I keeping my promise -- explicit?
  implicit?
• 3. What is the first step that I must take?
• 4. What do the other people mean by unfair?

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Sara by the Lake

• Sara has been reported to her States Engineers
  Board for a possible ethics violation.
• She reflects on how she got to this point.

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Sara the early years

• Graduated from an ABET-accredited program
• Took the FE Exam
• Worked under the supervision of a licensed
  engineer for almost 4 years
• Just before she took the PE Exam...

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Sara and The Apartment Complex

• Saras firm was retained to investigate the
  structural integrity of an apartment complex.
• STRICT confidentiality required.
• Noticed no structural problems
• BUT, she did observe some apparent electrical
  deficiencies

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To Report, or NOT to Report...

• Sara knew these electrical deficiencies might
  pose a hazard to the occupants
• She knew the client didnt want to hear bad news

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To Report, or NOT to Report...

• She felt the strain of the strict confidentiality
  requirement
• She did not want to damage the client
  relationship...

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The Decision...

• She verbally informed the client about the
  problem
• She made an oblique reference to the problem in
  her report

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Those Nagging Doubts...

• Later Sara learned the client did not disclose
  any of her concerns about the electrical
  deficiencies
• She struggled with whether she should have been
  more persistent in making her concerns known.
• She eventually put it out of her mind.

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Questions for Discussion

• What were the main issues Sara was wrestling with
  in this situation?
• Do you think Sara had a right or an
  obligation to report the deficiency to the
  proper authorities?
• Who might Sara have spoken with about the
  dilemma?

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Questions for Discussion

• Who should be responsible for what happened
  Sara, or Saras employer, or the client, or
  someone else?
• How does this situation conflict with Saras
  obligation to be faithful to her client?
• Is it wise practice to ignore gut feelings that
  arise?

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• Time Passes..

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Involvement with Professional Technical
Societies

• Sara is encouraged to become active in
  professional and technical societies
• But her new supervisor opposes her participation
  and requires that Sara take vacation to attend
  meetings.
• Sara is very frustrated about this.

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When Opportunity Knocks...

• When attending a meeting with the CEO on another
  matter
• Sara inquires about company policy on the matter
  of professional society participation.
• The CEO reaffirms the company policy to be active
  in professional societies.

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Fallout

• Sara informs her supervisor of the CEOs support
  and resumes her participation.
• Her relationship with her supervisor is strained.

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Questions for Discussion

• What might Sara have done differently to seek a
  remedy and yet preserve her relationship with her
  supervisor?
• Where could Sara have found guidance in the ASCE
  Code of Ethics, appropriate to this situation?

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Vendor Bender The Christmas Ham

• As Christmas approached the following year, Sara
  discovered a gift bag on her desk.
• Inside the gift bag was an expensive honey-glazed
  spiral cut ham.

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Why Bother?

• This concerned Sara as she felt it might cast
  doubt on the integrity of their business
  relationship.
• Several others received gifts from the vendor as
  well.

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The Decision

• After sleeping on it, Sara sent a polite note to
  the vendor returning the ham.

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Questions for Discussion

• Was she really obligated to return the ham?
• Or was this taking ethics too far?
• On the other hand, could she be obligated to
  pursue the matter further than just returning the
  gift she had received?

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Sara for City Council!

• Sara, now a highly successful principal in a
  respected engineering firm, is urged to run for
  public office.
• She agrees to run.
• A draft political advertisement is prepared that
  includes her photograph, her engineering seal,
  and the following text

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Whats in an Ad?

• Vote for Sara! We need an engineer on the City
  Council. That is simple common sense, isnt it?
  Sara is an experienced licensed engineer with
  years of rich accomplishments, who disdains
  delays and takes action now!

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Questions for Discussion

• Should Saras engineering seal be included in the
  advertisement?
• Should Sara ask someone in ASCE his or her
  opinion before deciding?

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The Apartment Complex, Again...

• Saras investigation of the apartment complex so
  many years ago resurfaced.

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The Apartment Complex, Again...

• Sara learned that the apartment complex caught on
  fire, and people had been seriously injured.
• During the investigation, Saras report was
  reviewed, and somehow the cause of the fire was
  traced to the electrical deficiencies.

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Thinking it Over

• Sara pondered her situation.
• Legally, she felt she might claim some immunity
  since she was not a licensed engineer at the time
  of her work
• Professionally, she keenly felt she had let the
  public down.

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Input from the ASCE Code of Ethics

• Having carefully studied the ASCE Code of Ethics,
  Sara now realized that occasionally some elements
  of the code may be in conflict with other
  elements.

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Input from the ASCE Code of Ethics

• In her case, this was Canon 1 (her obligation to
  protect the health, safety and welfare of the
  public) versus Canon 4 (her obligation to her
  client).

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Questions for Discussion

• Why do you think that Codes of Ethics conflict
  within themselves?
• What are some ways to recognize a conflict of
  interest?
• List some options whereby Sara might have
  resolved this basic conflict.

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Sara Before the BOARD

• The meeting with the Licensing Board began early
  the following morning.
• The State Licensing Board only enforces their own
  Rules of Conduct and Ethics, but they noted that
  their rules are very similar to the ASCE Code of
  Ethics.

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The BOARD Finds...

• It is important for Sara, or any licensed
  engineer, to realize the engineers paramount
  responsibility is for the safety of the public.
• The occupants of the apartment complex were not
  aware of the electrical deficiencies.
• Although not an electrical engineer, Sara had
  some knowledge of city building codes and the
  ability to foresee the potential dangers.

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The BOARD Finds continued

• Sara had informed her client of the possible
  electrical deficiencies, but she failed to
  mention possible consequences of ignoring her
  concerns.
• Sara could have referred to the ASCE Code of
  Ethics before making a decision.

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From the ASCE Code of Ethics

• Canon 1. Engineers shall hold paramount the
  safety, health and welfare of the public.

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On the way home...

• In the taxi back to the airport, Sara thumbed
  through her newspaper
• She saw an editorial about her campaign which
  claimed that, as a result of the allegations
  against her, she was no longer fit for public
  office.

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Questions for Discussion

• How should Sara respond to such claims?

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• The American Society of Civil Engineers wishes
  you a long and prosperous engineering career!

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Recommendation for further study

• Gilbane Gold is an excellent engineering ethics
  video available from NIEE at www.niee.org.
• (NIEE recently submitted a proposal to NSF
  requesting funding for a sequel for Gilbane
  Gold.)

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Acknowledgement

• We want to acknowledge
• (SPEAKER PROVIDES INFO HERE)

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Questions Discussion