ENGINEERING CODES OF ETHICS

Engineering Codes of Ethics have evolved over time

EARLY CODES

• Codes of personal behavior

• Codes for honesty in business dealings and fair business practices

• Employee/employer relations

NEWER CODES

•  Emphasize commitments to safety, public health and environmental protection

•  Express the rights, duties and obligations of members of the Profession

•    Do not express new ethical principles, but coherently restate existing standards of responsible engineering practice

•  Create an environment within the Profession where ethical behavior is the norm

•    Not legally binding; an engineer cannot be arrested for violating an ethical code (but may be expelled from or censured by the engineering society)

Are Engineering Codes Needed? NO:

– Engineers are capable of fending for themselves

– Common law is available to defend in ethical disputes

– Offended public can seek redress through courts

Are Engineering Codes Needed? YES:

– Engineers have few or no resources to defend themselves in an ethical dispute

– Common law is available in reality only with great difficulty

– Conversely, the public has similar problems in seeking redress through legal channels

Objections to Existing Engineering Codes of Ethics:

– Relatively few engineers are members of engineering societies.

– Non-members don’t necessarily follow the ethical codes.

– Many engineers either don’t know that the codes exist, or have not read them. Which ethical codes apply?

– Depending upon your discipline and organizational affiliations, you may be bound by one, two or even more ethical codes:

• Discipline related (ASME, IEEE, ASCE, IIE etc.)

• National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)

• Employee codes (corporation, university, etc.)

• Union Codes

Engineering Ethics

Our engineering ethics codes are derived from a Western cultural tradition

–Ancient Greeks

–Judeo-Christian religions

–Philosophers and thinkers (e.g. Locke, Kant, Mills)

The Hammurabi Code

If a builder has built a house for a man and has not made his work sound, and the house he has built has fallen down and so caused the death of the householder, that builder shall be put to death. If it causes the death of the householder’s son, they shall put the builder’s son to death….

(Hammurabi, King of Babylon, 1758 B.C.)

Code of Ethics for Engineers

Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology

(ABET)

The Fundamental Principles

Engineers shall uphold and advance the integrity, honor, and dignity of the engineering profession by:

• using their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of the human race;

• being honest and impartial and serving with fidelity the public, their employers, and clients;

• striving to increase the competence and prestige of the engineering profession.

• supporting the professional and technical societies of their discipline.

The Fundamental Cannons

Engineers shall

• hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public in the performance of their professional duties;

• perform service only in areas of their competence;

• issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner;

• act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of interest;

• build their professional reputations on the merits of their services and shall not compete unfairly with others

• act in such manner  as to uphold and enhance the honor, integrity and dignity of the profession;

• continue their professional development  throughout their careers, and shall provide opportunities for the professional development of those engineers under their supervision.