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The following site has links to many interesting sites dealing with ethics.
http://www.ccsr.cse.dmu.ac.uk/resources/professionalism/codes/
The below was
obtained from this site and is published by the NSPE
NSPE Code of Ethics
for Engineers
Preamble
Engineering is an important and learned profession. As
members of this profession,
engineers are expected to
exhibit the highest standards of honesty and integrity.
Engineering has a direct and vital impact on the quality of life
for all people.
Accordingly, the services provided by
engineers require honesty, impartiality,
fairness and equity,
and must be dedicated to the protection of the public health,
safety, and welfare. Engineers must perform under a
standard of professional
behavior that requires adherence to
the highest principles of ethical conduct.
I. Fundamental Canons
Engineers, in the fulfillment of their professional
duties, shall:
1. Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the
public.
2. Perform services only in areas of their competence.
3. Issue public statements only in an objective and truthful
manner.
4. Act for each employer or client as faithful agents or
trustees.
5. Avoid deceptive acts.
6. Conduct themselves honorably, responsibly,
ethically, and
lawfully so as to enhance the honor, reputation, and
usefulness of the profession.
II. Rules of Practice
1. Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health, and
welfare of the public.
a. If engineers' judgment is overruled under circumstances
that endanger life or
property, they shall notify their employer
or client and such other authority as
may be appropriate.
b. Engineers shall approve only those engineering documents
that are in conformity with applicable standards.
c. Engineers shall not reveal
facts, data or information
without the prior consent of the client or employer
except as
authorized or required by law or this Code.
d. Engineers shall not permit the use of their name or
associate in business
ventures with any person or firm that
they believe are engaged in fraudulent or
dishonest
enterprise.
e. Engineers having knowledge of any alleged violation of this
Code shall report
thereon to appropriate professional bodies
and, when relevant, also to public
authorities, and cooperate
with the proper authorities in furnishing such
information or
assistance as may be required.
2. Engineers shall perform services only in the areas of their
competence.
a. Engineers shall undertake assignments only when
qualified by education or
experience in the specific technical
fields involved.
b. Engineers shall not affix their signatures to any plans or
documents dealing
with subject matter in which they lack
competence, nor to any plan or document not
prepared under
their direction and control.
c. Engineers may accept assignments and assume
responsibility for coordination of
an entire project and sign
and seal the engineering documents for the entire
project,
provided that each technical segment is signed and sealed
only by the qualified engineers who prepared the segment.
3. Engineers shall
issue public statements only in an
objective and truthful manner.
a. Engineers shall be objective and truthful in professional
reports, statements,
or testimony. They shall include all
relevant and pertinent information in such
reports,
statements, or testimony, which should bear the date
indicating when it was current.
b. Engineers may express publicly technical
opinions that
are founded upon knowledge of the facts and competence in
the subject matter.
c. Engineers shall issue no statements, criticisms, or
arguments on technical matters that are inspired or paid for
by interested parties,
unless they have prefaced their
comments by explicitly identifying the interested
parties on
whose behalf they are speaking, and by revealing the
existence of any interest the engineers may have in the
matters.
4. Engineers shall act for each employer or client as faithful
agents or trustees.
a. Engineers shall disclose all known or potential conflicts of
interest that could
influence or appear to influence their
judgment or the quality of their services.
b. Engineers shall not accept compensation, financial or
otherwise, from more than
one party for services on the same
project, or for services pertaining to the same
project, unless
the circumstances are fully disclosed and agreed to by all
interested parties.
c. Engineers shall not solicit or accept financial or other
valuable consideration, directly or indirectly, from outside
agents in connection
with the work for which they are
responsible.
d. Engineers in public service as members, advisors, or
employees of a governmental
or quasi-governmental body or
department shall not participate in decisions with
respect to
services solicited or provided by them or their organizations
in private or public engineering practice.
e. Engineers shall not solicit or
accept a contract from a
governmental body on which a principal or officer of their
organization serves as a member.
5. Engineers shall avoid deceptive acts.
a. Engineers shall not falsify their qualifications or permit
misrepresentation of
their or their associates' qualifications.
They shall not misrepresent or
exaggerate their responsibility
in or for the subject matter of prior assignments.
Brochures
or other presentations incident to the solicitation of
employment shall not misrepresent pertinent facts
concerning employers, employees,
associates, joint
venturers, or past accomplishments.
b. Engineers shall not offer, give, solicit or receive, either
directly or
indirectly, any contribution to influence the award
of a contract by public
authority, or which may be reasonably
construed by the public as having the effect
of intent to
influencing the awarding of a contract. They shall not offer
any gift or other valuable consideration in order to secure
work. They shall not
pay a commission, percentage, or
brokerage fee in order to secure work, except to a
bona fide
employee or bona fide established commercial or marketing
agencies retained by them.
III. Professional Obligations
1. Engineers shall be guided in all their relations by the
highest standards of
honesty and integrity.
a. Engineers shall acknowledge their errors and shall
not
distort or alter the facts.
b. Engineers shall advise their clients or employers when
they believe a project
will not be successful.
c. Engineers shall not accept outside employment to the
detriment of their regular work or interest. Before accepting
any outside
engineering employment they will notify their
employers.
d. Engineers shall not attempt to attract an engineer from
another employer by
false or misleading pretenses.
e. Engineers shall not actively participate in
strikes, picket
lines, or other collective coercive action.
f. Engineers shall not promote their own interest at the
expense of the dignity and
integrity of the profession.
2. Engineers shall at all times strive to serve
the public
interest.
a. Engineers shall seek opportunities to participate in civic
affairs; career
guidance for youths; and work for the
advancement of the safety, health and
well-being of their
community.
b. Engineers shall not complete, sign, or seal plans and/or
specifications that are
not in conformity with applicable
engineering standards. If the client or employer
insists on
such unprofessional conduct, they shall notify the proper
authorities and withdraw from further service on the project.
c. Engineers
shall endeavor to extend public knowledge and
appreciation of engineering and its
achievements.
3. Engineers shall avoid all conduct or practice that deceives
the public.
a. Engineers shall avoid the use of statements containing a
material misrepresentation of fact or omitting a material fact.
b. Consistent
with the foregoing, Engineers may advertise for
recruitment of personnel.
c. Consistent with the foregoing, Engineers may prepare
articles for the lay or
technical press, but such articles shall
not imply credit to the author for work
performed by others.
4. Engineers shall not disclose, without consent,
confidential
information concerning the business affairs or technical
processes of any present or former client or employer, or
public body on which they
serve.
a. Engineers shall not, without the consent of all interested
parties, promote or arrange for new employment or practice
in connection with a
specific project for which the Engineer
has gained particular and specialized
knowledge.
b. Engineers shall not, without the consent of all interested
parties, participate in or represent an adversary interest in
connection with a
specific project or proceeding in which the
Engineer has gained particular
specialized knowledge on
behalf of a former client or employer.
5. Engineers shall not be influenced in their professional
duties by conflicting
interests.
a. Engineers shall not accept financial or other
considerations, including free engineering designs, from
material or equipment
suppliers for specifying their product.
b. Engineers shall not accept
commissions or allowances,
directly or indirectly, from contractors or other
parties dealing
with clients or employers of the Engineer in connection with
work for which the Engineer is responsible.
6. Engineers shall not attempt to
obtain employment or
advancement or professional engagements by untruthfully
criticizing other engineers, or by other improper or
questionable methods.
a. Engineers shall not request, propose, or accept a
commission on a contingent
basis under circumstances in
which their judgment may be compromised.
b. Engineers in salaried positions shall accept part-time
engineering work only to
the extent consistent with policies
of the employer and in accordance with ethical
considerations.
c. Engineers shall not, without consent, use equipment,
supplies, laboratory, or office facilities of an employer to carry
on outside
private practice.
7. Engineers shall not attempt to injure, maliciously or
falsely, directly or indirectly, the professional reputation,
prospects, practice,
or employment of other engineers.
Engineers who believe others are guilty of
unethical or illegal
practice shall present such information to the proper
authority
for action.
a. Engineers in private practice shall not review the work of
another engineer for
the same client, except with the
knowledge of such engineer, or unless the
connection of
such engineer with the work has been terminated.
b. Engineers in governmental, industrial, or educational
employ are entitled to
review and evaluate the work of other
engineers when so required by their
employment duties.
c. Engineers in sales or industrial employ are entitled to
make engineering comparisons of represented products with
products of other
suppliers.
8. Engineers shall accept personal responsibility for their
professional activities, provided, however, that Engineers may
seek indemnification
for services arising out of their practice
for other than gross negligence, where
the Engineer's
interests cannot otherwise be protected.
a. Engineers shall conform with state registration laws in the
practice of
engineering.
b. Engineers shall not use association with a nonengineer, a
corporation, or partnership as a "cloak" for unethical acts.
9.
Engineers shall give credit for engineering work to those to
whom credit is due,
and will recognize the proprietary
interests of others.
a. Engineers shall, whenever possible, name the person or
persons who may be
individually responsible for designs,
inventions, writings, or other
accomplishments.
b. Engineers using designs supplied by a client recognize
that the designs remain the property of the client and may
not be duplicated by the
Engineer for others without express
permission.
c. Engineers, before undertaking work for others in
connection with which the
Engineer may make
improvements, plans, designs, inventions, or other records
that may justify copyrights or patents, should enter into a
positive agreement
regarding ownership.
d. Engineers' designs, data, records, and notes referring
exclusively to an employer's work are the employer's
property. Employer should
indemnify the Engineer for use of
the information for any purpose other than the
original
purpose.
As Revised July 1996
"By order of the United States District Court for the
District of
Columbia, former Section 11(c) of the NSPE Code of Ethics
prohibiting competitive bidding, and all policy statements,
opinions, rulings or
other guidelines interpreting its scope,
have been rescinded as unlawfully
interfering with the legal
right of engineers, protected under the antitrust laws,
to
provide price information to prospective clients; accordingly,
nothing contained in the NSPE Code of Ethics, policy
statements, opinions, rulings
or other guidelines prohibits the
submission of price quotations or competitive
bids for
engineering services at any time or in any amount."
Statement by NSPE Executive Committee
In order to correct misunderstandings
which have been
indicated in some instances since the issuance of the
Supreme Court decision and the entry of the Final Judgment,
it is noted that in its
decision of April 25, 1978, the Supreme
Court of the United States declared:
"The Sherman Act does
not require competitive bidding."
It is further noted that as made clear in the Supreme Court
decision:
1. Engineers and firms may individually refuse to bid for
engineering services.
2. Clients are not required to seek bids for engineering
services.
3. Federal, state, and local laws governing procedures to
procure engineering
services are not affected, and remain in
full force and effect.
4. State societies and local chapters are free to actively and
aggressively seek
legislation for professional selection and
negotiation procedures by public
agencies.
5. State registration board rules of professional conduct,
including rules prohibiting competitive bidding for engineering
services, are not
affected and remain in full force and effect.
State registration boards with
authority to adopt rules of
professional conduct may adopt rules governing
procedures
to obtain engineering services.
6. As noted by the Supreme Court, "nothing in the judgment
prevents NSPE and
its members from attempting to influence
governmental action . . ."
NOTE: In regard to the question of application of the Code to
corporations vis-à-vis
real persons, business form or type
should not negate nor influence conformance of
individuals to
the Code. The Code deals with professional services, which
services must be performed by real persons. Real persons in
turn establish and
implement policies within business
structures. The Code is clearly written to apply
to the
Engineer and items incumbent on members of NSPE to
endeavor to live up to its provisions. This applies to all
pertinent sections of
the Code. |
