Engineering Ethics

All engineers must abide to a code of ethics.  This code of ethics is a system of moral principles that apply to engineering practices.  ASCE or more commonly known as the American Society of Engineers sets these principles.  It is crucial that all engineers follow these ethics to maintain a safe and profitable curriculum even if the right thing is not the ethical practice.

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Just because something is ethical does not mean that it is legal and just because something is legal does not mean it is ethical.  An example of something that would be ethical but illegal would be working off the clock to help a coworker with a project.  This would be illegal since it is free labor but at the same time your coworker needs help and you can’t just let them struggle.  For the most part ethics are the bare minimum laws that must be followed.  Sometimes actions such as blowing the whistle upon oneself must be done to ensure that ethical behavior is displayed.  Blowing the whistle upon oneself refers to reporting yourself to the designated personnel for an unethical behavior.  Bribing may be common overseas.  However, here in the United States bribing is considered to be very unethical.  Ethics can be complicated but they must be understood to complete engineering projects.

An engineer must not lie.  Engineers may only make statements about information that they are familiar with and must do it in a truthful and objective manner.  Engineers must also continue to learn to ensure that they are producing the highest quality work and shall do so by retaking the professional engineering exam every few years.  The professional engineering exam is a test that must be taken after five years of experience in the field if the engineer wishes to be able to sign off on projects.  This is a way to make sure that only highly qualified engineers are in charge of any large projects. 

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Safety must not be compromised in the field of engineering.  The math and all other corrections must be correct and accurate to ensure that the project is safe to release to the public.  If a project were to be released into the public that did not meet the specifications of the requirements there could be catastrophic consequences.  It is the professional engineer’s duty to make sure that the project is properly designed and approving anything less would be unethical.  The professional engineer that had signed off on a project that was not safe or inaccurate would be at fault and would be in serious legal trouble.  Using these ethics will help the engineering firms stay out of legal trouble as well as provide them with a satisfied customer.

So as you could probably tell engineering ethics are crucial to building a safe project.  Even if all the ethics are followed it does not mean that the project is indestructible.  There are still accidents that happen, but if the engineers do all they can then it is not their fault.  Engineers will continue to make new projects and with these new projects will come difficult decisions but only ethical choices must be made to make sure that we will continue to have a safe world.

If you would like to see the engineering code of ethics please see this link.
http://www.nspe.org/Ethics/CodeofEthics/index.html