The professional practice of engineering must be understood as exclusive by engineers with qualifying university degrees in the various specialties, in accordance with the legislation in force in each country. The provision of professional services involves the safety and well-being of the community and are public services in the nature of public services. As a result, it is necessary to make it mandatory in each country, the control of engineers qualified to practice the profession. The integration and governance of the organizations that exist for this purpose must be carried out by the engineers themselves, who must comply with the Code of Professional Ethics.
The Code of Ethics constitutes a set of fundamental principles that form the basis and structure for responsible professional practice. Engineers must interpret the spirit of these principles throughout their decision-making process, in a dynamic way that responds to the demands of the situation and not assume it as a set of mere rules of conduct to be observed passively.
The Code of Ethics expresses the expectations of society and engineers in the discrimination of their professional responsibilities. It is based on broad principles of sincerity, honesty and honesty, respect for life and well-being, justice, openness, competence and responsibility. Even though some of these great principles are not precisely defined in the Code itself, they are, of course, applicable to the professional practice of engineering. Therefore, certain more general ethical principles, which are not usually included in codes of professional ethics, must be implicitly accepted when judging the engineer's professional performance.
Some of the most difficult and interrelated aspects of the Code, especially those relating to professional practice, are developed and discussed below. It is not intended to extend the comment to all the clauses of the Code, nor to study them one by one. The goal is to broaden the interpretation rather than reduce its focus. Professional engineering ethics is an integrated set, which cannot be reduced to fixed rules. Therefore, the issues and issues that arise from the Code are discussed in a general framework, while the scope of the Code highlights the interrelation of the parts and the general intention of the document.
Engineers must attach the utmost importance to the safety, health and well-being of people and to the protection of the environment. This obligation, which includes your own work environment, normally depends on engineering judgments, risk assessments, decisions and practices embedded in structures, machines, processes, products and devices. For this reason, the obligation is established to check that their work conforms to usual practices, accepted technical standards and applicable codes and that such work is considered safe by the decisions of their peers. This responsibility extends to all situations faced by an engineer, and includes the obligation to inform the appropriate authority if there is reason to believe that any Engineering activity, or its products, processes, etc. did not meet the above-mentioned conditions.
The ultimate meaning of this basic principle implies that all other requirements of the code would be subordinate, assuming that the protection of the safety of people, the environment and other essential public interests are involved.
Engineers must strive to improve the quality of the biophysical and socio-economic environment, both urban and natural spaces, to promote the principles of sustainable development. They must analyze in particular the consequences of their proposals and actions, direct or indirect, immediate or long-term, on human health, social equity and the local value system. It is the responsibility of engineers to carefully study the environment that will be affected, evaluate the impacts or damages that may occur on the structure, dynamics and aesthetics of the ecosystems involved, whether urbanized or natural, including the socio-economic environment, and select the best alternative to contribute to environmentally healthy and sustainable development. You must also promote a clear understanding of the actions required to restore, if possible to improve, the environment that may be disturbed, and include them in your proposals. The engineer must reject any kind of assignment of work that involves unfair damage to the human environment and nature, always keeping in mind that the principles of interdependence, diversity, maintenance, resource recovery and international harmony of ecosystems form the basis of the continuity of our existence, and that each of these bases has a threshold of sustainability that must not be transgressed.
Loyal agents of customers and employers Engineers must act as loyal agents or representatives of their clients and employers, with objectivity, honesty and fairness for all parties involved. With regard to confidential information, the concept of ownership of information and protection of the rights of the parties applies. Engineers must not disclose facts, data or information obtained in their professional practice, without the prior consent of the owner. The only exception to the fact of respecting confidentiality and maintaining a position of trust occurs in cases where the public interest or the environment is at risk. But even under those circumstances, the engineer must make every effort to properly redirect the situation on the part of the client or employer and, except for compelling reasons to the contrary, must make every reasonable attempt to contact them and clearly explain the potential risks before informing the competent authority.
Professional engineers must avoid situations of conflict of interest with their employers or clients, but if they do occur, it is the engineer's responsibility to fully disclose their nature to the party or parties concerned, without delay.
In circumstances where full disclosure is insufficient, or appears to be, insufficient for the protection of the interests of all parties, as well as the public, the engineer must withdraw completely from the respective matter or use extraordinary means, involving independent parties if necessary, to control the situation. For example, it is inappropriate to act simultaneously as an agent of the borrower and the recipient of the professional service. If the interests of the client and the employer are met, you have to treat both parties equally. In the event that the conflict of interest arises between the employer's purpose and a regulatory standard, you should attempt to reconcile this divergence. If this is not possible, he may be obliged to inform the competent bodies.
Being a loyal agent involves the obligation to incorporate or suggest that experts or specialists be incorporated, as long as these services are considered to be in the interest of the client or the employer. This also involves being precise, objective and honest when it is necessary to make public statements on behalf of the client or the employer, always respecting the rights of confidentiality and ownership of customer and employer information. Being a faithful agent requires not using specific privileged or private information, and the practices of the trade or the information from the processes of employers or previous clients without their knowledge and authorization. However, the general technical knowledge, experience and skill acquired by the engineer during his participation in previous work can be used freely without the consent or authorization of previous clients.
Professional engineers should only offer their services and advice or undertake engineering activities exclusively in the fields of their competence, training and experience. This requires accurate attention and communication on the acceptance or interpretation of tasks and on the definition of expected results. This also implies the responsibility to obtain the services of an expert if necessary, in an insufficiently known field, fully informing all parties involved of the circumstances and, where appropriate, of the experimental nature of the activity. Thus, this requirement implies more than a simple obligation to ensure a certain level of care, it involves honest and honest behavior towards the client or employer and towards the engineer involved himself.
Professional engineers have a responsibility to keep abreast of developments and knowledge in their fields of expertise, that is, they must ensure their own competence. In the event of a change, either for technical or personal reasons, in their area of activity, it is the duty of engineers to achieve and maintain competence in all technical circumstances and regulatory standards affecting their new work. Indeed, this requires a personal commitment to professional development, to ongoing training and to self-evaluation.
In addition to ensuring their own competence, professional engineers have the obligation to contribute to the development of the field of knowledge in the field in which they practice as well as in the profession in general. Moreover, within the framework of the practice of their profession, they are supposed to provide their colleagues with opportunities for their professional development.
This competence requirement of the Code extends to the obligation for the public, the profession and peers to express technical issues honestly and only in areas within their competence. This applies equally to reports and advice on professional matters, as well as to public statements, which require honesty with oneself to present issues impartially and accurately with appropriate reservations and precautions, avoiding personal, political or other prejudices. This last requirement is particularly important in public statements or when participating in a technical forum.
Honesty, integrity, constantly updated competence, devotion to work and a desire to improve the quality of life of society are the cornerstones of professional responsibility. Within this framework, engineers must be objective and sincere and include all known and relevant information in their professional reports, statements and testimonies. They must faithfully and objectively represent their clients, employers, associates and themselves in accordance with their training, experience and abilities. This principle is more than a simple prohibition of confusing facts: it also involves the disclosure of all important information and relevant matters, especially when acting as an advisor or as an expert witness. In the same way, impartiality, honesty and precision are expected in publicizing the facts.
When an engineer is tasked with verifying the work of another colleague, there is an obligation to inform that engineer, or make every effort to do so, whether he is active or not. In this situation and under any circumstance, engineers must grant due recognition, as long as it is deserved and accepted, but they must also exercise honest and clean criticism on professional issues, maintaining the dignity and respect of all those involved.
Engineers must clearly inform clients of their fees, respecting the tariffs of the organizations that regulate the practice of the profession. They must not compete unfairly with another engineer. Your fees will not decrease after you learn of the quotes submitted by another or offers made to another engineer. They should not associate for any reason with engineers who do not comply with the rules of the Code of Ethics.
Engineers should neither accept nor offer disguised payments or other compensation to obtain commissions or secure compensation. They must prevent their personal or political involvement from influencing or compromising their professional performance or responsibility.
In accordance with this Code and after attempting to remedy a situation within their organization, engineers are required to inform their professional association or other appropriate institutions of any illegal or unethical decision taken by engineers or others. Care must be taken not to accept legal arrangements that compromise this obligation.
Engineers have an obligation to exercise their profession with care and diligence, to accept responsibility and to answer for their actions. This duty is not limited to conception or to its supervision and management, but it applies to all professional areas. It includes, for example, the control and management of construction, the preparation of execution plans, technical reports, feasibility and environmental impact studies, technical development work, etc.
The signing and sealing of a technical document implies the acceptance of responsibility for this work, regardless of the place of its execution or the beneficiary. It includes, among others, individuals, public and private companies and government agencies or ministerial departments. There are no exceptions; signing and sealing documents is appropriate as long as engineering principles have been applied.
Assuming responsibility for a technical activity involves that of one's own work and, in the case of a chief engineer, the acceptance of responsibility for teamwork. The latter implies responsible control when the engineer is actually in a position to review, modify and direct all the technical work. This concept requires placing reasonable limits on the field of activities and on the number of engineers and others, whose work may be supervised by the responsible engineer. Practice or control is “symbolic” when an engineer, for example with the title of Chief Engineer, takes full responsibility for all the technical services of a large corporation, a public service, a government agency or a ministerial department, but is unaware of a large part of the technical activities or daily decisions taken within the organization. This means that it is the company itself that is taking responsibility for the failures, regardless of whether or not it applies technical supervision and control.
Engineers have the obligation to warn their employer, and if necessary their clients, and even their professional association, in this order, when the rejection of a technical decision may entail a breach of their duties to safeguard the public. First, discuss the problem with the supervisor or employer. If the engineer does not react adequately to the engineer's concern, the client must be informed or the highest-ranking official must be alerted in the case of an institution or a government agency. If you fail to address the situation, you must confidentially report your concerns to your professional association.
In the same order as mentioned above, the engineer must inform the engineer of unethical engineering activities carried out by other colleagues or by someone who is not an engineer. This includes, for example, situations in which senior managers of a company make “political” decisions that clearly and substantially change the technical aspects of work, the protection of general welfare or the environment.
With the rapid advance of technology in today's world and with the potential social impact on large masses of the population, engineers must strive more than ever to promote public understanding of technical issues and the role of engineering.
It must always be remembered that war, avarice, misery and ignorance, plus natural disasters and the pollution and destruction of resources caused by human activity, are the main causes of the deterioration of society and its environment. Engineers, as active members of society, deeply involved in promoting development, must use their talent, knowledge and imagination to help eliminate these evils and improve the quality of life for the entire population.
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