Professional Ethics in Engineering Design and Practice

1. (Cover Slide)
2. This discussion would highlight the very definition of professional ethics and the
responsibilities, the relevance of it to the engineering design and practice, the manner in
which the issues can be raised in engineering profession, the best practices and standards,
the challenges and opportunities, and also the resources which can be made use of for
learning more on the topic.
3. Any person who is the member of the profession, and identifies themselves as the
member of such profession, becomes bound by the standards of such profession.
A Professional Is...
 A member of an occupational group (characterized above) who:
o Sees other members, including those employed elsewhere, as
peers/colleagues
o Exercises judgment in the performance of occupational tasks and follows
relevant professional standards.
o Accepts the profession's agreement to work in a morally permissible way
(often expressed as a code of ethics) as determining in part the obligations
of the role.
4. These codes allow the professionals to do what is reasonably likely and that the majority
of other members of the same profession would not be taking advantage of their good
conduct. The code acts as a solution to the problems of coordination.

5.
6. Even with such importance given to professional ethics, engineers frequently give limited
attention to the codes which guide their interaction with society.
The professional ethics also help the society in being assured that the work being done by
the professional is aligned with certain standards.
7. Further, it allows expanding the alternative designs to potentially eliminate or reduce
problems, rather than simply to react to the problems.
8. The technical issues which are faced in the engineering profession is not a matter of
discussion here.
It is imperative for engineers to accept the responsibility for their actions, while
practicing their occupation, and demonstrate, through their behavior, that engineering
ethics is the heart of the profession (Kreiner and Putcha 2005).
9. The reason for giving these guidelines stems from the fact that the consulting engineering
is an important and a learned profession.
 Consulting engineers, in the fulfillment of their professional duties, shall:
 Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public in the performance of
their professional duties.
 Perform services only in areas of their competence.
 Issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner
 Act in professional matters for each client as faithful agents or trustees.