Codes, ethics engineering society

As another example of the high bar set by codes of engineering societies, consider this competency provision in the IEEE code which indicates that individuals are to maintain and improve [their] technical competence and to undertake technological tasks for others only if qualified by training or experience, or after full disclosure of pertinent limitations. In similar fashion, the ASME code includes a Fundamental Canon which states Engineers shall continue their professional development throughout their careers and shall provide opportunities for the professional and ethical development of those engineers under their supervision. ... 

See, for example, the codes of ethics of the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). Other engineering society codes espouse essentially the same idea in different words. 

In short, while the various professional engineering society codes of ethics can be useful to some engineers for some purposes, they are not very helpful... 

One way in which aprofessional engineering society s code of ethics can be useful to an engineer is by serving as a basis for her/his refusal to act as directed by her/his employer or client if the directed action would violate a provision of the code. Some employers and chents may respect that refusal, but others may be unmoved and insist that the employee act as directed. 

I agree that US engineering-ethics education has leaned too heavily on engineering society codes of ethics, used too many contrived hypothetical and thin real cases, neglected the social nature of engineering work, and sought tidy... 

Specific examples of these obligations are given in individual codes of ethics adopted by the various engineering societies (e.g., AIChE, ASCE, ASME, and IEEE) and by the NSPE. The following is the Code of Ethics adopted by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) ... 

In the section that follows, we will look at an example of a code of ethics, namely, the Na> rional Society of Profossional Et ineers code. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engi-neers also have codes of ethics. They ate typically posted at their Web sites. 

NSPE Code of Ethics, National Society for Professional Engineers, http //nspe.org/ethics/ eh-lcode.asp. 

ASCE Code of Ethics, American Society of Civil Engineers, http //www. asce.org/inside/codeofethics.cfm. 

Ethical behavior, including client confidentiality, codes of ethics within and outside of engineering societies, anticorruption and the differences between legal requirements and ethical expectations, and the profession s responsibility to hold paramount public health, safety, and welfare. 

The preceding codes have many common elements, the most important of which is protection of public safety, health, and welfare. For example. Canon 1 in the NSPE code, after the words Engineers, in fulfillment of their professional duties, shall lists, as Fundamental Canon 1, Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public. All of the other engineering society codes presented above include responsibility for safety, health, and welfare of the public in their first listed provision. Holding paramount protection of public safety, health, and welfare is the first consideration in the vast majority of engineering codes of ethics. 

Engineering society codes, as well as codes used by other organizations, are likely to evolve in response to changing internal and external conditions. For example, many engineering societies used to include prohibitions against competitive bidding within their codes of ethics. The NSPE code contained a provision, prior to 1979, that said the... 

The most important technical society code for US. chemical engineers is the Code of Ethics of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Similar codes have been adopted by other engineering societies. When you sign your application for membership in AIChE, you agree to abide by this code tFigure 23.11. 

Like many other professions, engineering seems confused about the moral status of its code of ethics (but not, I think, its technical standards). There are at least four reasons for that confusion. First, there is the question of how many codes there are. On the one hand, there seem to be dozens because so many engineering associations have their own code. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers has one the American Institute of Chemical Engineers has another ABET has another and so on. Yet, these codes differ in language more than substance and even many differences that seem substantive at first disappear upon inquiry. (For example, engineers whose code of ethics does not yet include a provision on sustainable development seem to interpret the environmental or public welfare provision to... 

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