Engineering ethics NSPE code

National Society of Professional Engineers. (2007). NSPE Code of Ethics, July 2007, http //www.nspe.org/Ethics/CodeofEthics/index.html... 

Some items in engineering codes of ethics have less to do with ethical matters and more to do with regulating engineering commerce and trade. Examine the NSPE code of ethics and determine which items are of this nature. In a short paragraph discuss whether you view these as ethical issues or not. 

NSPE (2003). NSPE code of ethics for engineers, http //www.nspe.org/ethics/ehl-code.asp Osborn, A. E. (1963). Applied imagination. New York Scribners. 

This is a more defensible version of the vague employee-loyalty-to-employer canons found in many codes of engineering ethics. For example, as noted, Fundamental Canon 1.4 of the NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers states, Engineers, in the fulfillment of their professional duties, shall act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees. ... 

A more detailed code of ethics for engineers was adopted initially by the NSPE in July 1964. Since then, it has been updated 22 times and will probably continue to receive updates. The 1996 version is shown in Figure 1.4. Some idea of the direction in which engineering ethics is moving may be gleaned from the following changes made since 1996, as taken from the NSPE Web site at ... 

Figure 1.4 NSPE code of ethics for engineers—1996 version.

Note This ethics test is intended solely to test individual knowledge of the specific language contained in the NSPE Code of Ethics and is not intended to measure individual knowledge of engineering ethics... 

Professional Conduct and Ethics The moral aspect of safety and health often is finked to professional ethics. Many codes of professional conduct and ethics place high value on human fife. For example, the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) places protection of people at the top of its Code of Professional Conduct ... 

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

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... 

You can also find wisdom relative to your work outside your organization. Potential advisors include professional colleagues, parents, religious leaders, and former professors and other teachers. However, in contemplating seeking external advice on internal matters, be careful to not violate ethical provisions or confidentiality requirements such as revealing confidential information about a client to a third party in such a way as to violate client confidentiality requirements. For example, the NSPE Code of Ethics in Section II-l-c states that 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. ... 

Indiana Professional Engineer. 1993. NSPE Agrees to Revise Code of Ethics. Indiana Professional Engineer, September-October. 

The third common code of ethics is that of the National Society for Professional Engineers (Figure 23.21. This code is more detailed and more specific than is the AIChE Code of Ethics. It not only includes the canons and principles that are the total of the AIChE Code, but it also prescribes rather specific actions to take in specific circumstances. The NSPE code applies to those who join the organization and to those licensed to practice engineering in states where this code is included in the professional engineers code. However, it is instructive for any chemical engineer to read the NSPE code periodically, as a reminder of some of the ethical problems that arise in the profession... 

When a chemical engineer notices behavior that is possibly or potentially unethical, the question is. What action should he or she take As noted in the AIChE code of ethics and in the NSPE code of ethics, there are specific avenues for action in the form of heuristics. For exanple, the AIChE code requires members to formally advise their employers or clients (and consider further disclosure, if warranted) if they perceive that a consequence of their duties will adversely affect the present or future health or safety of their colleagues or the public. The code also requires chemical engineers to offer objective criticism of the work of others. The code states that chemical engineers shall issue statements or present information only in an objective and truthful manner. It is clear that one has the responsibility to tell those who engage one s professional services when there is a problem or potential problem. It is clear that one should be truthful. What is not so clear is what a chemical engineer should do if, after such disclosure, the situation persists. 

The NCEES code of professional conduct (in the FE Supplied-Reference Handbook) was developed 15. as a model code to be accepted by or modified by the individual state boards of professional engineers. Compare it with the AlChE code of ethics and with the NSPE code of ethics. 

AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers), 820-823. 856 ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), 12 NSPE (National Society for Professional Engineers), 823. 824-825. 831 whistle-blowing AIChE guidelines, 823 definition, 826 example, 827-828 heuristics, 823 key questions, 827 protective laws, 826 Ethics, codes of conduct... 

Chapter 3 gives a more complete description of Canada s Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer and adds a new section on the framework of engineering ethics. The chapter includes the Code of Ethics of the National Society of Professional Engineers in its entirety and adds six new case studies from NSPE s Board of Ethical Review. 

The codes of ethics of various field-specific engineering professions, as well as of the multi-disciphnary National Society of fhofessional Engineers (NSPE), can he found at http //www. onhneethics.org/Resources/ethcodes/EnglishCodes.aspx... 

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. 

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