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The
ASME offers two interpretations of this canon:
a. Engineers shall perform engineering assignments
only when qualified by education or experience in the
specific technical field of engineering involved.
b. Engineers may accept an assignment requiring education
or experience outside of their own fields of competence,
but their services shall be restricted to other phases
of the project in which they are qualified. All other
phases of the project shall be performed by qualified
associates, consultants, or employees.
Clearly, in order to protect the safety, health and welfare
of the public, you must be competent to provide professional
advice. Professional licensure is a process managed by
states and territories of the U.S. to certify that professionals
in a variety of occupations, including engineering, are
qualified. It is illegal to offer certain kinds of professional
services to the public without a valid license. The issue
of competence adds an ethical dimension, however. As with
Canon 1, various models can be considered when interpreting
Canon 2.
According to the Malpractice Model, if you meet the letter
of the law, you have met the standard for competence.
For example, in some states, professional engineering
licensure is by discipline. If you are licensed as a mechanical
engineer, having passed an examination and a review of
your educational credentials and experience to establish
your competence, you are legally permitted to design a
mechanical system. Does it make any difference if the
project you are working on is the design of a bridge crane,
when all of your recent practice has been in HVAC? A malpractice
model would say that you are legally permitted to work
in your area of licensure as long as you follow all of
the current codes and specifications. Competent engineers
should be able to access and utilize codes and standards
applicable to their disciplines.
The Due Care Model imposes a different standard. You must
have the appropriate experience and training to complete
the project without endangering the public, and you, or
perhaps your employer, must decide whether you have the
appropriate expertise to carry out a project. In this
model, the legal issue of licensure is less important
than the consequences of your professional activities
on the health and safety of the public. Under this model,
your licensure status alone is not an adequate guide to
your competence. In many workplace settings, particularly
within industries, professional licensure is neither required
nor widely expected for those engineers who do not offer
their services to the public.
The Good Works Model strives to best serve the interests
of the public. This model focuses not on legality, but
on what provides the greatest benefit to society.
Here is a case study of an engineer's professional qualifications
to certify an installation: http://onlineethics.org/cases/nspe/ec98-8.html.
A licensed engineer is asked by his supervisor, who is
also a military superior, to certify a facility. The engineer
does not feel qualified. What should his response be?
The Malpractice Model suggests that the engineer has the
appropriate license, and could therefore legally sign
the certification, even though he does not feel competent
to do so. The Due-Care Model, however, would require that
the engineer be confident in his ability to make a competent
professional judgment.
In this case, the supervisor is also a military superior.
How is the engineer to resolve the apparent conflict between
his military duty and his professional engineering obligations?
In a situation like this, the engineer might refuse his
superior's request because he does not believe he is competent
to certify the facility.
As you advance in your career, you are likely to manage
increasingly complex projects that involve many people.
It is incumbent on you to ensure that your subordinates
are competent, since you probably won't have the expertise
to oversee the technical details in all areas, but are
responsible for ensuring that the public's safety is protected.
As the manager, you bear ultimate responsibility for the
entire project. In the Malpractice Model, this means that
every engineer involved in the project must hold an appropriate
professional license. The Due-Care Model calls for you
to determine whether each of the engineers involved is
able to undertake his or her assignments, regardless of
licensure. The critical issue is your responsibility to
the public. You may not undertake projects unless you
are technically qualified to do so. However, you may delegate
portions of a project to other qualified personnel. Your
responsibility in that case is to be secure in your determination
that everyone working on the project is qualified to carry
out his or her assignment.
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