Code of Ethical Conduct
What are ethics?
Engineering judgement involves more than just technical analysis. Engineering ethics are founded on professional competence, personal integrity and social responsibility. Ethics has to do with what my feelings tell me is right or wrong. Ethics consists of the standards of behaviour our society accepts. Ethics are a system of moral principles. Setting ethical standards helps build public trust in our profession.
The new Code came into force on 1 July 2016 Applies to IPENZ members and Chartered Professional Engineers Review of Code recommended by Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission Sets out engineers’ duty to the public and to each other
What’s changed? Report adverse consequences Report breaches by other engineers Keep skills up to date Treat others with respect and courtesy
Each situation is different
Nothing is black and white
It’s all about judgement
Find out more ipenz.nz/ethics
Scenarios
1. You are a consulting engineer. You are engaged by an insurance company to design a repair to an earthquake damaged house. You provide a solution that is compliant with good industry practice. The insurance company does not like your solution and asks that you change your recommendation and report. What should you do?
2. You are employed by a company to study a company’s manufacturing waste discharge in order to seek a permit to discharge. Your study concludes that the discharge from the plant will violate environmental standards and that the corrective action will be very costly.
2. You verbally notify the company, which immediately terminates your contract, with full payment for the services performed. It instructs you not to submit a written report to the corporation. Your contract contained a confidentiality obligation. A short time later, you learn that the relevant authority has called a public hearing, where the company will present data to support its claim that the present plant discharge meets minimum standards.
2. What, if anything, should you do now? Are you obliged to report the violation of environmental standards to the authority? Do you owe any obligation to the company? What are your ethical obligations?
3. You are the owner of an engineering firm. Your firm is negotiating a contract in another country, in which it has not worked previously. A high-ranking official in this country tells you that it is an established and legal custom to give personal gifts to the officials who are authorised to award contracts.
3. This official also informs you that while this condition will not be included in the contract, no further work will be awarded to your firm without such gifts. If you do not comply, the government will also be less cooperative in the completion of the first contract. You also learn that other firms have given such gifts to officials.
3. Under what circumstances should the "customs" of a country be excluded or integrated into a firm’s own customary behaviour? At what point does a gift become a bribe? Should the gift be given openly or "under the table", and how would that affect the action?