1. Professional Engineering Practice
The seal, ethical frameworks, duty to report, mobility
Image credit: PCStuff 03:50, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

2. Pre-quiz

3. Pre-quiz

4. Pre-quiz

5. The engineering seal

6. Use of the engineering seal
Seal directly indicates responsibility
But you are still liable for errors on work you performed but did not seal
Required on all final specifications, plans, reports or documents that fall under professional engineering
See Andrews pp 51-52

7. Use of the engineering seal
Can require multiple seals for multi- disciplinary documents
Sealed documents cannot be modified, retransmitted for purposes beyond the original review scope etc. without due review.

8. Ethics Ethics – the philosophy of right and wrong
Related to religion, but focused on social and political issues, no spiritual component

9. Ethics
Course of action should be decided by considering rights and duties
Problem: many times rights and duties conflict – consider other ways of approaching the problem – other ethical theories

10. Mill’s Utilitarianism
An action is ethically correct if it produces the greatest benefit for the greatest number of people.
The duration, intensity and equality of distribution of the benefits should be considered
John Stuart Mill

11. Kant’s formalism
Each person has a duty to follow those courses of action that would be acceptable as universal principles for everyone to follow.
Be honest, be fair, do not hurt others, etc.
Conflicts arise when following a universal principle may cause harm. For example, telling a “white” lie is not acceptable, even if telling the truth causes harm.
Immanuel Kant

12. Locke’s Rights ethics
All individuals are free and equal, and each has a right to life, health, liberty, possessions and the products of his or her labour.
It is occasionally difficult to determine when one person’s rights infringe on another person’s rights
John Locke

13. Aristotle’s Virtue ethics
Happiness is achieved by developing virtues, or equalities of character, through deduction and reason.
An act is good if it is accordance with reason, which usually means a course of action that is the golden mean between extremes of excess and deficiency

14. Ethical Theory Summary
Consequence-based ethics
Mill’s utilitarianism
Actions are assessed by their consequences, i.e., how they further well-stated goals

15. Ethical Theory Summary
Intention-based ethics
Kant’s Formalism or Duty Ethics
Locke’s Rights Ethics
Rightness of an action depends on the intention or quality of the action itself, rather than its consequences

16. Ethical Theory Summary
Benjamin Franklin’s 13 virtues
Virtue ethics
Aristotle’s Virtue Ethics
Right actions come from morally “virtuous” persons
Ethical actions depend on character attributes of such persons, rather than consequences or intentions of actions

17. Duty to report
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Professional engineers have obligations both to their clients/employers and to the public. Once in a while these obligations will be in conflict.

18. Duty to report
On one hand, the engineer is obligated not to disclose confidential information of the client/employer and must avoid the use of such information to the disadvantage of the client/employer.

19. Duty to report
On the other hand, the PEO’s Code of Professional Conduct provides that failure to report a situation that an engineer believes may endanger the safety or welfare of the public would constitute professional misconduct on the part of the engineer.

20. Duty to report
There should be no doubt however as to how the engineer must act. The professional engineer “shall regard the practitioner’s duty to public welfare as paramount.” Although the engineer’s ultimate responsibility is clear, there is no universally applicable procedure to be used for discharging this responsibility.

21. Duty to report

22. Mobility
Within Canada, a national mobility agreement between all the provinces and territories allows you to move without having to repeat the entire licensing process

23. Mobility Internationally:
Washington accord (Sydney accord, Dublin accord)
APEC engineer agreement (Asia-Pacific)
IPEA agreement (international)
IET agreement (engineering technologists)
IntPE designation

24. Post-quiz

25. Post-quiz

26. Post-quiz