Engineering ethics is the field of system of moral principles that apply to the practice of

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

. The field examines and sets the obligations by

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considerin ...

s to

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soc ...

, to their clients, and to the profession. As a scholarly discipline, it is closely related to subjects such as the

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. The central questions of this study concern what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ultim ...

, the

philosophy of engineering The philosophy of engineering is an emerging discipline that considers what engineering is, what engineers do, and how their work affects society, and thus includes aspects of ethics and aesthetics, as well as the ontology, epistemology, etc. that m ...

, and the ethics of technology.

Background and origins

Up to the 19th century and growing concerns

Original Tay Bridge before the 1879 collapse

As engineering rose as a distinct profession during the 19th century, engineers saw themselves as either independent professional practitioners or technical employees of large enterprises. There was considerable tension between the two sides as large industrial employers fought to maintain control of their employees. In the United States growing professionalism gave rise to the development of four founding engineering societies: The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) (1851), the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) (1884),The AIEE merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) (1912) in 1963 to form the IEEE. the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) (1880), and the American Institute of Mining Engineers (AIME) (1871).AIME is now the umbrella organization of four technical societies: th
Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration
(SME) (1957), The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) (1957), the

Society of Petroleum Engineers The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit professional organization whose stated mission is "to collect, disseminate, and exchange technical knowledge concerning the exploration, development and production of oil an ...

(SPE) (1957), and th
Association For Iron and Steel Technology
(AIST) (1974). Neither AIME, nor its subsidiary societies have adopted a formal code of ethics. ASCE and AIEE were more closely identified with the engineer as learned professional, where ASME, to an extent, and AIME almost entirely, identified with the view that the engineer is a technical employee.Layton (1986) p. 35. Even so, at that time ethics was viewed as a personal rather than a broad professional concern.ASCE (2000). p. 10.

Turn of the 20th century and turning point

When the 19th century drew to a close and the 20th century began, there had been series of significant

structural failure Structural integrity and failure is an aspect of engineering that deals with the ability of a structure to support a designed structural load (weight, force, etc.) without breaking and includes the study of past structural failures in order t ...

s, including some spectacular bridge failures, notably the

Ashtabula River Railroad Disaster The Ashtabula River railroad disaster (also called the Ashtabula horror, the Ashtabula Bridge disaster, and the Ashtabula train disaster) was the failure of a bridge over the Ashtabula River near the town of Ashtabula, Ohio, in the United Stat ...

(1876), Tay Bridge Disaster (1879), and the Quebec Bridge collapse (1907). These had a profound effect on engineers and forced the profession to confront shortcomings in technical and construction practice, as well as ethical standards. One response was the development of formal codes of ethics by three of the four founding engineering societies. AIEE adopted theirs in 1912. ASCE and ASME did so in 1914.Layton (1986). pp. 70 & 114. AIME did not adopt a code of ethics in its history. Concerns for professional practice and protecting the public highlighted by these bridge failures, as well as the

Boston molasses disaster The Great Molasses Flood, also known as the Boston Molasses Disaster, was a disaster that occurred on January 15, 1919, in the North End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. A large storage tank filled with of molasses, weighing approxima ...

(1919), provided impetus for another movement that had been underway for some time: to require formal credentials (Professional Engineering licensure in the US) as a requirement to

practice Practice or practise may refer to: Education and learning * Practice (learning method), a method of learning by repetition * Phantom practice, phenomenon in which a person's abilities continue to improve, even without practicing * Practice-based ...

. This involves meeting some combination of educational, experience, and testing requirements.Layton (1986). pp. 124-125. In 1950, the Association of German Engineers developed an oath for all its members titled 'The Confession of the Engineers', directly hinting at the role of engineers in the atrocities committed during World War II. Over the following decades most American states and Canadian provinces either required engineers to be licensed, or passed special legislation reserving title rights to organization of professional engineers.Layton (1986) The Canadian model is to require all persons working in fields of engineering that posed a risk to life, health, property, the public welfare and the environment to be licensed, and all provinces required licensing by the 1950s. The US model has generally been only to require the practicing engineers offering engineering services that impact the public welfare, safety, safeguarding of life, health, or property to be licensed, while engineers working in private industry without a direct offering of engineering services to the public or other businesses, education, and government need not be licensed. This has perpetuated the split between professional engineers and those in private industry.Layton (1986). pp. 6-7 Professional societies have adopted generally uniform codes of ethics.

Recent developments

Efforts to promote ethical practice continue. In addition to the professional societies and chartering organizations efforts with their members, the Canadian Iron Ring and American Order of the Engineer trace their roots to the 1907 Quebec Bridge collapse. Both require members to swear an oath to uphold ethical practice and wear a symbolic ring as a reminder. In the United States, the National Society of Professional Engineers released in 1946 its Canons of Ethics for Engineers and Rules of Professional Conduct, which evolved to the current Code of Ethics, adopted in 1964. These requests ultimately led to the creation of the Board of Ethical Review in 1954. Ethics cases rarely have easy answers, but the BER's nearly 500 advisory opinions have helped bring clarity to the ethical issues engineers face daily. Currently, bribery and political corruption is being addressed very directly by several professional societies and business groups around the world. However, new issues have arisen, such as

offshoring Offshoring is the relocation of a business process from one country to another—typically an operational process, such as manufacturing, or supporting processes, such as accounting. Usually this refers to a company business, although state gove ...

sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The ...

, and environmental protection, that the profession is having to consider and address.

General principles

Codes of engineering ethics identify a specific precedence with respect to the engineer's consideration for the

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

, clients, employers, and the profession. Many engineering professional societies have prepared codes of ethics. Some date to the early decades of the twentieth century. These have been incorporated to a greater or lesser degree into the regulatory laws of several jurisdictions. While these statements of general principles served as a guide, engineers still require sound judgment to interpret how the code would apply to specific circumstances. The general principles of the codes of ethics are largely similar across the various engineering societies and chartering authorities of the world,ICE (2004). which further extend the code and publish specific guidance.ASCE (2000). The following is an example from the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

:ASCE 914(2006). #Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and shall strive to comply with the principles of sustainable development in the performance of their professional duties. #Engineers shall perform services only in areas of their competence. #Engineers shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner. #Engineers shall act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of interest. #Engineers shall build their professional reputation on the merit of their services and shall not compete unfairly with others. #Engineers shall act in such a manner as to uphold and enhance the honor, integrity, and dignity of the engineering profession and shall act with zero-tolerance for bribery, fraud, and corruption. #Engineers shall continue their professional development throughout their careers, and shall provide opportunities for the professional development of those engineers under their supervision. #Engineers shall, in all matters related to their profession, treat all persons fairly and encourage equitable participation without regard to gender or gender identity, race, national origin, ethnicity, religion, age, sexual orientation, disability, political affiliation, or family, marital, or economic status.

Obligation to society

The paramount value recognized by engineers is the safety and welfare of the public. As demonstrated by the following selected excerpts, this is the case for professional engineering organizations in nearly every jurisdiction and engineering discipline: *

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...

: "We, the members of the IEEE, … do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree: 1. to accept responsibility in making decisions consistent with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment;"IEEE (2006). ''Code of Ethics'
Canon 1.
Retrieved: 2006-10-19. *

Institution of Civil Engineers The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 92,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, whi ...

: "Members of the ICE should always be aware of their overriding responsibility to the public good. A member’s obligations to the client can never override this, and members of the ICE should not enter undertakings which compromise this responsibility. The ‘public good’ encompasses care and respect for the environment, and for humanity's cultural, historical and archaeological heritage, as well as the primary responsibility members have to protect the health and well-being of present and future generations."ICE (2004). p. 38. * Professional Engineers Ontario: "A practitioner shall, regard the practitioner's duty to public welfare as paramount."PEO. ''Professional Engineers Ontario Code of Ethics''. Section 77.2.i of the Ontario Regulation 941. Retrieved: 2006-10-19. *National Society of Professional Engineers: "Engineers, in the fulfillment of their professional duties, shall: Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public." *

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via " continuing ...

: "Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public in the performance of their professional duties." *

Institute of Industrial Engineers The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), formerly the Institute of Industrial Engineers, is a professional society dedicated solely to the support of the industrial engineering profession and individuals involved with improving ...

: "Engineers uphold and advance the integrity, honor and dignity of the engineering profession by: 2. Being honest and impartial, and serving with fidelity the public, their employers and clients."IIE. "Ethics"

Retrieved: 2011-6-01. *

American Institute of Chemical Engineers The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) is a professional organization for chemical engineers. AIChE was actually established in 1908 to distinguish chemical engineers as a profession independent of chemists and mechanical enginee ...

: "To achieve these goals, members shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and protect the environment in performance of their professional duties."AIChE (2003)
''Code of Ethics''
Retrieved: 2006-10-21. * American Nuclear Society: "ANS members uphold and advance the integrity and honor of their professions by using their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare and the environment; being honest and impartial; serving with fidelity the public, their employers, and their clients; and striving to continuously improve the competence and prestige of their various professions."ANS (2003)
''Code of Ethics''
Retrieved: 2011-08-19. *

Society of Fire Protection Engineers The Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE) is a professional society for fire protection engineering Fire protection engineering is the application of science and engineering principles to protect people, property, and their environments ...

: "In the practice of their profession, fire protection engineers must maintain and constantly improve their competence and perform under a standard of professional behavior which requires adherence to the highest principles of ethical conduct with balanced regard for the interests of the public, clients, employers, colleagues, and the profession." Responsibility of engineers The engineers recognize that the greatest merit is the work and exercise their profession committed to serving society, attending to the welfare and progress of the majority. By transforming nature for the benefit of mankind, engineers must increase their awareness of the world as the abode of humanity, their interest in the universe as a guarantee of overcoming their spirit, and knowledge of reality to make the world fairer and happier. The engineer should reject any paper that is intended to harm the general interest, thus avoiding a situation that might be hazardous or threatening to the environment, life, health, or other rights of human beings. It is an inescapable duty of the engineer to uphold the prestige of the profession, to ensure its proper discharge, and to maintain a professional demeanor rooted in ability, honesty, fortitude, temperance, magnanimity, modesty, honesty, and justice; with the consciousness of individual well-being subordinate to the social good. The engineers and their employers must ensure the continuous improvement of their knowledge, particularly of their profession, disseminate their knowledge, share their experience, provide opportunities for education and training of workers, provide recognition, moral and material support to the schools where they studied, thus returning the benefits and opportunities they and their employers have received. It is the responsibility of the engineers to carry out their work efficiently and to support the law. In particular, they must ensure compliance with the standards of worker protection as provided by the law. As professionals, the engineers are expected to commit themselves to high standards of conduct (NSPE). 11/27/11

Duty to Report (Whistleblowing)

A basic ethical dilemma is that an engineer has the duty to report to the appropriate authority a possible risk to others from a client or employer failing to follow the engineer's directions. According to first principles, this duty overrides the duty to a client and/or employer. An engineer may be disciplined, or have their license revoked, even if the failure to report such a danger does not result in the loss of life or health. If an engineer is overruled by a non-technical authority or a technical authority they must inform the authority, in writing, the reasons for their advice and the consequences of the deviation from the advice. In many cases, this duty can be discharged by advising the client of the consequences in a forthright matter, and ensuring the client takes the engineer's advice. In very rare cases, where even a governmental authority may not take appropriate action, the engineer can only discharge the duty by making the situation public. As a result,

whistleblowing A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

by professional engineers is not an unusual event, and courts have often sided with engineers in such cases, overruling duties to employers and confidentiality considerations that otherwise would have prevented the engineer from speaking out.

Conduct

There are several other ethical issues that engineers may face. Some have to do with technical practice, but many others have to do with broader considerations of business conduct. These include: *Relationships with clients, consultants, competitors, and contractors *Ensuring legal compliance by clients, client's contractors, and others *

Conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates to situations i ...

Bribery Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Cor ...

and kickbacks, which also may include: **Gifts, meals, services, and entertainment *Treatment of

confidential Confidentiality involves a set of rules or a promise usually executed through confidentiality agreements that limits the access or places restrictions on certain types of information. Legal confidentiality By law, lawyers are often required ...

proprietary information Trade secrets are a type of intellectual property that includes formulas, practices, processes, designs, instruments, patterns, or compilations of information that have inherent economic value because they are not generally known or readily asc ...

*Consideration of the employer's assets *Outside employment/activities (

Moonlighting Moonlighting may refer to: * Side job, a job taken in addition to one's primary employment Entertainment * ''Moonlighting'' (film), a 1982 drama film by Jerzy Skolimowski * ''Moonlighting'' (TV series), 1985–1989 American television series, s ...

) Some engineering societies are addressing

environmental protection Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment by individuals, organizations and governments. Its objectives are to conserve natural resources and the existing natural environment and, where possible, to repair dam ...

as a stand-alone question of ethics. The field of

business ethics Business ethics (also known as Corporate Ethics) is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics, that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that can arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business c ...

often overlaps and informs ethical decision making for engineers.

Case studies and key individuals

Petroski notes that most engineering failures are much more involved than simple technical mis-calculations and involve the failure of the design process or management culture.Petroski (1985) However, not all engineering failures involve ethical issues. The infamous collapse of the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge, and the losses of the Mars Polar Lander and Mars Climate Orbiter were technical and design process failures. Nor are all engineering ethics issues necessary engineering failures per se -

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

instructor Sheldon Epstein cited

The Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europ ...

as an example of a breach in engineering ethics despite (and because of) the engineers' creations being successful at carrying out the Nazis' mission of genocide. These episodes of engineering failure include ethical as well as technical issues. * General Motors ignition switch recalls (2014) *

Space Shuttle Columbia disaster The Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster was a fatal accident in the United States space program that occurred on February 1, 2003. During the STS-107 mission, Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disintegrated as it reentered the atmosphere over Te ...

(2003) *

Space Shuttle Challenger disaster On January 28, 1986, the broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard. The spacecraft disintegrated above the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11:39a.m. EST (16:39 UTC). It w ...

(1986) *

Therac-25 The Therac-25 was a computer-controlled radiation therapy machine produced by Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) in 1982 after the Therac-6 and Therac-20 units (the earlier units had been produced in partnership with of France). It was invo ...

accidents (1985 to 1987) *

Chernobyl disaster The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two n ...

(1986) *

Bhopal disaster The Bhopal disaster, also referred to as the Bhopal gas tragedy, was a chemical accident on the night of 2–3 December 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Considered the world's ...

(1984) *Kansas City Hyatt Regency walkway collapse (1981) *

Love Canal Love Canal is a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, United States, infamous as the location of a landfill that became the site of an enormous environmental disaster in the 1970s. Decades of dumping toxic chemicals harmed the health of hund ...

(1980), Lois Gibbs *

Three Mile Island accident The Three Mile Island accident was a partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island, Unit 2 (TMI-2) reactor in Pennsylvania, United States. It began at 4 a.m. on March 28, 1979. It is the most significant accident in U.S. commercial nuclea ...

(1979) * Citigroup Center (1978), * Ford Pinto safety problems (1970s) *

Minamata disease Minamata disease is a neurological disease caused by severe mercury poisoning. Signs and symptoms include ataxia, numbness in the hands and feet, general muscle weakness, loss of peripheral vision, and damage to hearing and speech. In extreme ...

(1908–1973) * Aberfan disaster (1966) *

Chevrolet Corvair The Chevrolet Corvair is a compact car manufactured by Chevrolet for model years 1960–1969 in two generations. A response to the Volkswagen Beetle, it remains the only American-designed, mass-produced passenger car with a Rear-engine design, ...

safety problems (1960s),

Ralph Nader Ralph Nader (; born February 27, 1934) is an American political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney noted for his involvement in consumer protection, environmentalism, and government reform causes. The son of Lebanese immigrants to the Un ...

, and '' Unsafe at Any Speed'' *

(1919) * Quebec Bridge collapse (1907),

Theodore Cooper Theodore Cooper (January 13, 1839 – August 24, 1919) was an American civil engineer. He may be best known as consulting engineer on the Quebec Bridge that collapsed in 1907. Biography Upon receiving a degree in civil engineering from Resselaer I ...

* Johnstown Flood (1889), South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club * Tay Bridge Disaster (1879), Thomas Bouch, William Henry Barlow, and William Yolland *

(1876), Amasa Stone * Deepwater Horizon oil spill (2010)

Notes

References

* * * * * *

External links

Australia

Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia Professionals Australia, formerly the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia (APESMA), is an Australian trade union registered under state and federal industrial relations acts. It is affiliated with the Austral ...

Ethical Decision Making
* Engineers Australia
Code of Ethics

Canada

* Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (APEGBC)
Act, Bylaws and Code of Ethics
* Association of Professional Engineers, and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA)
EGGP Code of Ethics
* Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Manitoba (APEGM)
Code of Ethics
* Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO)
Code of Ethics (See link on front page.)
*L'Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec (OIQ)

* Iron Ring
The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer
*

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...

Software Ethics
- A Guide to the Ethical and Legal Use of Software for Members of the University Community of the University of Western Ontario

Germany

* Verein Deutscher Ingenieure
Ethical principles of engineering profession

Ireland

* Engineers Ireland
Code of Ethics

Sri Lanka

* Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka
Code of Ethics

Turkey

* Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects
Professional Behavior Principles

United Kingdom

Association for Consultancy and Engineering The Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) is a British business association in the field of consultancy and engineering. ACE represents around 400 member companies, large and small, that provide professional engineering expertise in ...

(ACE)
Anti-Corruption Action Statement
*

(ICE)
''Royal Charter, By-laws, Regulations and Rules''
* Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
''Professional ethics and the IET''
*

Engineering Council The Engineering Council (formerly Engineering Council UK; colloquially known as EngC) is the UK's regulatory authority for registration of Chartered and Incorporated engineers and engineering technician, holding a register of these and providi ...

(EC)
''Statement of Ethical Principles''

United States

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

Online Ethics Center of the National Academy of Engineering
*List of links to various professional and scientific societies' codes of ethics
Onlineethics.orgNational Institute for Engineering Ethics
(NIEE) * National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE)
Code of Ethics
*

(AIChE)
Code of Ethics
*

(ASCE)
Code of EthicsStandards of Professional Conduct for Civil Engineers
*

(ASME)
Code of Ethics
*

(IEEE)
Code of Ethics
*The Order of the Engineer
The Obligation of an Engineer
* Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME)
Code of Ethics

International

Global Infrastructure Anti-Corruption Centre
* Transparency International {{Ethics Ethics of science and technology Philosophy of engineering Professional ethics

ethics Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...