4 minute read
The NSPE Opinion Database: A Perhaps Not-So-Obvious Resource
By Veronica Bayó Clifford, Esq.
Many of us would reduce the concept of ethics to doing the right thing even when no one is watching. Deeply ingrained within, society runs on the premise that its members should act ethically – or at least try to.
The engineering profession takes that premise a step further. Engineers must always act ethically when practicing their profession. It is not an aspirational goal but rather an affirmative duty.
As with any affirmative duty, practicing ethically can become difficult at times, especially when the variables are numerous and the facts are unique. In situations where the solution to an engineering ethical dilemma is unclear, where does one go to find the answer?
If you answered “online,” you aren’t wrong. But rather than punch a few terms into the Google search bar, why don’t we start by consulting the experts.
The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) was formed by a group of professional engineers in 1934 with the goal of addressing the professional concerns of licensed PEs across all disciplines. Its duty is to protect engineers (and the public) from unqualified practitioners, build public recognition for the profession, and stand against unethical practices and inadequate compensation. To further this goal, the NSPE created its lodestar Code of Ethics for Engineers.
This Code is important and comprehensive. It is broken down into six Fundamental Canons, five Rules of Practice and nine Professional Obligations.
The six Fundamental Canons are no surprise and basically state that all engineers must:
Place the public welfare first.
Practice only in the areas in which they are competent.
Be truthful and objective to the public.
Be good employees or contractors (not necessarily in the construction sense).
Avoid being deceptive.
Not embarrass the profession of engineering.
The remaining sections are equally as important and expand on these principles. Admittedly, the Rules and Obligations are not a fun read and could prove frustrating when looking for a clear and direct answer to an ethical dilemma.
Enter the NSPE Board of Ethical Review (BER), which followed closely after the development of the NSPE Code. The NSPE's BER is an ongoing and rotating panel of engineering ethics experts who serve as the profession's guide through ethical dilemmas.
The BER has been issuing its ethical opinions since 1958, and every single one of them can be found online on the Board of Ethical Review Cases database. This is an incredible resource for engineers facing general and nuanced ethical issues. The BER has issued more than 650 advisory opinions, all available through the database.
This database can be searched by keyword, year, subject and code section. Searching by subject is a great way to find opinions on general ethical issues. The drop-down subject search bar can be queried to search for a long list of ethical subject matters.
Examples include advertising, dealing with conflicts of interest, ownership of designs, proprietary interests, reviewing the work of other engineers, competence, and duty to disclose. For an opinion more in line with a specific issue, a keyword search is available to work as a standalone search or in conjunction with the subject search.
Each opinion is written with deliberate ambiguity and is designed to reach as wide an audience as possible. For example, the parties involved are not identified in any substantive way. Instead, the parties are referred to generically as Engineer A, City B, or Firm XYZ for example.
Keep in mind that opinions issued prior to 1980 are provided solely for historic purposes and may no longer be valid because of changes to the NSPE Code of Ethics as well as legal and regulatory requirements. This still leaves, however, hundreds of relevant opinions that carry a lot of weight.
Finding an on-point BER case in support of your position is not the same as finding a dispositive statute or precedential case. But it might just be the next best thing.
