Ethics and Practice Flashcards

A PE co-signs a report with a non-licensed senior engineer who performed all the technical analyses. Who bears professional responsibility for the report?

Answer: The PE who signed and sealed the report

The PE who signs and seals a report accepts full professional responsibility for its content, regardless of who performed the underlying analysis.

An engineer advertises her services by comparing her firm's quality favorably to a named competitor in a way she cannot substantiate. This action is:

Answer: Unethical because engineers must not make false or misleading statements about competitors

Making unsubstantiated derogatory or misleading comparisons about competitors violates professional ethics codes requiring honesty and objectivity in public statements.

A PE is asked to sign off on a structural analysis report that used assumptions she considers overly optimistic but technically within code limits. She should:

Answer: Sign after documenting her concerns and ensuring the assumptions are defensible

A PE may sign reports containing debatable but defensible engineering judgments, provided she documents her evaluation and is satisfied the assumptions meet applicable standards.

Which of the following best characterizes the NCEES Model Law's approach to the 'industrial exemption' in engineering practice?

Answer: It allows employees to practice engineering for their employer without a PE license in some contexts, subject to state-specific rules

The industrial exemption permits unlicensed engineers to practice within certain private-sector settings, but the scope varies by state and is subject to important limitations.

A former employee publishes confidential design data from her previous employer without authorization. Under engineering ethics, this constitutes:

Answer: A breach of the professional duty of confidentiality

The professional duty of confidentiality extends beyond the employment relationship; unauthorized disclosure of proprietary information is an ethical violation.

An engineer reviewing a colleague's PE renewal application notices that the colleague falsely claimed professional development hours. The reviewing engineer should:

Answer: Report the falsification to the state licensing board

Falsifying professional development records is fraud; engineers have an ethical obligation to report known misconduct by fellow professionals to the appropriate board.

A PE is hired as a project manager for a large infrastructure project. She is not the engineer of record but signs off on contractor payment applications. Her primary ethical obligation regarding those payment approvals is to:

Answer: Certify only that work billed has been satisfactorily completed to the best of her knowledge

When a PE certifies payment applications, she is professionally attesting that the work billed has been completed satisfactorily; she must perform adequate verification before signing.