NCEES Ethics and Practice 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An engineer learns that a competitor obtained a contract by misrepresenting qualifications. The most appropriate ethical response is to:
- Match the misrepresentation to stay competitive
- Report the misrepresentation to the appropriate professional or regulatory body (Correct answer)
- Ignore it as competitor conduct is not the engineer's concern
- Contact the client directly to solicit the contract for herself
Correct answer: Report the misrepresentation to the appropriate professional or regulatory body
Engineers are obligated to report known unethical conduct by other professionals to uphold the integrity of the profession.
Question 2: A PE is asked to review and approve a design created by an unlicensed engineer. Under most state laws, the PE may legally do this only if she:
- Has reviewed the final drawings and found no obvious errors
- Has exercised responsible charge and fully understands the technical basis of the design (Correct answer)
- Gets written acknowledgment from the unlicensed engineer
- Has a signed indemnification agreement with the client
Correct answer: Has exercised responsible charge and fully understands the technical basis of the design
A PE may supervise and take responsible charge over work by unlicensed individuals, but she must thoroughly understand and be responsible for the technical content, not merely spot-check it.
Question 3: Which of the following best describes an engineer's obligation regarding continuing education?
- Continuing education is optional and has no bearing on ethical practice
- Engineers must maintain and improve their competency throughout their careers (Correct answer)
- Only engineers working on federal projects need continuing education
- Continuing education requirements end once a PE license is obtained
Correct answer: Engineers must maintain and improve their competency throughout their careers
The NCEES Code of Ethics requires engineers to maintain competency by engaging in continuing professional development throughout their careers.
Question 4: A client instructs an engineer to omit a required safety feature from a design to reduce costs. The engineer should:
- Comply because the client has ultimate authority over the project scope
- Refuse and explain the safety and legal reasons for the required feature (Correct answer)
- Omit the feature but document the client's instruction to limit liability
- Charge extra to include the feature without the client's knowledge
Correct answer: Refuse and explain the safety and legal reasons for the required feature
Engineers must not omit code-required safety features regardless of client instructions; protection of public safety overrides client cost preferences.
Question 5: An engineer suspects that inferior materials were substituted during construction, deviating from the approved design. Her primary obligation is to:
- Document her suspicion privately and complete the project
- Investigate immediately and report findings to the project owner and relevant authorities (Correct answer)
- Confront the contractor privately and accept their explanation
- Wait until construction is complete to perform a post-occupancy review
Correct answer: Investigate immediately and report findings to the project owner and relevant authorities
Suspected material substitutions that could compromise safety must be investigated and reported promptly to protect occupants and the public.
Question 6: Which of the following situations most clearly represents a conflict of interest for a PE?
- Working on two unrelated projects for different clients simultaneously
- Providing engineering services to a company in which she holds a financial stake without disclosure (Correct answer)
- Belonging to a professional society while also working for a private firm
- Using commercially available engineering software on a government project
Correct answer: Providing engineering services to a company in which she holds a financial stake without disclosure
Having an undisclosed financial interest in a company for which you provide engineering services is a textbook conflict of interest that must be disclosed.
Question 7: A PE is approached to provide engineering services in a foreign country where professional engineering licensure does not exist. The PE should:
- Apply the same ethical standards she would apply in the United States (Correct answer)
- Adopt only the ethical standards of the foreign country's local customs
- Decline all foreign projects to avoid ethical complications
- Provide services without ethical constraints since no licensure applies abroad
Correct answer: Apply the same ethical standards she would apply in the United States
Engineers must uphold their professional ethical obligations regardless of where they practice; the absence of local regulation does not suspend ethical responsibilities.
NCEES Ethics and Practice 4
An engineer learns that a competitor obtained a contract by misrepresenting qualifications.
The most appropriate ethical response is to: