Engineering Ethics and Social Responsibility

General Ethics and Ethical Values

• The lesson aims to familiarize students with and promote proper ethics in the civil engineering profession in the Philippines.

Technical Terms

• Ethics, or moral philosophy, comprises rules and guidelines engineers follow as a moral obligation to their profession and the world.
• Ethics is concerned with what is morally good, bad, right, and wrong and applies to moral values or principles systems.
• Values are individual beliefs that motivate behavior and serve as guides.
• Canons refer to rules, principles, or guides established as valid and fundamental in a field, art, or philosophy.
• Morals are personal standards or beliefs regarding what an individual finds acceptable.

Introduction

• Engineers must maintain professional behavior, with high ethical standards.
• Ethics, derived from Greek, relates to moral conduct.
• Civil engineers, despite years of experience, sometimes perceive ethics as a concept.
• Most engineers analyze ethical actions using moral judgment and try to convince their managers against inappropriate business practices.
• Ethics and ethical reasoning are critical, with life and death implications.

Interaction Rules of Behavior

• Engineers typically work collaboratively in teams.
• Interaction rules define behavior between engineers, individuals, and society.
• Interaction rules encompass etiquette, law, morals, and ethics.

Etiquette

• Etiquette involves acceptable personal behavior and courtesy in social interactions, such as proper dress, seating arrangements, and professional phone etiquette.

Laws

• Laws are defined rules and punishments to maintain a safe social environment.
• Penalties for violations include imprisonment, fines, community service, or banishment.

Morals

• Morals are personal rules based on upbringing, religious beliefs, and societal influences of right and wrong.

Ethics

• Ethics is a code defining moral behavior for a particular society.
• Professional societies often have ethical codes to guide members.

Social Responsibilities of Engineering

• Public trust requires engineers consider impacts on human safety.
• Engineering codes of ethics emphasize protecting public safety, health, and welfare.
• Health includes physical and mental well-being.
• Safety involves protection from physical harm or death, assessing risks.

Environment and Sustainability

• Environmental protection is included in engineering codes of ethics due to technology's environmental impact.
• Environmental preservation ensures human survival.
• Ethics includes using knowledge for community benefit to create sustainable solutions and promote sustainability.

Pro Bono

• Pro bono is when professionals donate technical expertise to those who cannot afford it for free or at a reduced rate.
• Engineers should provide services to charities and during emergencies while considering liability and indemnification.
• Engineers should engage in civic affairs, guide youth, and advance community safety, health, and well-being.
• Engineers should serve constructively in community civic affairs.

Social Justice

• Social justice concerns wealth and privilege distribution and poverty and development issues.

Diversity

• A significant issue in engineering is the lack of workforce diversity, with a predominance of men and limited racial/ethnic representation.
• Other diversity issues include socio-economic status, cognitive, and personality types.
• Fair compensation, regardless of gender or race/ethnicity, is important for diversity.

Individual Social Responsibility Development

• An individual's perceptions of their social responsibilities as engineers will develop in time through professional socialization.
• Influences such as media, family, and school start a novice view of the profession.
• Students' pro-social motivations drive decisions to major in engineering to improve or others' wellbeing.
• Civil engineering includes proposed affective domain outcomes, professionalism, and ethical responsibility, with attitudes such as honesty, integrity, respect, and tolerance.

Code of Ethics Preamble

• Engineers must maintain honesty and integrity because they are expected to uphold the highest standards of ethics.
• Engineers must dedicate themselves to protecting public safety and welfare because engineering services have a direct, significant impact on everyone's life quality.
• Engineers adhere to high ethical conduct standards.

Fundamental Principles of Civil Engineering

• Civil Engineers advance their profession's integrity, honor, and dignity.
• They use their knowledge and skill to improve human welfare and the environment.
• They are honest, impartial, and faithful to the public, employers/employees, and clients. They strive to increase the competence and prestige of the discipline, supporting professional and technical societies.

Fundamental Engineering Canons

• Engineers prioritize public safety, health, and welfare and follow sustainable development principles.
• Engineers limits services to areas of competence.
• Engineers communicate factually and objectively.
• They act as faithful agents or trustees for employers and clients, and avoids conflicts of interest.
• Engineers build reputations based on merit and avoid unfair competition.
• Engineers act to enhance civil engineering's honor, integrity, and dignity.
• Engineers should develop this professionally and provide opportunities for civil engineers under them.

Canon 1

• Engineers must prioritize public safety, health, and welfare and strive to comply with sustainable development principles. In the performance of their duties.
• Engineers must recognize that the public relies on engineering decisions and judgements.
• Civil Engineers should only approve or seal documents safe for public health and welfare conforming to standards.
• Engineers protect the public's safety, health, and welfare by informing clients or employers of potential consequences if professional judgment is overruled or sustainable development principles are ignored.
• Engineers should report possible Canon 1 violations to ensure that there is transparency and action for dangerous scenarios.

Canon 2

• Engineers perform services according to competency.
• Engineers undertake assignments qualified by the appropriate education and experience.
• Engineers may take on assignments requiring learning provided that they limit tasks to ones that they are qualified for.
• Engineers do not sign work that is outside of their expertise or not reviewed.
• Engineers are not to use speciality titles if they do not hold the correct certificates.

Canon 3

• Public statements shall remain truthful and objective.
• Engineers will extend their knowledge of engineering and will not spread misinformation regarding their work.
• Statements shall be truthful and reports shall be objective.
• As expert witnesses, civil engineering opinions must be founded upon adequate knowledge, technical competence, and convictions.
• Engineers should be unbiased when issuing statements unless it is for a party whom they have stated, that they work for.
• Engineers shall remain civil if the merit of work is discussed and will avoid self interests at all costs.

Canon 4

• Engineers must act in professional matters and avoid conflicting interests for clients or employers.
• Engineers must avoid all conflicts of interest where possible, and must declare interests, relationships and circumstances that could impact judgements or the offering of services.

Civil engineers shall abstain from the following:

• Accepting any action as compensation from others as service to the same project
• For same projects unless all parties fully disclose related projects
• Solicit or gratituties - from agents of parties connected to the service
• No civil engineer to be public servant - member advisory, without full disclosure related to the engineering practice
• Civil Engineers must offer their honest, professional thoughts on the likely success of future activities
• Civil Engineers uphold professional and employer interests, avoiding action that is adverse

Canon 5:

• Build reputation instead of competing
• Not offer - no gratuities, no gifts and no political contributions
• Engineer must work on professional services fairly
• Work must conform to professional qualifications
• Ensure no conflict of interest during professional judgements
• Will not falsify and must correctly depict profession
• Give credit when due including names, inventions and writing
• Engineer must advertize so it is digestible
• All must be accurate, no disparaging other work, dignity is important
• No use if facilities - engineers are not permitted to use facilities without express.

Canon 6:

• Must enhance dignity and integrity to the greatest extent
• Engineer must not knowingly act in nature to denigrate professional integrity

Canon 7:

• Engineer offers ongoing learning experiences
• Actively encourage others to learn
• Encourage engineers to register
• Encourage employee papers
• Uphold work principles.

Explore engineering ethics, professional responsibility, and the importance of ethical decision-making in civil engineering. Understand how experience levels affect ethical judgments and the role of teamwork, etiquette, laws, and morals in the engineering profession. Learn about the primary responsibilities of civil engineers according to the code of ethics.