November 15, 2007CIAPR / OEG / CEP

William J. Frey UPRM College of Business Administration

Efrain O’Neill -CarrilloUPRM College of Engineering: Electrical and Computer EngineeringUniversity of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez

Professional Context of Engineering and Surveying Ethics in Puerto Rico

Analogy between solving ethics and design problems

Software Development Cycle: Four steps to defining and solving ethical/engineering/surveying problems Ethics, Code, and Feasibility Tests help hone

in on the ethical pathway

Hands On Activity: Incident at Morales (NIEE Ethics Video)

Law 319 (1938): Established the College of Engineers and Architects and Surveyors of Puerto Rico (1938)

Colegio de Ingenieros, Architecturas, y Agrimensores de Puerto Rico

Law 173 (1988): Established the Puerto Rico State Society of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors

Colegio de Ingenieros y Agrimensores de Puerto Rico (CIAPR)

Juridical Entity / Quasi-Public Corporation Determining standards for practicing

engineering and surveying in PR Developing a code of ethics to establish moral

standards for the practice of engineering and surveying

Investigating complaints of unprofessional practice

Investigating and punishing individuals (or corporations) who practice engineering and/or surveying without a license

Developing and administering qualifying exams

Resident of Estado Libre Asociado de PR Good conduct and moral reputation in community Absence of criminal conduct and convictions Recommendations from three licensed engineers

or surveyors who have direct knowledge of moral reputation and professional experience

Graduate from accredited engineering and surveying programs

Pass both fundamental and specialty exams Member of Colegio (Colegiado)

No person who is not a member of CIAPR can practice engineering and surveying in PR

A corporation cannot practice engineering in PR except when organized as a professional organization in accordance with law 185 and the General Law of Corporations of PR

CIAPR vs. Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados de PR Metcalf & Eddy were not allowed to

perform engineering functions contracted by the AAA because they failed CIAPR requirements for practice

Working document shows 15 issues condensed to 10. These 10 become CIAPR canons

Table correlated CIAPR issues to issues in NSPE, ECPD, IEEE, ASCE, and ASME codes

Four Stakeholder Groups emerge from these codes: Public, Client, Profession, and Peers

(engineers and surveyors)

A fin de mantener y enaltecer la integridad, el honor y la dignidad de sus profesiones, de acuerdo a las más altas normas de conducta moral y ética profesional, el Ingeniero y el Agrimensor:

Deberán considerar su principal función como profesionales la de servir a la humanidad. Su relación como profesional y cliente, y como profesional y patrono, deberá estar sujeta a su función fundamental de promover el bienestar de la humanidad y la de proteger el interés público.

Serán honestos e imparciales y servirán con fidelidad en el desempeño de sus funciones profesionales, manteniendo siempre su independencia de criterio que constituye la base del profesionalismo.

Se esforzarán en mejorar la competencia y el prestigio de la ingeniería y de la agrimensura.

1.   Velar por sobre toda otra consideración por la seguridad, el ambiente, la salud y el bienestar de la comunidad en la ejecución de sus responsabilidades profesionales.

2. Proveer servicios únicamente en áreas de sus competencias.

3. Emitir declaraciones públicas únicamente en una forma veraz y objetiva.

4. Actuar en asuntos profesionales para cada patrono o cliente como agentes fieles o fiduciarios, y evitar conflictos de intereses o la mera apariencia de éstos, manteniendo siempre la independencia de criterio como base del profesionalismo.

5. Edificar su reputación profesional en el mérito de sus servicios y no competir deslealmente con otros.

6. No incurrir en actos engañosos en la solicitud de empleo y en el ofrecimiento de servicios profesionales.

7. Actuar con el decoro que sostenga y realce el honor, la integridad y la dignidad de sus profesiones.

8. Asociarse únicamente con personas u organizaciones de buena reputación.

9. Continuar su desarrollo profesional a lo largo de sus carreras y promover oportunidades para el desarrollo profesional y ético de los ingenieros y agrimensores bajo su supervisión.

10.   Conducirse y aceptar realizar gestiones profesionales únicamente en conformidad con las leyes y los reglamentos aplicables y con estos Cánones.

1c: Cuando su juicio profesional haya sido revocado en circunstancias donde la seguridad, el ambiente, la salud o el bienestar de la comunidad se ponen en peligro, informarán a sus clientes o patronos de las consecuencias posibles. De continuar la amenaza a la seguridad, el ambiente, la salud o el bienestar de la comunidad, informarán sobre el particular a las autoridades concernidas.

1d: Cuando tengan conocimiento o suficiente razón para creer que otro ingeniero o agrimensor viola las disposiciones de este Código, o que una persona o firma pone en peligro la seguridad, el ambiente, la salud o el bienestar de la comunidad, presentarán tal información por escrito a las autoridades concernidas y cooperarán con dichas autoridades proveyendo aquella información o asistencia que les sea requerida.

5j: No aprobarán, timbrarán, estamparán o certificarán, según corresponda, ni autorizarán la presentación de planos, especificaciones, cálculos, dictámenes, memoriales o informes que no hayan sido elaborados por ellos o bajo su responsabilidad directa. Además, le darán crédito por el trabajo de ingeniería, agrimensura o arquitectura a quienes corresponda.

Principios Fundamentales de la Etica Profesional del Ingeniero y del Agrimensor A fin de mantener y enaltecer el honor y la

dignidad de su profesion y de acuerdo a las mas altas normas de conducta etica, el ingeniero y el agrimensor: Seran honestos e imparciales y serviran con devocion

en su empleo, a sus clientes y al publico Se esforzaran en mejorar la eficiencia y el prestigio de

la ingenieria y la agrimesnsura Utiliazran sus conocimientos y destrezas para promover

el bienestar de la humanidad

Canon 5 Se velara celosamente por la seguridad, salud, y

bienestar del publico en la ejecucion de sus responsabilidades profesionales

1994 FP1: Deberán considerar su principal función

como profesionales la de servir a la humanidad. Su relación como profesional y cliente, y como profesional y patrono, deberá estar sujeta a su función fundamental de promover el bienestar de la humanidad y la de proteger el interés público.

Canon 1: Velar por sobre toda otra consideracion por la seguridad, el ambiente, la salud y el bienestar de la comunidad en la ejecucion de sus responsabilidades profesionales

Examining the code from the perspective of key stakeholders and in terms of the different functions served by its provisions

Stakeholder codes focus on the duties a community owes to its stakeholders

Stakeholder = any group or individual with an essential interest tied up with professional practice

Engineering and Surveying Stakeholders: Public, Client, Profession, Peer

Public: Engineers and surveyors must hold paramount… Public Wellbeing (health, safety, welfare) Environmental Integrity

Client: Engineers and surveyors must exercise their professional judgment in conformity with… faithful agency (Agencia Fiel) avoiding Conflicts of Interests maintaining confidentiality

Profession: Engineers and surveyors must in relation to their profession… Uphold the Honor and Reputation of

Profession in activities like expert witnessing

Peer: Engineers and surveyors must treat their peers with respect which includes… Collegiality Avoid disloyal competition, public criticism

of peers, comparative advertising

Who is the stakeholder behind the provision? Stakeholder in canon 1? Stakeholder in canon 4?

What is the job of the provision? Is it an ideal of the profession? (Does it set forth

an ideal ?) Is it a principle of professional conduct? (Does it

set forth a threshold of minimally acceptable behavior?)

Difference:? Principles of professional conduct specify

circumstances of compliance, i.e., who, when, where, how, etc.

VALUE-BASED COMPLIANCE

Based on ideals of the profession

Articulate, as a community, the values that are central to identity

Practice value-based decision-making

Provide moral support to those who fall short of ideals

Based on principles of professional conduct

Establish rules = thresholds of minimum compliance

Develop monitoring systems (often self-monitoring) to check compliance

Design and publicize a system of punishment for non-compliance

Fundamental principles and many canons (e.g., canons 1 and 4) express the aspirations, values, and ideals of engineers and surveyors

Parts of some of the canons and the practical norms set forth principles of professional practice

Monitoring and Punishing Functions are carried out through legal and professional mechanisms (Civil law and the CIAPR Disciplinary Tribunal)

What remains to be done in the area of moral support?

IEEE Amicus Curiae in BART case Engineers cannot be fired for refusing to violate

a “clear mandate of public policy.” Select code provisions (e.g., canon 1) represent

clear mandates of public policy Code backed by profession becomes a way of

saying “no” to illegal and unethical orders

NSPE and its Board of Ethical Review BER discusses real world cases brought to it by

practicing members Discussions clarify and interpret key provisions

of the NSPE code

Write a sentence or two about the following:

Micro Engineering Ethics examines the perspective of the individual engineer focusing on problem-solving and decision making

Macro Engineering Ethics focuses on themes like the following:1.Should engineers become directly involved with the military?2.How and to what extent should engineers take responsibility

for the impact of engineering projects on third world countries.

3.What is the appropriate development and use of technology?

What should engineering professional societies do in relation to these macro ethical issues?

Three Ethics Tests, a code test, and a feasibility

check list

“an intellectual tool to help us recognize patterns in the way technology is used and produced”

Engineering is practiced within a socio-technical system

Engineering practice and socio-technical systems embody values

Values mismatches within socio-technical systems produce ethical problems

Design Problem Ethics ProblemConstruct a prototype that realizes designated specifications

Construct a solution that realizes ethical values (justice, responsibility, reasonableness, respect, and safety)

Conflicts between specifications are resolved through integration of specifications

Resolve conflicts between values (moral vs. moral or moral vs. non-moral) by integration

Prototype must be implemented over background constraints

Ethical solution must be implemented over resource, interest, and technical constraints

1. Problem Specification As in engineering and surveying problem solving, be as clear

as possible about your problem

2. Solution Generation As in design problems, solutions are not found ready made

but have to be designed to respond to the problem and to integrate key ethical and non-ethical values

3. Solution Testing Which of your solutions best responds to the (1)

Reversibility, (2) Harm/Benefits, (3) Publicity, and (4) Code tests

4. Solution Implementation Identify situational constraints (resources, interests,

technical) Develop counter measures to possible obstacles

See how your solutions stand up to three ethics tests and a

feasibility test

Question: “would I still think choice of this option good if I were adversely affected by it?”

Moral Imagination Task: Visualize the solution from the standpoint of the stakeholdersPublic, Client, Profession, Peer

Question: does this option do less harm and bring about more benefits than alternatives?

Moral Imagination Task: Use your experience, knowledge and skill to visualize the likely consequences

Sort these out and balance benefits and costs

Check for distribution among the stakeholders Don’t purchase client benefit at the expense

of distributing risk to the public

Question: “would I want my choice of this option published in the newspaper?”

Moral Imagination Task: What would a morally exemplary engineer or surveyor do in this situation?

Does your action realize or frustrate the following values? Justice, responsibility, respect, trust, integrity Care for public wellbeing Faithful agency toward the client Uphold the integrity and reputation of the profession Maintain collegial relations among your peers

Does the solution under consideration violate a provision of the CIAPR code of ethics?

Solution / Test

Reversibility Test

Harm Test Publicity Test

Code Test Global Feasibility Test

Description “would I still think choice of this option good if I were adversely affected by it?”

“does this option do less harm than alternatives?”

“would I want my choice of this option published in the newspaper?”

Does the solution present any major code violations?

What obstacles arise that could prevent the implementation of this solution?

Solution 1

Solution 2

A feasibility test introduces practical constraints

It asks whether the selected alternative can be implemented given resource, interest, and technical constraints

Feasibility Matrix

Resource Constraints

Technical Constraints

Interest Constraints

Time Cost Available Materials, Labor, etc

Available Technology

Manufac-turabiity

Person-alities

Organi-zational

Legal Social Cultural Political

Incident At Morales, an NIEE/NSF produced video, provides several situations where decision makers are challenged to promote ethics

WALLY: Chuck is going to have a project kick-off meeting this afternoon. Your plant design will be on the agenda. It’ll be at three. We don’t waste time around here. We’re fast at Phaust. Corporate tag line.

(Wally hands the preliminary plant plans to Fred.) WALLY: You might want to look at this. (Hopeful)

Tell me if this is like what you were building at your last job.

You are Fred. Respond to Wally's question. Try to balance respect to your former employer, Chemitoil, with your current employer, Phaust.

You are Fred. After you point out to Wally, that Lutz and Lutz controls are expensive, he advises you to "pick your fights when you can win them." (Chuck's brother-in-law is the customer representative for Lutz and Lutz.)

You think about taking Wally's advice. The cheaper controls should work well except for situations of high temperature and pressure. This is not a problem with the formulation first put forth by Phaust chemists.

Evaluate the following option using the ethics and feasibility tests. Can you think of a better option? Use the ethics and feasibility tests to show that your solution it is better.

Take Wally’s advice and recommend purchasing the more expensive Lutz and Lutz controls. Find some other budget item for cutting expenses.

Fred tells Chuck about his environmental concerns. He feels that toxic wastes will leach into the groundwater unless the holding ponds in Morales are lined.

Evaluate the following options using the ethics and feasibility tests:1. Let Chuck go ahead and call a meeting

and bring in the environmental expert. 2. Consult Wally first before allowing

Chuck to call the meeting.3. Keep your environmental concerns to

yourself and discuss them later with Wally

After viewing the new paint stripper from Chemitoil, Phaust decides to redo their own formula. They will use a higher temperature/pressure process. This cuts deeply the margin of safety on the couplings, flanges, and cheaper controls.

You are Fred. What should you recommend? Evaluate the following using the ethics and feasibility tests:

1. Go along with the new chemical formulation. The safety margins are close but still adequate. You can also pass off problems and costs to operations

2. Argue that using the new formulation requires retrofitting the couplings, flanges, and controls. It is expensive in the short run but cheaper in the long run.

You notice that significant leaks are occurring during the plant’s testing and start-up phases. These leaks are probably caused by the cheaper controls, inferior couplings, and the inexperience of the plant operating team including Manuel. What should you do? Have Manuel baby sit the batches timing them and

constantly checking their temperature. Argue that it is necessary to immediately retrofit

the plant with Lutz and Lutz controls. Argue that it is necessary to retrofit the plant with

Lutz and Lutz controls but this should be done after the plant has been turned over to operations. Let them pay for it.

Compare and rank these solution alternatives using the ethics and feasibility tests.

WALLY: Well, this is what we’re going to give to operations when we hand over the plant. Is everybody okay it?

CHUCK: Fred's the guy who’s got to put his name on it, Fred’s got to be alright with it...

FRED: Well, the couplings still leak when the pressure is up. WALLY: And we've alerted operations and given them specific

instructions on how to maintain the connections.CHUCK: We've got Jen working on a lower temperature formula.

That may make all of this moot. FRED: We haven't worked out the bugs on the last step of the

automation...WALLY: And next year, we'll retrofit the entire plant with L&L

controls. CHUCK: This is how it works. We design it. We build it, we hand it

over. They run it. We’ve done the best we can. No plant, no process, no system is ever completely perfect.

WALLY: You built a plant that’s efficient. You've got your upgrades to the wastewater treatment.

FRED: Yeah, you're right. Um, for now Manuel or one of his guys can use the manual release valve.

CHUCK: Okay. Time to let those plant jockeys make New Stripper.

You are Fred. Should you sign off on the documents?

Use the ethics and feasibility tests to test this solution

Student Criteria in the Engineering Ethics Bowl:

1.Intelligibility2.Integrating Ethical Considerations into Solution3.Feasibility4.Moral Imagination and Moral Creativity

Advocating Ethical and Professional Judgment(suggestions from the IEEE)

Make sure of your motivation

Count your costs

Obtain all the necessary background materials and evidence

Organize to protect your own interests

Choose the right avenue for your disclosure

Make your disclosure in the right spirit

Whistle Blowing becomes morally permissible when options for revealing the information within the organization have been tried and have not worked.

MORALLY PERMISSIBLE MORALLY OBLIGATORY

High probability of serious and considerable harm

Notified immediate supervisor and have not received response

Exhausted internal channels for making potential harm known

Whistle Blowing becomes morally obligatory when in addition to being permissible there is…

documented evidence that would convince an impartial observer and…

a high probability that publicizing the imminent harm will prevent it

Establish a clear technical foundation

Keep your arguments on a high professional plane, as impersonal and objective as possible, avoiding extraneous issues and emotional outbursts

Try to catch problems early, and keep the argument at the lowest managerial level possible.

Before going out on a limb, make sure that the issue is sufficiently important

Use (and help to establish) organization a dispute resolution mechanisms

Keep records and collect paper. Document, document, document!

Write on a piece of paper, five important things you learned during this seminar on engineering ethics.

William Frey freyuprm@yahoo.comEfrain O’Neill-Carillooneill@ece.uprm.eduVisit http://cnx,org

(Check content published by Frey)

Puerto Rico Socio-Technical SystemEngineering / Technology Projects

Physical and Cultural Characteristics

People, Groups, and Roles

Engineering Procedures

Laws Engineering Ethics Curriculum

•Copper Mining in Puerto Rico

•CE (Highway 10)

Island between North and South America

Spanish and US Colonial Experience

CIAPR (Puerto Rico State Society of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors)

936 Corporations

ABET / ASEE

ASIBEI

CIAPR procedures for becoming a licensed engineering

Disciplinary Tribunal

Law 173 (laws 12 and 319)

Amendments

US laws and codes imposed in PR

Macro Engineering Ethics

Micro Engineering Ethics

Phil. of technology

•Civil Engineering (Super Aqueduct) •Mechanical Engineering (Urban Train)

Two Languages (primarily Spanish but English is also important)

Center for Ethics in the Professions

Office of Governmental Ethics

ABET accreditation of engineering programs

OEG ethics requirements

Engineering Codes and Government Regulations (PR and US)

EAC integration projects (Jimenez and O’Neill in Elec Eng)

•Computer Engineering (E-Government)•Electrical Engineering (Power Distribution Systems)

Free Association with US

Status Debate: Statehood, Free Association, Independence

•Engineering Students•PR engineers•PR government•PR and US employers

Questionable Practices:•Corruption•Firmoneria•Env. Damage•Conflict of Interests•Disloyal Competition•Partial testifying•Injustice

Oficina de la Etica Gubermental

(anti-corruption, whistle-blowing protection, continuing education requirements for public employees)

Ethics Across the Curriculum:

15/85

Retreat/Workshop

Resource development

EAC Toolkit