Case Repository

NSPE Ethics Case: Misrepresentation Qualifications
Case #134

Engineer A is a licensed Professional Engineer in three states (C, D, and E) and is a Board-certified Diplomate in Forensic Engineering. Attorney X co...

NSPE Ethics Case: Good Samaritan Laws
Case #135

Engineer A, a registered professional engineer in State Z, is discussing with colleague Engineer B a recently enacted law in their state that provides...

NSPE Ethics Case: Public Safety Health Welfare Avoiding Rolling Blackouts
Case #136

Engineer A works for an organization that for years has operated a fossil-fueled co-generation facility primarily to supply thermal energy for process...

NSPE Ethics Case: Conflict Interest Pes Serving State Licensure Boards
Case #144

The Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers (“the PE Board”) in State X consists of six professional engineers and a public member. The governor...

NSPE Ethics Case: Post Public Employment City Engineer Transitioning Consultant
Case #123

Engineer D, a licensed professional engineer, works as the City Engineer in a mid-sized municipality that has been experiencing rapid growth along wit...

NSPE Ethics Case: Excess Stormwater Runoff
Case #124

A new subdivision is planned in City C, located in State Q. Developer G retains Firm BWJ (an engineering and surveying firm), under the direction of P...

NSPE Ethics Case: Competence Design Services
Case #125

County A was expecting a significant amount of rural roadway construction in the upcoming construction season. County A did not have enough engineerin...

NSPE Ethics Case: Providing Incomplete Self Serving Advice
Case #126

Engineer A provides construction services in the community of City B and is a licensed professional engineer in State C where City B is located. City ...

NSPE Ethics Case: Independence Peer Reviewer
Case #127

wner is developing a site with two mirror-image towers to be built two years apart. As the first tower is built, several significant design errors are...

NSPE Ethics Case: Impaired Engineering
Case #128

Test case Summary Engineer A owns a consulting engineering firm specializing in civil engineering and surveying services associated with land develop...

NSPE Ethics Case: Professional Responsibility If Appropriate Authority Fails Act
Case #129

Engineer B, a resident of City M and a consulting engineer with ABC Engineers, was retained to evaluate changing the Metropolitan Water Commission’s (...

NSPE Ethics Case: Review Other Engineer S Work
Case #130

Client A is a city which receives consulting engineering services from a selected private firm. The contract runs for 3 years. Engineer B is currently...

NSPE Ethics Case: Sharing Built Drawings
Case #131

Engineer D is a fire protection engineer in the public sector and works for a state agency. The agency advertises for bids on major building renovatio...

NSPE Ethics Case: Unlicensed Practice Nonengineers Engineer Job Titles
Case #132

Engineer A, a consulting engineer, presents signed and sealed design contract documents to the State Agency manager, “Transportation Engineer” B, who ...

NSPE Ethics Case: Public Welfare What Cost
Case #133

A consultant recently determined the existing water main in Shadyvale is generally in good condition but extremely old. Further, the water main is no ...

NSPE Ethics Case: Internal Plan Reviews Vsthird Party Peer Reviews Duties
Case #137

Engineer B is a design engineer from Firm X and has only completed a 30% design. However, Engineer B has requested the project manager to assign someo...

NSPE Ethics Case: Conflict Interest Designbuild Project
Case #138

Engineer D is the Engineer of Record (EOR) as part of a design-build team led by Contractor W. Under the terms of an Agency funding grant, the project...

NSPE Ethics Case: Offer Free Or Reduced Fee Services
Case #139

A small city has been notified by the State’s environmental agency that its water system is not compliant with drinking water standards and the city m...

NSPE Ethics Case: Public Health Safety Welfare Climate Change Induced Conditions
Case #140

Engineer A is a consulting engineer representing Client B, a developer who is proposing to develop a health care facility that requires a significant ...

NSPE Ethics Case: Equipment Design Certification Plan Stamping
Case #141

Engineer M works as a building manager for a public entity and is aware that a new piece of equipment being installed in the facility has a requiremen...

NSPE Ethics Case: Gifts Mining Safety Boots
Case #142

Engineer A works for an insurance company, and part of his work involves visits to remote mining sites to assess compliance with best practices as out...

NSPE Ethics Case: Public Health Safety Welfare Drinking Water Quality
Case #143

Engineer A is a professional engineer who serves as the superintendent and chief engineer for the Metropolitan Water Commission (MWC). In order to red...

Responsible Charge and Sealing Drawings
Case #151

Responsible Charge and Sealing Drawings This article addresses the ethical responsibilities of professional engineers regarding responsible charge ...

About the Case Repository

This repository contains historical engineering ethics cases where abstract principles were applied to concrete situations. Each case provides insight into how ethical principles are operationalized - that is, how the gap between abstract rules and specific facts is bridged through reasoning and explanation by ethics experts.

The cases in this repository serve as reference points for analogical reasoning when evaluating new ethical dilemmas. They demonstrate how seemingly conflicting principles (such as duty to public safety versus obligation of confidentiality) can be weighed and resolved in specific contexts.

Each case includes:

  • Description - The detailed scenario and context of the ethical dilemma
  • Decision - The ethical judgment reached about the engineer's actions
  • Outcome - The consequences of the decision
  • Ethical Analysis - Expert reasoning that links abstract principles to specific facts

Cases may be represented in two complementary formats:

  • Standard Format - Traditional narrative representation with structured fields
  • Triple-Based Format - Semantic representation using RDF triples to express complex relationships between principles, actions, and outcomes

The triple-based approach enables more sophisticated queries across cases to identify patterns in ethical reasoning and principle application.