It was ethical for Engineer A to retain the information in his engineering notes but not include it in the final written report as requested.It was ethical for Engineer A not to report this information to any other public agency or authority as long as corrective action is taken by the public agency within a relatively short period of time.

Engineers play a vital role in society in providing a higher degree of assurance that the products, systems, facilities, and structures used by the public are safe and effective. Engineers are frequently placed in situations where they must balance the extent of their obligations to their employer or client with their obligations to protect the public health and safety. An example of this basic ethical dichotomy was considered by the NSPE Board of Ethical Review in Case No. 89-7 (which the Board also applied in Case No. 97-5). In that case, an engineer, Engineer A, was retained to investigate the structural integrity of a 60-year-old occupied apartment building, which his client was planning to sell. Under the terms of the agreement with the client, the structural report written by Engineer A was to remain confidential. In addition, the client made clear to Engineer A that the building was being sold "as is" and that the client was not planning to take any remedial action to repair or renovate any system within the building prior to its sale. Engineer A performed several structural tests on the building and determined that the building was structurally sound. However, during the course of providing services, the client confided in Engineer A and inform him that the building contained deficiencies in the electrical and mechanical systems, which violated applicable codes and standards. While Engineer A is not an electrical or mechanical engineer, he does realize those deficiencies could cause injury to the occupants of the building and so informs the client. Specifically, in his report, Engineer A made a brief mention of his conversation with the client concerning the deficiencies; however, in view of the terms of the agreement, Engineer A did not report the safety violations to any third party. In deciding it was unethical for Engineer A not to report the safety violations to the appropriate public authorities, the Board noted that the facts presented in the case r...

A public agency retains the services of VWX Architects and Engineers to perform a major scheduled overhaul of a bridge. VWX Architects and Engineers retains the services of Engineer A, a civil engineer, as its subconsultant to perform bridge inspection services on the bridge. Engineer A’s scope of work is solely to identify any pavement damage on the bridge and report the damage to VWX for further review and repair.Three months prior to the beginning of the scheduled overhaul of the bridge, while traveling across the bridge, Police Officer B loses control of his patrol car. The vehicle crashed into the bridge wall. The wall failed to restrain the vehicle, which fell to the river below, killing Police Officer B.While conducting the bridge inspection, and although not part of the scope of services for which he was retained, Engineer A notices an apparent pre-existing defective condition in the wall close to where the accident involving Police Officer B occurred. Engineer A surmises that the defective condition may have been a contributing factor in the wall failure and notes this in his engineering notes. Engineer A verbally reports this information to his client, which then verbally reports the information to the public agency. The public agency contacts VWX Architects and Engineers which then contacts Engineer A and asks Engineer A not to include this additional information in his final report since it was not part of his scope of work. Engineer A states that he will retain the information from his engineering notes but not include it in the final report, as requested. Engineer A does not report this information to any other public agency or authority.

Was it ethical for Engineer A to retain the information in his engineering notes but not include it in the final report as requested?Was it ethical for Engineer A not to report this information to any other public agency or authority?