It was ethical for Engineer A, a registered professional engineer to sign and seal documents he prepared using a CADD system. It was ethical for Engineer B, a registered professional engineer, to sign and seal documents which are the work of others using a CADD system working under his direction and control.

In recent years, the engineering profession has been "revolutionized" by exponential growth in new and innovative computer technological breakthroughs. None have been more dynamic than the evolution that transformed yesterday's manual design techniques to Computer Aided Design (CAD), thence to Computer Assisted Drafting and Design (CADD) and soon Artificial Intelligence (AE). The BER considers the change to CAD to merely represent a drafting enhancement. The change to CADD provides the BER with concerns that require assurance that the professional engineer has the requisite background, education and training to be proficient with the dynamics of CADD including the limitations of current technology . As night follows day one can be assured that CADD utilized beyond its ability to serve as a valuable tool has a propensity to be utilized as a crutch or substitute for judgement. That translates to a scenario for potential liability. Certainly this point must be heeded in the parallel area of professionalism and ethics. It is critical for engineers to fully understand the role that new technologies such as CADD will play in the performance of professional services. The Code clearly indicates that engineers must not "affix their signatures to any plans or documents dealing with subject matter which they lack competence, nor to any plan or document not prepared under their direction and control." This language in the Code articulates an important point with respect to the use of CADD and similar systems in the development of documents and plans for the design of facilities and other projects. The key point is that the engineer must utilize such systems to assist the engineer in the performance of professional services and not employ such systems as a replacement for professional competence and expertise. In some instances, there may be a temptation for the engineer to incorporate a solution provided by the system which the engineer has neither prepared nor fully understa...

Engineer A, a registered professional engineer signs and seals documents he prepared using a CADD system. Engineer B, a registered professional engineer signs and seals documents which are the results of the efforts of others using a CADD system working under Engineer B's direction and control.

Was it ethical for Engineer A, a registered professional engineer to sign and seal documents he prepared using a CADD system? Was it ethical for Engineer B, a registered professional engineer, to sign and seal documents which are the work of others using a CADD system, working under his direction and control?