It was not ethical for Engineer A to offer facilities design and construction services under the facts presented.

The issue of whether an engineer possesses the appropriate level of competence to perform specified services is one of most basic professional and ethical issues faced by practitioners (See Code Section II.2.a.). NSPE has been supportive of the concept that a qualified individual engineer, regardless of his or her particular area of technical discipline, should be licensed as a “professional engineer”. However, this position should not be understood to suggest that all engineers are free to practice without restriction in any and all areas within the practice of engineering. Instead, all engineers are implored to exercise careful professional judgment and discretion and practice solely within his or her area(s) of competency. Over the years, the Board of Ethical Review has examined the issue of professional competency on numerous occasions under a variety of factual situations. For example, in Case 94-8, Engineer A, a professional engineer, worked with a construction contractor on a design/build project for the construction of an industrial facility. During the construction of the project, the construction contractor separately retained the services of a Engineer B, a professional engineer to design structural footings as part of the facility. Engineer B's degree and background was in chemical engineering. Engineer A had been unable to establish that Engineer B had any apparent subsequent training in foundation design, and Engineer A had reservations concerning the competence of Engineer B to design the structural footings and reported his concerns to the contractor. The Board decided that it would be unethical for Engineer B to perform the design of the structural footings as part of the facility and that Engineer A had an ethical responsibility to question Engineer B's competency and report his concerns to the contractor. In BER Case 71-2, a case involving the brokerage of engineering services by two firms competing for government work and the question of profes...

Engineer A, a chemical engineer with no facilities design and construction experience, receives a solicitation in the mail with the following information:“Engineers today cannot afford to pass up a single job that comes by - including construction projects that may be new or unfamiliar.Now - - thanks to a revolutionary new CD-ROM - specifying, designing and costing out any construction project is as easy as pointing and clicking your mouse - no matter your design experience. For instance, never designed a highway before? No problem. Just point to the ‘Highways’ window and click.Simply sign and return this letter today and you’ll be among the first engineers to see how this full-featured interactive library of standard design can help you work faster than ever and increase your firm’s profits.”Engineer A orders the CD-ROM and begins to offer facilities design and construction services.

Was it ethical for Engineer A to offer facilities design and construction services under the facts presented?