Hi Leariza, thank you for sharing your experiences so candidly.
>>an unregistered engineer can produce designs, drawings, etc. and simply pay for it to be verified (stamped) by a registered engineer. Residential clients don't even require a stamp at all since it is not a requirement for approval of house designs/renovations etc. by the Ministry of Planning.>>
So here we have the expectation that the registered engineer, paid to stamp the drawings, applied the proper level of diligence before stamping. And the politics of the Ministry(s) involved need to be convinced of their obligation to ensure the protection of its citizens.
>>Some (not all) government and private design and site engineers participate in bribery, falsifying documents etc. in conducting their business. They are not held accountable by the law or any other institution in enforcing integrity and high ethical standards.>>
Unless and until the government and professional licensing and engineering societies involved collaborate to stop these practices under the
"Daylight of the public's eyes," it will continue. We have had exactly the same challenges in the USA, called the
"Pay to Play" schemes.
>>Personally, I hold myself accountable for my words and actions. As I am not registered (as yet), I ensure that the work I produce is vetted by my managers. I always ensure that my integrity is not compromised when signing, documenting, witnessing, performing, monitoring or controlling any aspect of the construction projects I have been assigned to.>>
You state the basic foundation of professional ethics and integrity.
It's what we do when we are certain no one is watching.
Perhaps as a result of your post, and these dialogues, others in ASCE and elsewhere will collaborate with you to provide support.
Cheers.
------------------------------
William Hayden Ph.D., P.E., CP, F.ASCE
Management Quality By Design, Inc.
Amherst NY
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 07-18-2017 08:30
From: Leariza Jaisrie
Subject: Overcoming Challenges To Infusing Ethics Into the Development of Engineers
Hello all,
Ethics was taught in my undergraduate Civil & Environmental Engineering degree as a single course. In my country, members of the Board of Engineering of Trinidad & Tobago are held to higher ethical standards than those who are not registered. However, an unregistered engineer can produce designs, drawings etc and simply pay for it to be verified (stamped) by a registered engineer. Residential clients don't even require a stamp at all since it is not a requirement for approval of house designs/rennovations etc. by the Ministry of Planning. Now you can get a glimpse of how little the practice of "professional ethics" is conducted in an engineer's day to day activities. Some (not all) government and private design and site engineers participate in bribery, falsifying documents etc. in conducting their business. They are not held accountable by the law or any other institution in enforcing integrity and high ethical standards.
Personally, I hold myself accountable for my words and actions. As I am not registered (as yet), I ensure that the work I produce is vetted by my managers. I always ensure that my integrity is not compromised when signing, documenting, witnessing, performing, monitoring or controlling any aspect of the construction projects I have been assigned to. I have left one job where I was being asked to manipulate data in order to select contractors that were "pre-approved" by management despite them NOT meeting the technical & financial criteria. It was unfortunate not to be employed for over 6 months since jobs are very scare for civil engineers over the past 3 years but it was a clear test of character to which I think I passed.
------------------------------
Leariza Jaisrie S.M.ASCE
Civil Engineer
VAMED Engineering GmBH
Point Fortin
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 07-09-2017 13:12
From: Kancheepuram Gunalan
Subject: Overcoming Challenges To Infusing Ethics Into the Development of Engineers
Dear Bill;
Thank you for sharing. I have said this slightly differently "Ones character is defined by how one behaves when no one is watching".
Regards.
Guna
------------------------------
K. N. (Guna) Gunalan, Ph.D., P.E., D.GE., F.ASCE
Vice President
AECOM
Salt Lake City, Utah
(801) 718-9470
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 07-07-2017 11:31
From: William Hayden
Subject: Overcoming Challenges To Infusing Ethics Into the Development of Engineers
After reviewing the attached doc., I thought it useful to, perhaps, trigger a dialogue.
Not a self-righteous one, but one aimed at first understanding what those with some
"Miles on their slide rules". . . .is there actually anyone left, other than myself, who still
even has one of those?....is doing, or can do, in real time, to guide the next generation of
engineers?
An early experience I recall is that of a very experienced NYS Licensed Land Surveyor who taught me
that "Your integrity will be formed, one decison at a time, based on what you do when you are sure that no one is watching."
Cheers.
------------------------------
William Hayden Ph.D., P.E., CP, F.ASCE
Management Quality By Design, Inc.
Amherst NY
------------------------------