APPROACH LAW/ETHICS PROBLEMS

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.4.5 HOW TO APPROACH LAW/ETHICS PROBLEMS



1. Identify major events and issues.

2. State the applicable laws and precedents.

3. Apply legal principles and precedents to analyze the situation.

4. Consider possible outcomes.

5. Recommend an action.


3.4.4.1 - Ethics Questions

1. a) In Britain the practice of professional engineering is unregulated; in
the United States it is state regulated; how is it regulated in Canada?
Elaborate on your answer with references to the Professional Engineers Act
and the Regulation made thereunder.

b) The association of Professional Engineers of Ontario is the self-
regulating organization responsible for the practice of engineering in
Ontario. What is the principle objective of the organization?

c) To become licensed to practice professional engineering in Ontario you
must meet certain requirements. Discuss briefly the five most significant of
these.

d) What is the difference between a limited licence and a temporary licence
in the practice of professional engineering?

e) You are a practising professional engineer in a manufacturing company.
Your division of the company has been transferred into Ontario from Manitoba.
What must you do, if anything, to continue your engineering work under these
circumstances?

f) How is the practice of professional engineering regulated in the Province
of Ontario?

g) Describe how the practice of professional engineering is regulated in the
Province of Ontario. Present your answer in the context of Federal and
Provincial Legislation as well as Regulation 538/84 made under the
Professional Engineers Act.

h) Our code of Ethics is section 91 of Ontario Regulation 538/84. What
organization was responsible for preparing these regulations? Under what
authority were they prepared?

i) What is a Certificate of Authorization? How is it obtained? How does it
relate to an engineering practitioner's licence? How often must it be
renewed?

j) What is the difference between a member of the A.P.E.O. and a licensee of
the A.P.E.O.

k) The professional Engineers Act deals with temporary licence holders and
limited licence holders. What qualifications must they have to receive their
respective licenses?

l) The profession of engineering in the province of Ontario is said to be
self governing. What makes it self-governing?

m) You are a professional engineer practising in British Columbia. You decide
to take early retirement and move to Ontario, where you hope to find some
part-time engineering work. What action must you take before offering your
services as a professional engineer in Ontario?

n) Because of the pace of change in today's society, many people believe that
a professional engineer should be required to requalify in some formal way at
regular intervals, say every five years, in order to continue to practice. Do
you agree? Give reasons for your answer.

o) What is a certificate of authorization for? How is it obtained? Does it
expire? If so, on what occasion? Is it transferable? Who or what holds it?

p) Section 86 of Ontario Regulation 538/84 deals with misconduct among
professional engineers. Section 91 is the Engineer's Code of Ethics. What is
the relationship between the subject matter of these two sections?

q) What is the principal objective of Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO)?

r) What is the purpose of a Certificate of Authorization?

s) What is your definition of a profession? Does the practice of engineering
qualify as such?

t) The term "conflict of interest" is often used. What does it mean in the
Professional Engineering context?

u) Are there situations where an Engineer's duty to the public may be in
conflict with the Engineer's duty to the employer? Cite the appropriate
section(s) of the code(s).

v) Differentiate between a limited licence and a temporary licence with
respect to Professional Engineering qualifications.

x) Members of the PEO are governed by an Act and a Regulation. Briefly
explain the difference between them.

y) Can a member avoid disciplinary actions by resigning his/her membership in
the Association?

z) The principle object of the PEO is to regulate the practice of
professional engineeringand govern its members in order to serve and protect
the public interest. What does this mean and why is it important for
engineers to follow it.

aa) When is a member required to use his/her seal? Give an example of when a
member should not use his/her seal.

bb) Is a professional engineer required to follow the Act and Regulations if
the P.Eng. is employed by the armed forces?





2. Four key professional engineering employees of a firm headed by Engineer A
left the firm at the same time following disagreement on certain policies and
promptly organized a new engineering firm, B, with the four engineers as the
principals. Firm B contacted former clients of Firm A, including some former
clients of Firm A which had projects under discussion with Firm A, but for
which specific selection or negotiation had not taken place. In some
instances one or more of the four engineers had been involved with the former
clients of Engineer A while in his employ.

While Firm B was making these contacts to indicate the availability of the
new firm for assignments, Engineer A was also making contact with these
clients to indicate that his firm was still available for future commissions
and retained its capacity to provide proper services despite the departure of
the four engineers. He was told by some clients that Firm B had cast doubt on
the ability of A to provide quality services under the new circumstances. In
his discussions with the former clients Engineer A cast doubt on the ability
of firm B to provide quality services.

Discuss the ethics of Engineer A and the four engineers of Firm B as
indicated in this case. Such split-offs from firms do occur in engineering
businesses from time to time. What advice would you offer to the engineers
forming the new company?

3. Engineers of company A prepared plans and specifications for machinery to
be used in a manufacturing process and Company A turned them over to Company
B for production. The engineers of Company B, in reviewing the plans and
specifications, came to the conclusion that they contained certain
miscalculations and technical deficiencies of a nature that the final product
might be unsuitable for the purposes of the ultimate users, and that the
equipment, if built according to the original plans and specifications, might
endanger the lives of persons close to it. The engineers of company B called
the matter to the attention of appropriate officials of their employer who,
in turn, advised Company A of the concern expressed by the engineers of
Company B. Company A replied that its engineers felt that the design and
specifications for the equipment were adequate and safe and that Company B
should proceed to build the equipment as designed and specified. The
officials of Company B instructed its engineers to proceed with the work.

4. A government highway department prepared engineering data on alternate
routes for a by-pass highway, including cost estimates for three possible
routes. The highway department indicated it favored route "B". An official of
a city located close to the proposed route publicly criticized the proposed
route "B" because he felt it would endanger the city's water supply and be a
detriment to the development of a lake as proposed recreation area.

A principal of a consulting engineering firm, which had performed the
engineering work on a portion of the highway to which the by-pass would
connect, issued a public letter, "To Whom Concerned", which was published in
the local press, discussing the alternative routes. His letter stated
disagreement with the cost estimates of the highway department and pointed
out alleged disadvantages of the proposed route. The letter then suggested a
fourth route ("D") which, he claimed, would be superior to those previously
suggested. The newspaper story containing the full text of the letter from
the consulting engineer also quoted the city official as favoring route "D"
proposed by the consulting engineer.

Is it ethical for a consulting engineer to publicly express criticism of
proposed highway routes prepared by engineers of the government highway
department and to propose an alternative route?

5. You are a professional engineer employed in the quality control division
of a manufacturing company. From time to time your company calls in
consultants to run tests on new products before they go to market. One of
your job responsibilities is to engage these consultants. Your husband, who
is also a professional engineer, has recently left the firm of consultants
most commonly called in on this work and has opened his own consulting
practice to offer the same services as his old firm. You are a director of
your husband's company. Your husband has asked you to direct the next such
consulting assignment to his new company. You are very tempted to do this
because you know that he has all of the experience and background to do a
good job and that he needs the work and therefore will get on with it
promptly.

Can you ethically turn the next project over to his company? If not, what
action must you take before his company will become eligible for such
assignments?

6. A professor of engineering shares his time at the university between
teaching and research projects under contract between the university and a
government agency. He also owns an interest in a private research and
development company in the community and devotes evening and week-end time to
the interests of the company. The private R&D company and the university as
well as others are invited by a federal agency to submit proposals for a
project, the technical content of which is based in large part upon the
research performed by the university for a different federal agency and in
which the professor participated. The professor's background experience, and
work on the technical subject matter will give the private R&D company and
the university an advantage if he is to be actively involved in the project,
either directly or as a consultant.

Can the professor ethically participate in the proposal preparation of the
university, his R&D company or both under these circumstances and, if one of
these proposers is the successful one, can he participate in executing the
project?

7. A, the town engineer, and B, a consultant retained by the town, are
collaborating on a study to determine final contours for the town's existing
sanitary land fill site. Their instructions include considerations for
ultimate land use, surrounding land use, environmental concerns and
topography. They have concluded that using the existing parameters adopted by
the town the site will be "full" in three years. Town Council have found this
unacceptable because they have not been able to come up with a new site, so
have asked A and B to revisit the project to extend the site's life but still
stay within the environmental laws.

The final solution proposed by A and B and accepted by Council extends the
life of the site for the requested ten years' time and stays just inside the
limits of the environmental laws, but greatly exceeds the local parameters
respecting minimum setbacks and maximum allowable slopes, and provides for a
hill more than one hundred feet higher than the local parameters. These local
parameters were established as desirable by Town Council but have no official
(by-law) status.

Engineer C, who lives in the town, contends that this latest design concept
is environmentally unsound. He says methane gas will move into adjacent
private property and would also pollute nearby ground water. He questions
whether A and B should have agreed to the higher intensity use of the site.

Did Engineers A and B act ethically in going along with Council's request?
Did Engineer C act ethically in publicly challenging the design approach used
by A and B?

8. A generation ago common practice was for employees to work for the same
employer for a lifetime. Today the practice, particularly in the high tech.
professions, trends toward job relocation three or more times during a
career. Employers try to gain technical advantage over competitors by hiring
experts out of another firm to add to their expertise.

Assume that you have been with Firm A for ten years and that you are now a
senior professional engineer in A's research development division with joint
credit for the development of a "hot" new process. You have an offer of
employment from one of A's top competitors at a substantially greater
compensation package, including major incentive bonuses related to growth in
sales. You suspect the motive behind this offer relates to your involvement
in the "hot" new process. The improved emolument package is very attractive
to you, but how can you handle the ethics of such a move?

Discuss this situation in the context of Ontario Regulations 538/84 section
86 and 91.

9. Professional Engineer A is employed by the Ontario division of a
multinational chemical company. A wide variety of the solvents and paints
manufactured by this Ontario division are from formulas developed in the
company's research laboratories in the U.S.A. As the chief engineer of the
Ontario division, Mr. A has been requested by a Ministry of Labor inspector
to provide the Ministry with information about all the ingredients used in
the products turned out by the plant, particularly regarding their risk to
the health of the factory workers.

Mr. A knows that a key ingredient in one of the products has been linked to a
number of cancer cases among the employees of a U.S. customer. He does not
have all details of the U.S. formulas, but his plant manager has told him to
give the labor ministry inspector the report he requests from the information
which he has in Ontario.

What course of action should he take?

10. Ms. "A", P.Eng., is the chief quality control engineer of Corporation X
which operates a chemical processing plant. The plant conforms fully to local
requirements for maximum emission of toxic substances, as established ten
years ten years ago. The facility is inspected annually and toxic emissions
have always been well below acceptable levels.

However, based on recently published research, Ms. "A" is convinced that the
cumulative effects of the low level of pollution from the plant entail a
possible risk to public health. She is sure that the public officials would
agree and that local requirements would be different if they had known of
these studies at the time they were set.

She had taken the matter up with her supervisor and other engineering staff,
and has recommended that Company X hold meetings with the local authorities
to discuss the matter and, if appropriate, take corrective action. There is
some support for her recommendations but because of the costs involved in the
resulting modifications to the plant to change the process and the
substantial number of lay-offs that would result, the company has decided to
take no action.

Has Ms.A any further ethical responsibility in this matter? Discuss fully.





11. You are a Professional Engineer in a consulting engineering firm asked by
the City of Devon to assess the effects of a tidal wave. Located at the end
of a long, narrow inlet, Devon is in an `earthquake zone'. The last one
occurred in 1950 when the City was really only a fishing port.

To make sure that the city has an adequate picture of the disaster that could
result, it has asked your firm to examine the effects of the 200-year
earthquake. Your findings are so startling that the City authorities are
appalled. They feel that if the public were to realize the extent of
impending damage, mass hysteria might result. As well, because many of the
authorities are elected officials and have been in their positions for many
years, people could ask why such a study was not carried out years ago, and
why adequate planning by-laws were never formulated.

So, you are asked to keep the findings of the 200-year quake confidential,
and undertake another study of the effects of the 100-year quake. Still, the
results are frightening; and the City now asks you to study the 50-year
quake.

Discuss this situation from an ethical point of view. What action will you
take as a professional engineer? What advice will you give to the Town
Council?





12. Mr. "A", P.Eng., as a consultant to an urban developer client has
prepared preliminary engineering and environmental impact studies for a
project, and submitted these to the municipal planner for review and
approval. The municipality has engaged consultant "B", P.Eng., to assist
their in-house planner in reviewing these submissions.

Mr. "A" has made several submissions but each time some aspects are found
unsatisfactory and the submissions have been returned for change with
redefined requirements. Finally Consultant "B", in the presence of the
municipal staff planner, offers to complete the submission for "A", since he
knows what is required.

The cost of work done by the municipality and the municipality's consultant
must be paid by Mr. "A"'s client.

How should Mr. "A" react to this proposal? Was it ethical for engineer "B" to
make the proposal?





13. Mr. "A", P.Eng., a full-time employee of a manufacturing company, has
undertaken to prepare engineering plans for a motel complex on a part-time
basis. The work includes foundation and structural plans suitable for
building permit application. He sub-contracts the foundation design work to
others expert in that field and superimposes the structural information on
previously-prepared architectural drawings. He sealed these drawings with his
professional seal and returned them to his client for permit application to
the local building department.

Has he acted ethically in the procedures he has followed in this assignment?





14. A manufacturing company has contracted to develop and produce a
completely automate mass transportation system. Public safety would be
endangered by a failure of the system, if one were to occur. A series of
engineered tests were carried out on the various major components during the
development period, but a major subassembly did not perform satisfactorily on
its test. The professional engineer who is manager of the department
responsible for the project reported the failure to his superiors. He was
told, however, that in order to meet the contract commitments the equipment
would be shipped to the client without informing the client of the failure to
pass the final tests. The engineer objected to this decision and learned
subsequently that shipment to the client had been made.

What, if any, further action should the engineer take under these
circumstances?





15. An injured workman is involved in a proceeding before a workmen's
compensation board relative to the amount of compensation to which he is
entitled. The determination rests in large measure upon the conclusion of the
board as to certain technical details related to the accident. The workman
asks an engineer to appear before the board as an expert witness, but states
that he is indigent and cannot afford to pay the engineer for his services.

The engineer is willing to assist the workman, but asks whether he may
ethically do so: (a) on a contingent fee arrangement, whereby he would be
paid a percentage of the amount received by the workman, or (B) as a
compassionate and gratuitous action.

Is it ethical for an engineer to provide services as an expert witness for an
indigent client on either a contingent fee or free basis?





16. A large multinational corporation is planning to build a new plant in
Ontario, and services covering design and supervision of construction would
be required. Three consulting engineering firms in Ontario were selected and
interviewed.

Each firm in its proposal, stated that the fee would be that recommended by
APEO for complete engineering services on a project such as the one
described.

Later, the corporation asked each firm to state the amount by which it would
reduce its fee if the corporation provided the following portions of the
overall engineering services:

a) preliminary engineering studies and a report which contain a suggested
layout for the plant;

b) all field engineers and inspectors required to supervise the construction
of the plant.

A professional Engineer principal from each of the three firms got together
and discussed the request and agreed on the amount (the same figure for all
three) by which they would reduce the overall fee to allow for the data and
field staff to be provided by the corporation.

Was it unethical for these three engineers to confer and agree on an amount
to allow for these data and field staff?

Would it have been competitive bidding for each of the firms to determine
independently an amount by which it would reduce the fee?





17. A person made an application top the Association of Professional
Engineers for renewal of the Certificate of Authorization for his consulting
engineering firm while his name was deleted from the register of the
Association for non-payment of his annual fees. The application named him as
being in charge of professional engineering in the company and as the
official representative of the company under the requirements of the
Professional Engineers Act. Was this person acting ethically in so doing? If
he was not, which article of the Code was he violating/ If at the same time
as he made this application he also forwarded his cheque to the Association
for the outstanding fees, would this have altered the situation?





18. An Indian Band is planning a vacation resort development on a river which
flows through its reservation. The site chosen is just upstream from the
water supply intake for a major city. The intake is outside the boundary of
the reservation. Because of fear of unacceptable pollution of the water in
the vicinity of the intake, the city's water commission intends to take
whatever action is necessary to prevent the development and has so instructed
the commission manager who is a professional engineer.

a) What ethical considerations are involved in this case?

b) As the commission manager, what advice would you give your commissioners
to resolve this conflict of rights?





19. You are a professional engineer in private practice as a consultant.
Before setting up your own business you worked for XYZ consultants. To meet
the expanding needs of your business you have engaged the part time services
of three technicians from XYZ who reported to you when you worked there. This
morning the president of XYZ called to advise you that in his opinion the
"moonlighting" work which his technicians are doing for you is adversely
affecting their productivity on their full time job at XYZ.

Have you acted ethically by employing these technicians under the conditions
stated?





20. You are a professional engineer. You have recently taken employment in
the research and development department of a major manufacturing company.
While familiarizing yourself with your company's products you discover that
one of these products does not meet the standards required by law. No
research is being done on this product now so you have no direct connection
with it nor responsibility for it. You have brought your finding to the
attention of your supervisor only to be ignored.

What further action should you take?





21. You are a professional engineer presently employed but on the lookout for
a more interesting and challenging job. You are attracted by a position
offering advertised by A.E.C.L. and mention it to your fellow employee at
lunch. She says that she has already applied for that position and that she
was led to believe by the interviewer that her application was being
seriously considered, although she has thus far received no offer of
employment. You believe that your qualifications for this job are equal to or
better than your friend's, but now that you know of her interest in the
position you are hesitant to pursue the matter further.

Would it be unethical of you to go after this job under these circumstances?





22.A consulting engineering firm is preparing to submit a proposal to clean-
up an area contaminated by a chemical spill during a train derailment. Human
welfare and the ecology will suffer unless this clean-up is done quickly and
carefully. From past experience, the professional engineers in the firm know
the amount of work involved in doing the job properly. The methodology which
must be followed will result in an expenditure of about 5 million dollars.
Before the proposal is submitted however, the federal government, which is
the potential client, issues a press release to the effect that it has
budgeted one million dollars for this work. You are the professional engineer
in charge of the proposal preparation.

To reduce the level of work to one-fifth of what you think is necessary would
compromise what you perceive as your ethical responsibility. What action will
you take?





23. Engineer X is a professional engineering principal in a highly regarded
consulting engineering firm in town. He is also an elected member and
chairman of the public works committee of town council. He took on the
chairmanship of this committee at the urging of other town council members
because of his extensive knowledge and experience in public works design and
construction. For many years Engineer X's firm has done public works
engineering projects for the municipality in competition with other firms. It
would appear to be in the public interest for people such as Engineer X to
serve their community in this way, but under the circumstances, can Engineer
X's firm ethically continue to compete for such assignments?





24. An extensive and costly flood-control and hydroelectric project has been
under consideration by a Canadian Provincial Government for several years.
Two different design approaches are being considered; one involves the use of
a single high dam, the other a series of low dams.

At a meeting of a committee of the Provincial Legislature expert opinion was
presented respecting both alternatives.

A professional engineer representing the Provincial Power Commission reported
that studies he and his colleagues had made indicated that, from an
engineering standpoint, the more efficient solution is the one involving a
series of low dams.

Another professional engineer, representing a private power company, reported
that his engineering analysis indicates a more effective and less expensive
solution is obtained using one high dam.

Each engineer presented engineering data to support his conclusion and openly
disagreed with the analysis and recommendations of the other.

Was there a violation of Ontario Regulation 538/84 Section 86 and/or 91 by
one or the other engineer by criticizing the work and the statements of the
other engineer in a public meeting? Discuss this situation.





25. After more than 15 years service as a professional engineer in one of the
big three automobile manufacturers you have decided to change jobs, and have
accepted employment as the only professional engineer in a small but growing
small engines company. You report directly to the President, who is a good
manager with excellent business development skills but he is not a
professional engineer. Whereas in your previous job you had always reported
to a more senior engineer, now as the only professional engineer in the
company, all engineering decisions must be made by you. On a couple of recent
decision you have noticed that your boss is more interested in cost control
than quality of product. This has given you some concern about consumers'
welfare. Do you have ethical and/or legal responsibility to take action to
avoid future problems? What sections of regulation 538/84 apply?





26. You are the senior professional engineer in the electrical engineering
division of a multi-disciplinary consulting engineering firm. Your firm has
just been purchased by a major international construction company. The
expressed intention in this acquisition is to provide design build services
where possible but at the same time to continue to offer consulting
engineering services to the public. You have been asked to co-chair a
committee with a senior construction manager, who is also a professional
engineer. The objective of this committee is to set down guidelines for the
operation of the business so that the integrity of both the consulting
engineering and the construction activities will not be jeopardized. Sketch
out the points which you feel most need clear definition so that the
professional engineers involved in the work will be in least danger of
breaching Section 86 and 91 of Regulation 538/84.





27. You are a professional engineer. During a recent vacation you took your
two sons on a canoe trip into Northern Ontario. One day while taking a break
from paddling you were poking around under a railway bridge. One of your sons
directed your attention to what appeared to be some misaligned ties on the
bridge above your head. He wanted to know why that would be. Although
structural engineering is not your specific field of interest it did appear
to you to be somewhat peculiar and maybe could even lead to a future problem
if the ties were not re-installed properly or at least examined by a
qualified person. On the other hand there was no evidence of any recent
change in the situation; it could have been that way for years. Do you have
an ethical obligation to take any actions under these circumstances? Describe
the major points which you feel need clear definition.





28. A rural municipality with a low assessment and a small road budget has
been told by the Ministry of Transportation District Engineer that it must
replace an old wooden crib bridge to maintain eligibility for certain road
grants. The municipal council hired Mr. X, P.Eng. consulting engineer, who
prepared designs for a concrete bridge to replace the old timber one. Because
of the very bad soil conditions at the bridge location, extensive piling is
required to support the foundation for the bridge. This results in an
extremely costly structure. Mr. A., P.Eng., a summer resident of the area,
learned of the concern of the municipal council over the high cost and,
although he is not a consulting engineer, based on his general knowledge of
the soil and topographic conditions in the area, suggested that the
municipality might be wise to look into the use of a culvert as an
alternative to the concrete bridge. As a result of Engineer A's suggestion,
Consultant X was paid off by the municipality and Consulting Engineer Y was
hired. In due course the culvert alternative was constructed at a fraction of
the cost of the bridge design.

Discuss the ethics of the actions of Engineers A, X and Y in this situation.





29. Professional Engineer A is an experienced expert witness in a particular
field. He has an established fee rate for such services. After reviewing the
documents of a case concerning a criminal charge, he was asked if he would
provide expert opinion in defense of the accused and if so to state his fee,
which he did. It later came to light that the accused was being defended
under LEGAL AID and that Engineer A's stated fee was higher than that which
LEGAL AID would approve. A felt that without his evidence the accused might
be convicted unjustly so he agreed to act at the reduced fee. Comment on A's
ethics in this situation.





30. Professional Engineer A, employed by an aircraft manufacturer, conducted
tests on a certain aircraft tail assembly configuration in the company's wind
tunnel. He found that vibrations could occur with that configuration under
certain circumstances which would lead to the destruction of the aircraft.
Later, at a conference Engineer A hears Professional Engineer B who works for
a different company, present a paper in which B describes a tail assembly
configuration that A feels runs the risk of producing the same destructive
vibrations that he discovered in his earlier tests.

What are the ethical obligations of Engineer A? Bear in mind confidentiality
of proprietary knowledge, the engineers obligation to public welfare and the
possibility that Engineer B may unknowingly be responsible for a dreadful
crash if Engineer A does not disclose what he has discovered.





31. The Provincial Ministry of Transportation proposes routing a new
expressway diagonally across the city. A group of local citizens who believe
they will be adversely affected by the routing, employed a consulting
engineering firm to study the proposed route. Mr. X, a professional engineer
with this firm, is the Project Manager and he concludes that the diagonal
route proposed by the Ministry could have a negative impact, and recommends
an alternative route as being a better choice. Mr. Y, a partner in the firm,
appears before the local chapter of the APEA and explains the circumstances
of the project. He answers all the questions put to him, and he asks this
local chapter to publicly endorse the alternative route his firm is
proposing.

Is it ethical for a colleague in the same firm as Mr. X to request the local
chapter of the APEO to endorse the project in which he is directly involved?





32. Because of the rapid changes in technology in recent years, it has been
suggested that a license to practice professional engineering in Ontario
should expire and require renewal at regular intervals of say every four
years. The renewal should be contingent on proof of competence. Competence to
practise presumably would be determined on the basis of written examinations
or on the satisfactory completion of formal continuing education courses at
colleges and universities. Such procedures would make it difficult for
engineers practising in areas remote from educational facilities and also for
engineers working in a specialty unrelated to courses being offered.

Does the passing of a certain number of formal courses guarantee continuing
competency? How do you feel about facing such tests of competency at regular
intervals throughout your career? Relate your thoughts on this subject to our
Code of Ethics.





33. You are a Professional Engineer partner in a consulting engineering firm.
The economic downturn of the past eighteen months has hit your firm hard. You
are faced with a reduced work load requiring serious staff cuts. Competition
for new projects is very keen.

Mr. X an unlicensed person, with an excellent success record in the sale of
manufactured products closely allied to your filed of engineering, has
proposed to you that he be appointed Business Development Vice-President of
your firm. He suggests a compensation package which would include a
relatively low base salary, all expenses and a commission of 2% on all work
that he brings to the firm.

You consider that you and your partners are good engineers but not good
salesmen. You realize that under the present economic conditions, getting
work into your company is most important, but is it ethical to have an
unlicensed person soliciting contracts of an engineering nature for a
consulting engineering firm? Is this arrangement compatible with the Code of
Ethics? What about the compensation package?





34. You are a professional engineer in the new products division of a major
manufacturing company. You have been assigned responsibility for a group of
people investigating the feasibility of a new product line.

The investigation so far looks good. You are convinced that the product can
be built for a competitive price and the market studies which have been
carried out identify a definite need. There is, however, one matter that
concerns you. It is that your estimate of development costs, both in man
hours and dollars greatly exceeds your budget. If you report this estimate to
your supervisors you are concerned the project may be dropped. You are urged
by some of the engineers in your project team to reduce your estimates so
that this won't happen. They argue that no one can ever estimate accurately
what costs will be. They say that historically, in the company, very
optimistic estimates have been used and that cost overruns are accepted. On
the other hand, you have put a lot of work into these estimates and believe
that they accurately predict the costs. If you arbitrarily reduce the
estimates, you fear your reputation will suffer when the real costs become
known.

If you hold to your estimates, you fear a worthwhile project may be
cancelled. This will mean lay-offs to some of your project team-mates and in
your view, a lost opportunity for the company. Discuss the ethics of this
dilemma.





35. Several thousand people are killed and many times that number are injured
every year in automobile accidents in Canada. Despite this dreadful annual
carnage, people appear to believe that the benefits are worth the risk. Is
society morally entitled to accept such benefits if these benefits entail
risks to others?

You are a professional engineer working in the design office of an automobile
manufacturer. You are aware of design changes that you believe would make the
automobile safer. These changes, of course, would add to the cost of
production and make your employer's product less competitive. Because of the
production line process used in the auto industry, design changes cannot be
quickly implemented. Are you as a professional engineer acting ethically by
continuing to work for this employer if these design changes are not
implemented immediately? Discuss this topic as it relates to our Code of
Ethics.





36. Many employers of engineers are unfamiliar with Sections 86 and 91 of the
Ontario Regulation 538/84 made under the Professional Engineers Act, which
set the standard of conduct of the Professional Engineers whom they employ.

We believe these sections are very important to industry. Why? Are they
compatible with the goals of industry? What are the possible consequences to
an industrial employer of using an unlicensed person in an engineering role
within the company?





37. Professional Engineer A is a director of a charitable organization that
is engaged in constructing a subsidized housing complex. Engineer A observes
that some workmen on the job are violating Department of Labor safety
regulations regarding hard hats. He calls this to the attention of the
general contractor's superintendent who indicates that the offenders are
staff of the subcontractors and he is reluctant to interfere. Fellow
directors of the charitable organization who are not engineers wish to let
the matter drop. Should Engineer A concur with his fellow directors?





38. Mr. A, P.Eng. is township engineer in X township. With the help of Mr. B,
P.Eng. an employee of the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario and a
consulting engineering firm, he has completed a study of roadwork to be done
over the course of the next five years for his municipality. These works have
been given priority numbers from one to twenty-two based on their perception
of urgency, number one being the most urgent and number twenty-two least
urgent. In an attempt to spread the repair work across the municipality to
show the taxpayers an even distribution of activity, the council has asked
Mr. A, P.Eng. to juggle the listing so that all the electorate will see
something being done in their area.

Mr. A, P.Eng. is having a problem with this instruction because it would mean
delaying repairs to a bridge which if not done soon, could become dangerous
to the travelling public. However, there is very little additional evidence
that he can put to his township council to encourage them to accept his
listing of priorities. Discuss the ethical responsibilities of Mr. A, P.Eng.,
in this circumstance.





39. Your conduct as a professional engineer is governed by the Professional
Engineers' Act and the regulations thereunder which include a code of ethics.
Discuss the act and the code as you see them applying to your professional
life. It is necessary to have both an act and a code? Do they overlap?





40. You are a professional engineer working at a nuclear plant. You have
built a home on a rural acreage with a twenty minute commute to your job. You
and your family have settled very comfortably into the rural life-style of
your community. It is, therefore, with some concern that you learn your
municipality is giving favorable consideration to a proposal by a major
automobile manufacturer to establish a plant across the road from your home.

The proposal is for two hundred acres of manufacturing use together with an
urban development of some seven hundred and fifty homes to house a major part
of the work force.

You see this as a serious intrusion into your quiet rural preserve. A number
of your neighbors are organizing opposition to this potential disruption of
their personal life. On the other hand, the municipal council members are
pointing out in their press release that this will be a major source of
taxation and employment for the young people in the township. With the
decline in the agricultural industry, they see this as a real boost to the
local economy. As a professional engineer, you have been approached by the
Township Reeve to head up a council appointed committee to look into the pros
and cons of the proposal and hopefully come up with sound arguments in
support of the scheme. You are having difficulty with a conflict between your
selfish personal interests and the needs of your community.

Discuss the ethics of this conflict and the way that you propose to handle
it.





41. As a professional engineer with the XYZ manufacturing company, you are
aware that your firm subcontracts a number of components. You are also aware
that the supplier of one of the components is having difficulty meeting its
delivery schedule. Upon investigating, you find that this supplier has lost
its production superintendent and that the owner is trying to do this job as
well as manage the company. You also learn upon further investigation that it
is pressed financially and generally in need of an injection of both capital
and management know how. At the end of your third meeting with the owner, he
asks you if you would be interested in becoming a silent partner. You would
purchase an interest in the business and would be expected to advise on
technical matters. You would not be expected to be available during regular
working hours but would put in time on the weekends and in the evenings. The
idea appeals to you, but can you do this sort of thing within the constraints
of our code of ethics?

Discuss, based on our code of ethics and code of professional conduct, the
course of action you would follow.





42. Mr. "C", P.Eng. is a house building contractor. He owns land that is
quite steeply sloping but he wants to build houses on it because of the
spectacular views it affords.

He contracts with Mr. "D", P.Eng. for the design of a suitable subdivision
layout. When he priced out the expensive retaining walls required by this
design, it became obvious the project would be uneconomical to build. Mr. "C"
paid by Mr. "D" for his services and closed the file.

Some time later he was approached by Mr. "E", P.Eng. who holds a franchise
for a retaining wall system which has just received approval by the province.
Mr. "E" presents Mr. "C" with a price for design and construction of the wall
systems for the subdivision plan previously designed by Mr. "D". This price
makes the project economical so Mr. "C" decides to proceed with the work. He
hires an old friend Mr. "F", P.Eng. to oversee the works and obtain the
necessary approvals. When Mr. "D" learns what is happening he is very upset.
He believes that only he should be retained for the supervisory work and also
he should have been consulted because it is his subdivision design that is
being built.

Discuss the ethical aspects of this entire procedure. Did any of these
Professional Engineers act unethically?





43. Professional Engineers of Manufacturing Company "X" have prepared plans
and specifications for some new machinery to be used in their plant. Company
"X" has contracted with Company "Y" to build these machines. Before starting
construction of the machines Professional Engineers of Company "Y" checked
the plans and specifications provided by Company "X" and believe they include
miscalculations and technical deficiencies. They are concerned the product,
if built in accordance with the plans and specifications supplied, might be
dangerous to the users. These findings were reported back to company "X"
which Company replied its Professional Engineers were satisfied the design
and specifications were adequate and safe and that the construction should
proceed. Based on this response the Senior Officials of Company "Y" directed
that the work be done. You are one of the Professional Engineers of Company
"Y". You still think the machinery could be dangerous.

What is your ethical obligation in this case?





44. A professional engineer (P.Eng.) was asked by a friend who owns and
operates a driving school to examine the dual braking system which had
recently been installed in the school's fleet of cars. The dual braking
system allows the driving instructor to apply the brakes and stop the car if
deemed necessary.

The P.Eng. found several deficiencies in the braking system which could lead
to failure after a few applications of the instructor's brake. The P.Eng.
reported these findings to the owner friend, but took no other action.

Did the P.Eng. act correctly? Discuss the actions of the P.Eng. in this
situation.





45. You are the holder of a Certificate of Authorization (C. of A.), from the
Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario (APEO) and you are also the
Senior Design Engineer in your company which designs hoisting equipment.

Your staff includes several professional engineers, draftsmen and mechanical
and electrical technicians. You are on an extended business trip but maintain
telephone contact with your company. Your assistant who is a P.Eng. informs
you by telephone that a plan you both have worked on must be submitted
immediately in order to meet a tender deadline.

Is it ethical for your assistant to submit the final drawings? How would you
deal with this situation?





46. A Consulting Engineering firm has been hired by a City Council to do a
preliminary analysis of the feasibility of introducing rail transit to its
medium sized city. Under the direction of "C", P.Eng., a principal of the
firm, a junior engineer "J", P.Eng., is processing the data through various
computer models.

"A", P.Eng., an Engineering Associate in the Consulting firm, overhears "C"
instructing "J" on the range in certain calibration parameters to be used in
the calculations including, income levels, automobile ownership, fuel costs
and parking charges. "A" suspects there is a bias in the ranges that "C"
proposes. "A" thinks "The boss realizes that the politicians want to take
advantage of provincial government grants and so he is using the compound
optimum approach". Engineer "A" takes no action.

Is engineer "C" behaving in an ethical manner? Should Engineer "A" have said
or done something?





47. Suppliers of goods and services sometimes show their appreciation to
civic employees for their co-operation by giving gifts, particularly at
Christmas time. You are a P.Eng. in the office of the commissioner of works
for a large urban community. You have just received a gift which you do not
consider major but recognize as being well in excess of the category of a
"thank you" luncheon. The municipality is discussing publishing guidelines to
staff respecting such things but so far has done nothing. How are you going
to react to this supplier? What section(s) of the Codes of Professional
Conduct and Ethics apply in this case?





48. Consulting Engineering firm XYZ is controlled by four principals. Under
these principals there is a group of ten associates, all of whom hold shares
in the firm, but at a lesser level than the principals. One of the principals
took issue with a decision taken by the majority of the board members and
promptly resigned from the firm. A few days later two of the associates also
resigned from XYZ and joined the departing principal in the formation of a
new consulting firm ABC.

The new firm ABC quickly produced a brochure to promote its services and as
well as distributing it widely to likely prospects, began a campaign of
personal calls on potential clients, including some with whom the individuals
had worked while acting in an engineering capacity with firm XYZ. The
remaining principals of XYZ were upset when they learned that the new firm
was offering services to their clients. They filed a complaint with our
association claiming that the principals of ABC were acting unethically.

Do you believe that they were behaving unethically? If you were a principal
in the new firm ABC how would you proceed to develop clients?





49. In the past three years competition has become extremely keen in almost
every industry as a result of the global economic down turn. Companies are
surviving because of the competitive edge they can gain over others in the
same market area. Engineers are moving from company to company primarily
because they can bring new ideas with them. You are a P.Eng. in company A.
You recently presented a paper at an industry conference in which you
discussed work you had done on a specific product. The technical press gave
your paper quite large coverage following this meeting. Since then you have
been approached by three of your employer's competitors with employment
offers. It is obvious to you that they want you because their employer's
product is superior to theirs, largely because of your work on it, but it is
not common knowledge just what the added ingredients are. One company in
particular is being very aggressive with a very attractive proposal ties to
increases in sales which this company assumes your added input will generate.

How do you deal with such matters from the point of view of our codes of
conduct and ethics?





50. You are a P.Eng. in charge of production in a factory which galvanizes
steel. In this process the bare steel parts are cleaned and then dipped in a
large steel tank containing molten Zinc. The Zinc coats the steel and
provides protection against corrosion. The factory has only recently been
constructed and, in the main, the workers are inexperienced. In order to
comply with the relevant health and safety regulations you have advised your
superior that:

a) A safety committee must be formed

b) Safety procedures must be established, published and put into practice

c) Safety notices must be posted

d) Safety classes must be held

e) Safety training must be given to the workers

f) Safety clothing must be provided

Your superior tells you that since this is a new company struggling for
survival in a weak economy, there are no funds to finance your safety
proposals.

What is your ethical responsibility?





51. Professional Engineer "A" has embarked on a 5 day cross country tramp and
camp trek with two younger relatives. The trek is expected to cover about 100
kilometers of rugged terrain. On the first afternoon of the trip they
encounter a beaver dam that appears to be in poor condition. A heavy downpour
could cause it to break out and send flood waters to the area downstream. The
map shows that downstream there are a couple of beaver dams and a highway
bridge, before the stream empties into Spruce Lake. Because of the steepness
of the terrain P.Eng. "A" is concerned that such a flood could wash out the
other beaver dams and might even cause damage to the highway bridge. "A"
comments that they should probably notify the Ministries of Transport and
Resources when they get home.

Was it necessary for "A" to do differently to be ethical?





52. Customer "A" has hired a licensed gas contractor to install a high
efficiency gas furnace in his home. Soon after the furnace is installed "A"
discovers that the rated heat capacity of the furnace is below the estimated
heat requirement for the house. The contractor says this is easily rectified
by operating the furnace above the manufacturer's rated capacity. The
contractor makes the adjustments required to meet the estimated heat needs.

Customer "A" becomes concerned and writes a letter to the furnace
manufacturer outlining the situation. This letter arrives on the desk of "B",
P.Eng.

Does "B" have an obligation to reply to "A" and to contact the gas
contractor? If so, what are "B"'s ethical obligations to "A"? Does "B" have
obligations under the code of conduct to either "A" and/or the gas
contractor?





53. You are a P.Eng. responsible for the design an manufacture of an
electrical switch, in a Canadian manufacturing plant. A group of users claim
that the switch has malfunctioned and has started fires in their homes. A
government agency in the United States has carried out tests on this product
which indicate that under certain conditions the switch can malfunction and
cause a fire.

All your in-house testing indicates that the switch is safe and reliable. The
switch has passed all required Canadian standards tests. The users demand
that the switch be withdrawn from the market.

Do you have an ethical responsibility to take further action? What further
action do you take?





54. You are a Professional Engineer employed by a management consulting firm.
Your present assignment is to find ways of speeding up the production line in
a factory that manufactures skin lotion. As part of your investigative
procedure you have been reviewing confidential company documents and,
completely by accident, have found that the manufacturer is using small
quantities of a known carcinogen in the lotion. You further find that there
is no reference to the ingredient in the description of the product, or in
the reporting literature which is provided to the government inspecting
agency. This information, which you have stumbled upon, has no bearing on the
assignment which you are doing.

Do you have an ethical obligation to take some action about this confidential
information? If you do, what action would you take?





55. (Source T. Elio) Consulting Professional Engineer Smith is a member of a
religious congregation. The parking lot and driveways associated with the
facilities of this congregation are in deplorable condition and must be
totally rebuilt. With the concurrence of P.Eng. Smith's partners, P.Eng.
Smith has volunteered to donate the time and expertise necessary to provide
all the engineering services required including that for drainage, structures
and surfacing and to prepare the documents for tenders for the work at no
cost to the congregation. Prior to making this undertaking, P. Eng. Smith
sought and received the approval of the partners in the consulting company.
The offer was accepted by the Church's Board. The Church Board asked P. Eng.
Smith to submit a statement of account based on the normal fee for such work
so that the treasurer could give P.Eng Smith a receipt for tax purposes.

Consulting Engineer Watkins from a different firm, heard of this arrangement
and verbally attacked P.Eng. Smith for unethically depriving other members of
the professional opportunity to compete for work.

Refer to our codes of Professional Conduct and Ethics. Based on these codes,
in your opinion, have either P.Eng. Smith or P. Eng. Watkins or both acting
improperly? Give the reasons for your conclusions.





56. Chi is a chemical P.Eng. licensed with the PEO. For the last five years
Chi has been working for a Federal government department in a remote post in
the Northwest Territories studying atmospheric conditions and has recently
been relocated to Ottawa. Since Chi's departure the post has been shut down.
All infrastructure has been left in place and most of the supplies and
equipment remain as well.

Chi's department has hired a consulting engineering company to study the
costs of dismantling the post and remediating the environmental impact caused
by the post's operations. The study projects the clean-up costs in the order
of ten million dollars which far exceeds the department's budget for the
project. The department decides to proceed with the lesser cost of
dismantling all above-ground infrastructure and removing all visible
equipment and supplies and restoring the ground surface to its original
condition. The removal of buried equipment (including fuel tank) and
subsurface remediation will not be undertaken since it is the major cost
component.

Chi makes some enquiries and learns that the department has justified this
omission on the basis that it is located in a remote area and its impact on
the environment would be slight. Chi believes it should be cleaned up since
Chi is aware that some surface tanks leaked while Chi was at the post and Chi
suspects that th underground tanks may also have leaked.

What should Chi do? Should Chi have done anything while employed at the post?





57. The Provincial Ministry of Transportation proposes routing a new
expressway diagonally across a large northern Ontario city. A group of local
citizens who believe they will be adversely affected by the routing employed
a consulting engineering firm to study the route. Lambda, a P.Eng. with the
firm, and the Project Manager, concludes that their diagonal route proposed
by the Ministry could have a negative impact and recommends an alternative
route.

Rho, a partner in the firm, appears before the local PEO chapter and explains
the circumstances of the project. Rho answers all of the questions asked. Rho
requests the local chapter to publicly endorse the alternative route being
recommended by the firm.

Has Rho violated PEO's codes in any way? What should be the actions of the
local chapter?





58. Upsilon is a professional engineer who has been employed in the computer
department of a large corporation for two years. The department comprises
four engineers (including Upsilon) and some non-technical staff. The
department has been given the task of implementing a major computer software
program throughout the company. Compubright, a major software firm, has been
selected to provide the main component of the new system. Upsilon, and the
rest of the computer department, have been working closely with
representative from Compubright to modify its proprietary software to suit
the specific needs of the company.

Towards the end of the implementation process two of the department's four
engineers tender their resignation from the company. Upsilon learns from the
two, in confidence, that they have left to join Compubright for more
lucrative positions.

The departure of these two engineers substantially increases the work load
for the rest of the department and there is no relief in sight since the
company has been downsizing its operations. Upsilon is considering leaving
the firm once the implementation is complete; particularly since Upsilon's
position may become redundant at the end of the implementation. Compubright
makes a generous offer to Upsilon with the condition that Upsilon must accept
and leave the company prior to completing the implementation. other than this
offer the job prospects for Upsilon appear dim.

Should Upsilon accept the offer? What obligations does Upsilon have to the
firm? Discuss the conduct of the other two engineers with regards to PEO's
Codes of Ethics and Conduct.





59. You are a senior professional engineer who, until last month, were one of
two equal partners in a consulting engineering firm. Both of your names
appeared on your company's Certificate of Authorization. After a number of
prosperous years together you mutually agreed to dissolve the partnership to
begin your own firms.

In your first month of business you received a call from a building
management company seeking your engineering services. The company, Buildex,
has recently purchased a building from Rentsom, Inc., a previous client of
yours during your partnership.

The building in question requires some mechanical and electrical retrofitting
due to aged equipment and facilities. You are aware of the required retrofit
since you and your previous partner prepared the retrofit design last year
for Rentsom (and were fully paid). Buildex explains that they have sought
your services since your stamp appears on the retrofit design drawings of the
permit application. The building department will not issue a permit to
Buildex unless they have approval from you or Rentsom.

Buildex seeks your approval and your services for some modifications to the
design and also reuqests your services for inspection of the contract work.
This will be your first project as a sole proprietor and you are eager to
accept it.

Are there any hazzards in accepting this project?

What actions should you perform regarding your professional ethics and
conduct prior to proceeding?

Refer to the relevant clauses of the two codes in your answer.





60. You are a senior Professional Engineer registered in the Province of
Ontario. You live in Ontario and work for a large interprovincial gas supply
company which is based in Alberta. Your job duties include the review of
technical Company reports for its Ontario operations. The company's solicitor
requests you to review a report on a natural gas pipeline failure which was
prepared by the company's Alberta based engineer. The failure occurred under
a wheatfield in Alberta not far from the Company's plant. At a later date you
may be required to present your review to an Alberta court and to defend any
comments you made regarding the report. To correctly review the report
requires that you inspect the site of the failure.

Would you accept this assignment as part of your regular duties without
reservations or restrictions?

Are there any actions you must take before working in Alberta?

Would your answer be any different if the report was prepared by a consulting
firm which was no longer retained by the Company?

Cite relevant sections of the Code of Professional Conduct and Code of
Ethics.



61. Iota is a professional engineer employed with Manutex Inc., a
manufacturing firm. As part of its operations Manutex subcontracts a number
of its components from other manufacturing firms. Iota is aware that Micron
Inc., a long time supplier of one of the components, is having difficulty
meeting its delivery schedule. Upon investigating, Iota finds that Micron has
lost its production superintendent and that the owner is trying to do this
job as well as manage the company. Upon further investigation Iota finds,
that, as a result, Micron is having financial difficulties and is in need of
an injection of both capital and management expertise.

At the end of the recent monthly meeting Micron's owner asks Iota to become a
silent partner. As a silent partner Iota would purchase an interest in the
business and would be expected to advise on technical matters. Iota would not
be expected to be available during regular working hours but would put in
time on the weekends and in the evenings. The idea is very appealing and
would help Micron meet its obligations to Manutex. Can Iota accept this
offer?

What is the course of action that Iota should follow?



62. Your firm is asked by a nearby city to assess the effects of a tidal
wave. Located at the end of a long narrow inlet, the city is in an earthquake
zone, although the last one occurred in 1 970 when the city was only a
fishing port. To make sure they have an adequate picture of the disaster that
could result, they ask your firm to examine the effects of an earthquake
whose magnitude is likely to be exceeded only once in 200 years (a 200 year
earthquake). Your findings are so alarming that the city authorities are
shocked, and they believe that if the public were to realize the extent of
impending damage, mass hysteria would result. Further, because many of the
city authorities are elected officials and have been in their positions for
many years, people could ask why such a study was not carried out years ago
and why earthquake planning by-laws were never formulated.

As a result, you are asked to keep the findings of the 200 year earthquake
confidential and to undertake another study with the reduced design magnitude
of a 100 year earthquake. The results are still frightening, and the city
asks you to further reduce the earthquake design magnitude to a 50 year
earthquake. The city then incorporates the findings of your study of the 50
year earthquake in its disaster plan but makes no reference to the other two
scenarios.

Discuss this situation from an ethical point of view. What action will you
take as a professional engineer? What advice will you give to the city
council?



63. a)Describe the significance of clause 72-(2)(g) from Ontario Regulation
941

b)Does the Professional Engineers Act apply to person other than Professional
Engineers? Describe.

c)Frequently an engineer is asked to provide specific design details related
to his/her discipline (structural, electrical, mechanical, etc.) for a
project that is being designed by an architect. It is not uncommon that these
design details can readily be shown on the architectural drawings and often
are. Are there any risks or responsibilities associated with this practice?
What would you do if asked to provide your design on the same drawing as the
architect's?

d)If a member has been convicted of a criminal action can the Association
discipline that member for that conviction? If so,.under what circumstances?

e)The Act and Regulations describe six requirements that must be met in order
for an applicant to become a Professional Engineer. List four of these and
briefly explain their relevance.



64. The municipality of Penlan has recently been instructed by the Provincial
Government Ministry's District Engineer that the municipality must replace a
deteriorated wooden crib bridge to maintain roadway safety. The municipal
council hired consulting engineer Gamma, P.Eng., who then prepared a design
for a concrete bridge to replace the wooden bridge. Because of poor
subsurface conditions at the bridge location, extensive work is required to
make the bridge foundations satisfactory. This results in a very costly
structure.

Beta, P.Eng., a resident of the municipality, has learned of the concern of
the municipal council over the high replacement cost and suggests to the
municipality that they may be wise to look into the use of a 'soil-steel'
sure as an alternative to the concrete bridge. Beta does not hold a
certificate of authorization but does work for a company that manufactures
the 'soil steel' structures and is thus knowledgeable in this field.

As a result of Beta's suggestion, Gamma was paid in full for the design and
released. Professional engineer Mu was then hired by the Penlan council. Mu
prepared the alternative design and the 'soil-steel' structure was
constructed at a fraction of the cost of the expected concrete design.

Discuss the ethics of the actions of professional engineers Gamma, Beta and
Mu in this situation.



65. Fibretex Inc. is a Canadian based international company which
manufactures products from wood fibres. One of its plants, located in a
developing South American country, chemically processes wood fibre.
Professional Engineer Kappa, (licensed in Ontario) has been transferred from
Ontario to the post of manager of the plant. Shortly after arriving Kappa
finds that the plant is using technology that is 20 years behind that of
developed countries. Kappa is aware that the equipment was replaced in Canada
as a result of more stringent regulations. It was found that the discharge
from the older process caused the formation of a chemical in the receiving
waters that interfered with the reproduction of certain aquatic organisms.

Knowing this, engineer Kappa conducted tests on the discharge of South
American plant and found a similar composition of chemicals which led to the
problem in the 80's. After researching the country's regulations Kappa found
no reference to this situation and, in fact, no standards existed for this
process. Upon reporting this to the superior, Vice-President Zeta, Kappa was
told not to worry, "..the process met all of the standards in the host
country and modifying the process would be costly and therefore an undue
burden to the client."

Kappa was not comfortable with this position and sought advice from his
friend and mentor Professor Sigma, P.Eng. Sigma counselled Kappa that,
although Sigma empathized with Kappa's situation, ensuring that the country's
standards be met should be sufficient.

What are Kappals obligations? What is Kappa required to do? Was Sigma's
counsel wise? Is Sigma obligated to Kappa and the company in any way?

Refer to the Codes of Ethics and Conduct in your answer bearing in mind that
Kappa is a member of PEO but is living and working in another country.



66. You are an Ontario P.Eng. who has been asked by an inventor to report on
the safety, efficiency and reliability of a metering device for controlling
chemical additions in a water treatment plant. Part of your task will be to
review a report on a competitor's product that was prepared by a P.Eng. for
that competitor.

a) Are there sections of the Ontario Professional Engineers Act which could
prevent you from accepting this assignment?

b) If you undertake the assignment and find that the device can be hazardous,
what action do you take?



67. Professional Engineer Omicron is an employee of.a government body.
Omicron is responsible for the review of proposed engineering related works
that are overseen by the government. At a party, a friend asks Omicron to
provide engineering design services for a modification to his manufacturing
plant. In consideration of Omicron's services the friend offers the use of
his/her cottage resort, free of charge, for Omicron and family during their
vacation. After some consideration Omicron accepts the offer and proposes
that the design could be performed during Omicron's upcoming family vacation.

Omicron then seeks permission from his/her boss, also a Professional
Engineer, and receives it on the basis that it not interfere with Omicron's
work. Omicron proceeds with and completes the design work during the vacation
period and presents it to the friend. Some weeks later the very design
appears on Omicron's desk for approval. Apparently, and previously unknown to
Omicron, a minor component of the design required approval by the government
body that employed Omicron.

Was Omicron's action ethical? What should Omicron do? Given that Omicron
works for a government body was the boss ethical in giving permission to
Omicron?



68. You are an Ontario P.Eng. working in a mid sized consulting engineering
company. You have a young family and have recently purchased a house in a
neighborhood that both you and your spouse have dreamed to own. Adjacent to
your neighborhood, and quite close to your home, is a vacant lot which has
been designated for development. The developer is proposing a multi-storey
mixed-use building. The local resident's association, of which you are the
vice-chair, is strongly opposed to the development since it is expected it
will have a negative impact on your quiet neighborhood. You share the concern
and head the drive to prevent the development.

After a number of meetings with the civic council, the developer and the
resident's association you learn that your firm has been engaged by the
developer to design a major component of the building. Your boss has asked
you to manage this project.

Discuss the ethical implications of this situation.



69. a) Can Professional Engineers advertise their services to the public? If
so, what are the restrictions, if any?

b) What are the consequences, if any, to a lay person who claims to be a
P.Eng. and performs professional engineering work?

c) What are the consequences, if any, to a professional engineer who does not
keep his/her licence permanently displayed in his/her place of business?

d) Are there any risks involved in creating an electronic image of your
stamp? Is the risk any different if you also create an electronic image of
your signature with your stamp?

e) What does 'conflict of interest' mean?



70. Eta is a Professional Engineer whose years of experience have resulted in
Eta being called as an expert witness for a number of court cases. Eta has an
established fee rate for this service which is in accordance with the PEO's
Schedule of Suggested Fees. Legal counsel has asked Eta to act as an expert
witness in a criminal court case to provide opinions for the defendant. Eta
reviews the file and prepares an offer of services, stating the fee, which
counsel accepts. However, counsel advises Eta that the case is being defended
under 'Legal Aid' and the fee is higher than 'Legal Aid' will approve.

Eta feels that the expert evidence is crucial to the defendant and, without
it, it is likely the defendant will be convicted unjustly. Eta agrees to
reduce the fee to that approved by 'Legal Aid' and is retained by counsel.

During the trial it becomes apparent that the reduced fee will be
insufficient to cover Eta's costs. Counsel offers to pay the full fee, as per
the original offer, if the defendant is successful. If unsuccessful, Eta will
receive the reduced fee. Eta accepts this offer since there is now a chance
to receive payment in accordance with the Schedule of Suggested Fees.

Discuss Eta's decision with regard to the code of ethics and section 72 of
O.Reg. 941.



71. a) Article 77-8 of the Code of Ethics obligates practitioners to "expose
... unprofessional, dishonest, or unethical conduct by any other
practitioner". Knowing that such a report may damage that engineer's
reputation, discuss whether this article is consistent with sentence 77-7-
iii.

b) One aspect of a profession is that it is self regulating. Describe what
this means. How does the engineering profession achieve this?

c) Does a consulting engineer have any more privileges than a professional
engineer who is not a consulting engineer? Are there any further obligations?

d) What are the consequences of a professional engineer sealing plans that
were not prepared or reviewed by him/her?

e) Section 1 2 of the Professional Engineer's Act prohibits a person from
engaging in the practice of professional engineering unless licensed. Are
there any consequences if a corporation engages in the practice of
professional engineering?



72. You are an environmental engineer with P.Eng. status employed in the
petroleum industry and have been active in promoting environmental issues in
your community for some years.

You are aware that on the site proposed for a new low cost apartment complex
there was a toxic spill 25 years ago. You have attended the local council
meeting and know that there has been no mention of this toxic spill in any
information given to council.

The community has been anxiously awaiting this development since it will
bring much needed housing for lower income families.

Do you have an ethical responsibility to inform council of your understanding
of the history of the site? Discuss this, and any other relevant issues, in
relation to the Code of Ethics and Professional Misconduct.



73. Psi is a consulting engineer operating a consulting engineering practice.
Psi's client, Constructex, asks Psi to design a reinforced concrete porch for
a large house he is building for his client. The project is 500 km from Psi's
office (still in Ontario) but is close to Constructex's office. Psi accepts
the job and prepares the design which receives the required approvals from
the building department.

A few weeks later Psi receives a call from the building department requesting
an inspection of the porch during construction.

The inspection of the porch will require either an air flight or a drive with
a one night layover. The construction cost of the porch is estimated to be
$2,000.00 and Psi's estimated cost to inspect the work is $1,500.00. When the
design fee is added, the total design/inspection costs are greater than the
construction cost.

Is it fair that Psi performs this inspection? Is it fair that Psi doesn't?
What should Psi do?



74. You are a P.Eng. and have been assigned the position of manager for a new
project. One of your first tasks is to estimate the time and cost to complete
the project. You discuss your preliminary estimates with a few senior
engineers who suggest you lower the estimates. In their experience many
earlier projects would have been cancelled if their true costs had been known
at the planning stage. The estimates for these earlier projects were reduced
and they were successfully completed, even though the time and cost exceeded
the estimates.

With this in mind, you review your estimates looking for errors or ways to
reduce the costs and time. Your review justifies only minor changes which
have little impact. You fear that some people in your department may be laid
off if the project does not proceed. However, you are not comfortable with
reducing your estimates. You must make a decision by the end of the week.

Discuss how you would proceed and what decision you would make. Refer to the
applicable clauses in sections 72 and 77.



75. a) The Profession Engineers Act does not explicitly restrict professional
engineers from practising outside of their discipline. In fact, some
engineers do so. How does the Act deal with the matter?

b) The professional Engineers Act establishes a number of committees. Two of
these are the complaints committee and the discipline committee. Briefly
describe the function of these two committees.

c) Under what conditions can professional engineers advertise their services
to the public? Are there any restrictions to the form and content of the
advertisement?

d) Explain the implications of clause 72-2-g of Ontario Regulation 941. How
does the clause affect professional engineers?

e) What is the professional engineer's stamp? When and why is it used?



76. You are a Consulting Professional Engineer. For more than 15 years you
have worked exclusively on environmental matters. Recently you conducted an
environmental assessment for a residential development proposed along the
shore of Lake Latouche in the Town of SouthHead. Your client for this work
was the Town of SouthHead. The project has been completed and you have
received payment for your work.

A neighbouring, Eastni, also borders on part of Lake Latouche. Eastni has
requested that you carry out an environmental assessment of Lake Latouche as
it relates to the lands in Eastni.

Can you ethically undertake this work? Are there any restrictions on the use
of data which you gathered when working for SouthHead?

At the same time, the Lake Latouche Cottager's Association wishes to retain
you to represent it at a proposed Ontario Governmental Environmental Hearing.
One of the directors of the Association is an acquaintance of yours from your
school years.

Can you represent the Cottager's Association? In the event that you do, what
information can you use and how should you determine your fee structure?



77. Kappa hires Mu, a Professional Engineer, to design a freight/passenger
elevator. Mu develops a design and meets with Kappa to discuss it. The two
disagree over the resulting design. While Kappa feels that the design could
be simplified, Mu believes that a simpler solution could endanger the public.
Kappa demands that Mu turn over the drawings to Tau, a professional engineer
who has agreed to complete the project as Kappa wishes. Kappa is willing to
pay Mu for the drawings and the work completed thus far, but Mu refuses to
give Kappa the drawings.

Is Mu obligated to give Kappa the drawings? Does Mu have any other
obligations or responsibilities? Discuss Tau's agreement with Kappa as it
relates to the Code of Ethics and definition of Professional Misconduct.



78. Upsilon is an engineer in training (EIT) with three years of engineering
experience in an environmental consulting engineering firm. Eta, the
professional engineer who supervises Upsilon, directs Upsilon to sample the
contents of steel storage drums located on a client's property. Over the
years, this client has brought a substantial amount of work to the firm and
helped it stay in businessduring the lean recession years. From the look and
smell of the drums, Upsilon suspects that and analysis of the samples will
show hazardous waste in the drums. Upsilon knows that if the substance
contains hazardous waste the regulatory authorities mst be notified.

Upsilon informs Eta of the likely contents of the drums and asks what to do
next. Eta instructs Upsilon to report the presence of the drums and that
samples had been taken, and not to do the analysis. eta suggests that the
analysis would normally be done at this stage in the project but the local
labs are all too busy. Since the client does other business with the firm,
Eta intends to tell the client where the drums are located and that they may
contain questionable material and to suggest that they be removed.

Did Eta's actions fulfil an engineer's professional obligations and
responsibilities? Should Eta have done anything further? Does Upsilon have
any obligations to fulfil, given that Upsilon is an EIT?



79. Lambda, the owner of a development company, is in the process of
developing a structure on a parcel of land in a rural area of south western
Ontario.

Lambda entered into an agreement with Consultex, a consulting engineering
firm, to undertake the construction supervision on a `payroll plus' basis.
Consultex assigned P.Eng. Epsilon to the supervision. Epsilon assigned a
small staff to the site to inspect and supervise the work. Epsilon made
regular visits to the site to meet with the staff and supervise the work.
Epsilon made regular visits to the site to meet with the staff and supervise
the work.

Lambda was raised in a nearby rural area and was eager to help the local
economy by involving local workers, including some of Lambda's relatives.
Lambda called Epsilon to a meeting and urged that local help be added to the
inspection/supervision team. Lambda willingly offered to bear all extra costs
associated with the extra staff. Epsilon indicated that the work was
adequately supervised and the increased costs could not be justified. Epsilon
was concerned that such a commitment would create problems and drive up the
engineering fees which could damage Consultex's reputation. Furthermore,
Epsilon threatened to withdraw from the agreement, if Lambda insisted.

What problems might have arisen? Was Epsilon's action ethical? Relate your discussion to the
Code of Ethics and definition of Professional Misconduct.

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