Ethics and Professional Practice

Public Safety Obligation

An engineer's paramount duty to protect public health, safety and welfare.

Codes of ethics place the safety of the public above duty to a client, an employer, or the profession. When those obligations conflict, the public interest governs.

On the exam this single principle resolves the large majority of ethics questions: where one option protects the public and another protects a commercial relationship, the first is correct. Resigning quietly is not a substitute for disclosure, because it leaves the hazard in place.

How much of the FE Civil exam is Ethics and Professional Practice?