Principles of Ethical Conduct in Engineering Practice Under the North American Free Trade Agreement

Murdough Center for Engineering Professionalism
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas


Prepared by a team of engineers and advisors from Canada, Mexico and the USA under the direction of the Murdough Center for Engineering Professionalism, Texas Tech University. Supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

APPROVED by the NAFTA Forum, at Puerto Vallarta, Mexico January 28, 1995

The privilege of practicing engineering is entrusted to those qualified and who have the responsibility for applying engineering skills, scientific knowledge and ingenuity for the advancement of human welfare and quality of life. Fundamental principles of conduct of engineers include truth, honesty and trustworthiness in their service to society, and honorable and ethical practice showing fairness, courtesy and good faith toward clients, colleagues and others. Engineers take societal, cultural, economic, environmental and safety aspects into consideration, and strive for the efficient use of the world's resources to meet long term human needs. In the practice of engineering:

Engineers shall hold paramount the health, safety and welfare of the
public in the practice of their profession. 		Engineers shall practice only in their areas of competence, in a careful and
diligent manner and in conformance with standards, laws, codes, and rules and
regulations applicable to engineering practice.
Engineers shall examine the societal and environmental impact of their
actions and projects, including the wise use and conservation of resources
and energy, in order to make informed recommendations and decisions. 		Engineers shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful
manner. If representing a particular interest, the engineer shall clearly identify
that interest.
Engineers shall sign and take responsibility for all engineering work which
they prepared or directly supervised. An engineer may sign work prepared by
others, but only with their knowledge and after sufficient review and
verification to justify taking responsibility for that work. 		Engineers shall act as faithful agents for their employers or clients and
maintain confidentiality; they shall avoid conflicts of interest whenever possible,
disclosing unavoidable conflicts.
Engineers shall ensure that a client is aware of the engineer's professional
concerns regarding particular actions or projects, and of the consequences of
engineering decisions or judgments that are overruled or disregarded. An
employee engineer shall initially express those concerns to the employer. 		Engineers shall appropriately report any public works, engineering
decisions or practice that endanger the health, safety and welfare of the public.
When, in an engineer's judgment, a significant risk to the public remains
unresolved, that engineer may ethically make the concerns known
publicly.
Engineers shall commit to life-long learning, strive to advance the body of
engineering knowledge and should encourage other engineers to do likewise. 		Engineers shall promote responsibility, commitment, and ethics both in the
education and practice phases of engineering; they should enhance society's
awareness of engineers' responsibilities to the public and encourage the
communication of these principles of ethical conduct among
engineers.

Note: This document is included among other matters related to engineering practice in Canada, Mexico, and USA by the NAFTA Forum on Engineering Practice to the Free Trade Commission.


Project Staff

Jimmy H. Smith, Project Director and Patricia "Trish" Barrington, Project Coordinator (TTU)

Project Team Members

Project Advisors

Vivian Weil and Michael Davis (IIT), Jaime Cardenas-Garcia and W. Pennington Vann (TTU)
Carlos Ruiz (New Mexico) and Steve Nichols (UT/Austin)

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For more information, contact:
Dr. Jimmy H. Smith, Professor and Director
Murdough Center for Engineering Professionalism