It would not be ethical for Engineer A to certify as a qualified engineer the arms storage rooms and arms storage racks as requested by the Army official.

This case appears to raise at least two important ethical issues for professional engineers -- (a) the obligation of the engineer to practice solely within the engineer’s area of professional competency (See Code Section II.2.a.) and (b) the certification of certain facts by an engineer, which has been the subject of state engineering board regulation in recent years. (See Code Section II.2.b.). The Board of Ethical Review has had the opportunity to review the question of the ethical obligation of licensed engineers to practice solely within their area of competency on numerous occasions. In BER Case 94-8, Engineer A, a professional engineer, was working with a construction contractor on a design/build project for the construction of an industrial facility. During the construction of the project, the construction contractor separately retained the services of Engineer B, a professional engineer, to design structural footings as part of the facility. Engineer B's degree and background were in chemical engineering. Engineer A had been unable to establish that Engineer B had any apparent subsequent training in foundation design and Engineer A had reservations concerning the competence of Engineer B to design the structural footings and reports his concerns to the contractor. The Board determined that it would be unethical for Engineer B to perform the design of the structural footings as part of the facility and also that Engineer A had an ethical responsibility to question Engineer B's competency and report his concerns to the contractor. This position was based upon a variety of considerations. The Board noted that there was at least a reasonable basis for Engineer A to conclude that Engineer B did not possess the competence to perform the required task. While it may be possible for Engineer B as a consultant to the contractor to retain the services of a competent structural engineer to design the structural footings for the facility, the Board did not think it woul...

Engineer A, a professional engineer with expertise in civil engineering, served as a Civilian Building and Grounds Division Chief at a U.S. Army installation. An Army official requests that Engineer A certify that certain arms storage rooms and arms storage racks on the military installation are in accordance with certain specific, lengthy, and detailed Army physical security, arms, ammunition, and explosive regulations, which are cross-referenced with other Army regulations. Engineer A has no significant training or knowledge in these areas. There are comprehensive training programs available for this type of work, but training funds are not available.

Would it be appropriate for Engineer A to certify as a qualified engineer the arms storage rooms and arms storage racks as requested by the Army official?