Title: Information Use, Ethics, and Professionalism

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Introduction

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Introduction

As future engineers, you will interact with information every day, but your information needs and access will vary over time and across different projects as will the types of information that you use. While in school, you’ll need to start building your information skillset so that you’re ready to research and evaluate information effectively and ethically as a professional and be able to be critical of a wide variety of information sources that are diverse and inclusive.

In this lesson, you will:

- Learn about professional engineering and information seeking;
- Learn how proper information seeking and evaluation meets your obligations to uphold the safety, health, and welfare of the public;
- Learn the connection between information and professional practice & responsibilities;
- Learn how information evaluation aids in ethical decision making.

Land acknowledgement

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s final report calls for 94 actions toward restoring a balanced relationship between Indigenous peoples and settler communities in this country.

We encourage you to not only acknowledge the traditional territory on which your institution resides, but to also ground this acknowledgement with action.

A great resource for this is Native Land. We also suggest looking at the resources provided by the Xwi7xwa Library, which is a centre for academic and community Indigenous scholarship. Its collections and services reflect Aboriginal approaches to teaching, learning, and research, and it is the only branch of an academic library in Canada that is entirely dedicated to Indigenous materials.

What is information within engineering?

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What is information within engineering?

Information is defined as “knowledge obtained from investigation, study, or instruction” and may include intelligence, news, facts, or data (Merriam-Webster, n.d.).

Within the academy and as practicing engineers, we use information as evidence to back up our claims and make good decisions. Engineers spend large quantities of time finding, evaluating, and using information. Fosmire (2014) found as much as a third of the working hours of engineers were spent on these information tasks.

Furthermore, Phillips et al. (2018) identified finding, evaluating and using information as continuing challenges for engineers at all levels of experience.

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Professional engineering practice

The practice of professional engineering is defined in Section 1 of the Professional Engineers Act, Ontario, and comprises of three tests.

The three professional engineering tests are:

1. “Any act of planning, designing, composing, evaluating, advising, reporting, directing or supervising (or the managing of any such act);"
2. "That requires the application of engineering principles, and;"
3. "Concerns the safeguarding of life, health, property, economic interests, public welfare or the environment.”

If your work meets all three tests, you are practicing professional engineering and must be licensed by the Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO).

Through the Professional Engineers Act, PEO:

- Governs license and certificate holders;
- Regulates professional engineering in Ontario;
- Is self-regulated and governed by elected members of the profession and government appointee;
- Has a mandate to ensure that the public interests are protected, and that individuals and companies that provide engineering services comply with a strict code of professional conduct and ethics.

Case study:  New Orleans levee failures

Please read the following article: https://www.tulane.edu/~sanelson/New_Orleans_and_Hurricanes/overviewofleveefailures.pdf

While you read the case study, and before you read the summary below, take notes on the issues with information use in this case study.

Summary:

Hurricane Kartina made landfall in August 2005, just east of New Orleans Louisiana. Inflicting widespread damage on the Hurricane Protection System (HPS) for southeast Louisiana, which at times overwhelmed the HPS beyond its design, but arguably most impactfully levee failures also occurred at water levels significantly below their design. This happened due to a combination of factors including misinterpreting geologic conditions and unforeseen mechanism failures.

The New Orleans HPS was designed with a traditional approach that is component-performance based. Standards were used to define performance and any uncertainties were accounted for through safety factors. A better measure of component performance would be related to how the system performed combined with the consequences of that system.

Katrina brought attention to a distinct lack of knowledge and evidence that existed on the behaviour of I-type floodwalls. Some of the mechanisms that failed were not anticipated and were unknown to the designers – specifically while some information on the performance of I-walls did exist, this information was ultimately not used to detect a failure mode.

Further, the risk was seen to be low and the available geotechnical information was limited, which means the required level of safety was lower than that where more geotechnical information was readily available.

Check your knowledge

Now, take a moment to reflect on what you would do as a professional engineer if you were missing information. Think about the pressures to progress the project, to meet budget and deadlines that may conflict with potential ethical ramifications.

Then, using a separate piece of paper or document file, write a few notes about your reflection to share with your class.

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Why evaluate information as an engineer?

The above is an example about the power an engineer can have in a project that was missing important information. This tragic situation ultimately led to a change in recommendations and design. The new recommendation on moving forward on projects like this is to now wait to build until adequate information is obtained. While this case study is rooted in civil engineering, examples of the importance of using quality information to support decision making are found across engineering disciplines.

Evaluating information is a fundamental aspect of ensuring that your design decisions have been made with evidence and the best information available. Engineers must build habits of evaluating the information they come across, both professionally and in daily life. Engineering is a profession where society places significant trust and acknowledges authority. This trust necessitates a responsibility of engineers to be critical and reflective of all information.

Finding and evaluating information as an ethical responsibility

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Finding and evaluating information as an ethical responsibility

While in school you need to find, use, and understand information to make engineering decisions, and this expectation will continue into your working career. This is a skill that you should develop and internalize as a habit as a student.

It is your responsibility when you become an engineer to be able to communicate why you made the decisions you did, communicate this information to a broader team, and stand by your decisions as being ethical, safe, and protecting the public interest.

In this way, finding, using, and rigorously evaluating ALL information is critical to your ethical responsibilities, and your personal and professional reputations.

As an engineer you are responsible for understanding all of the information you use as part of a project – up to and including the software you use to aid in the engineering process.

You are responsible because using the software is your choice – every decision you make as an engineer can impact the broader project.

Check your knowledge

Reflect on your responsibilities around software and other tools you use as an engineer. Then, using a separate piece of paper or document file, write a few notes about your reflection to share with you class.

Consider the following:

- Do they make sense? (i.e., gut check)
- Do they make you do your own calculations?
- Do they align with prototype testing?

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Professional misconduct in engineering

The following are examples of professional misconduct that can be heavily influenced by the information you rely upon for decision making.

Using the PEO definition of “negligence” as "an act or an omission in the carrying out of the work of a practitioner that constitutes a failure to maintain the standards that a reasonable and prudent practitioner would maintain in the circumstances,” other areas of professional misconduct include:

Area 1

Failure to make reasonable provision for the safeguarding of life, health or property of a person who may be affected by the work for which the practitioner is responsible

Area 2

Failure to act to correct or report a situation that the practitioner believes may endanger the safety or the welfare of the public.

Area 3

Failure to make responsible provision for complying with applicable statutes, regulations, standards, codes, by-laws and rules in connection with work being undertaken by or under the responsibility of the practitioner.

Area 4

Signing or sealing a final drawing, specification, plan, report or other document not actually prepared or checked by the practitioner.

Area 5

Failure of a practitioner to present clearly to the practitioner's employer the consequences to be expected from a deviation proposed in work, if the professional engineering judgment of the practitioner is overruled by non-technical authority in cases where the practitioner is responsible for the technical adequacy of professional engineering work.

Area 6

Failure to supply documents or information requested by an investigator acting under section 33 of the Act.

The information that you use can impact each of these things. By failing to understand, document, and discuss the information you use to make engineering decisions, you risk being unable to defend decisions to the level to which you may need to do so.

Check your knowledge

Reflect on the case study presented earlier in this module, does the New Orleans levee example fall under any of the areas of professional misconduct?

Then, using a separate piece of paper or document file, write a few notes about your reflection to share with your class.

Reasonable prudent standards

As engineers you will use a variety of information sources to guide your decision making. It is your responsibility to choose the best type of information, based on what you need to make a design decision. Key information sources for this decision making will include codes, standards, regulations, and guidance documents.

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Codes:

Set of rules and specifications or systematic procedures for design, fabrication, installation and inspection methods.

They protect the public by setting up the minimum acceptable level of safety for buildings, products and processes.

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Standards:

“Set of specifications for parts, materials, or processes intended to achieve uniformity, efficiency, and a specified quality.” (R.G. Budynas and J.K. Nisbett. Shigley’s Mechanical Engineering Design. 11th Edition.)

They define quality and establish safety criteria.

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Regulations:

Rules issued by government in order to control quality, safety, or other characteristics of devices.

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Guidance documents:

Provide assistance to industry and professionals on how to comply with governing statues and regulations.

These can include everything from technical documentation, to journal articles, to white papers.

Check your knowledge:

Q: Check your knowledge

Please select the definition of codes from the choices below:
- A set of rules and specifications for design, fabrication, installation, and inspection. (correct)
- A set of specifications for parts, materials, or processes.
- A set of rules designed by the government to control quality and/or safety.

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An engineer's ethical obligations & duties

Engineers have specific ethical obligations and duties as per their profession. “A practitioner shall regard the practitioner's duty to public welfare as paramount."

Hierarchy of duties:

1. Public/Society;
2. Employers;
3. Clients;
4. Colleagues, Employees, Subordinates;
5. Profession;
6. Oneself.

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The code states that "it is the duty of a practitioner to the public, to the practitioner's employer, to the practitioner's clients, to other licensed engineers of the practitioner's profession, and to the practitioner to always act with:

- Fairness and loyalty to the practitioner's associates, employers, clients, subordinates and employees;
- Fidelity to public needs;
- Devotion to high ideals of personal honour and professional integrity;
- Knowledge of developments in the area of professional engineering relevant to any services that are undertaken;
- Competence in the performance of any professional engineering services that are undertaken."

The complete Code of Ethics is included in section 77 of the Professional Engineers Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. P.28.

Check your knowledge:

Q: Check your knowledge

Who is the first group that an engineer has a duty to?
- Public/Society. (correct)
- Employers.
- Profession.
- Self.

Final thoughts

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Final thoughts

If ethical use of information is so important, how can you integrate this into your learning and engineering practice?

- Develop your ability to effectively evaluate information;
- Document your information seeking and decision making;
- Internalize the ethical obligations of the engineering profession;
- Ensure the sources you are using are accurate, clear, and rigorous;
- Use the best information you can to answer your questions, which is not always the quickest information to find.

Dilemmas regarding information are steadily increasing in a society that is defined as "the information society." The explosion of technology and ease of access around finding information has brought information ethics to a forefront in ethical considerations, and is especially important in careers where there are ethical considerations, such as engineering. Building a deep understanding of how the information you use to make decisions is an essential consideration when you are working to build a practice of engineering that is fair, equitable, responsible, and safe.

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Further reading

For more examples and case studies, begin by looking at the following:

- City of Kamloops loading platform design. https://www.mondaq.com/canada/real-estate-and-construction/102502/engineer-and-owner-both-liable-for-negligent-design-that-failed-to-protect-public-safety
- Case Study 2 (Hartford Civic Centre), & Case Study 4 (Kansas City Hyatt): https://web1.eng.famu.fsu.edu/~chandra/courses/eml3004c/book/chapter3/chap3-3.html

Graduate attributes

The content of this module relates to the following graduate attributes:

3.1.1 A knowledge base for engineering: Demonstrated competence in university level mathematics, natural sciences, engineering fundamentals, and specialized engineering knowledge appropriate to the program.

3.1.2 Problem analysis: An ability to use appropriate knowledge and skills to identify, formulate, analyze, and solve complex engineering problems in order to reach substantiated conclusions.

3.1.3 Investigation: An ability to conduct investigations of complex problems by methods that include appropriate experiments, analysis and interpretation of data, and synthesis of information in order to reach valid conclusions.

3.1.7 Communication skills: An ability to communicate complex engineering concepts within the profession and with society at large. Such ability includes reading, writing, speaking and listening, and the ability to comprehend and write effective reports and design documentation, and to give and effectively respond to clear instructions.

3.1.8 Professionalism: An understanding of the roles and responsibilities of the professional engineer in society, especially the primary role of protection of the public and the public interest.

3.1.10 Ethics and equity: An ability to apply professional ethics, accountability, and equity.

3.1.12 Life-long learning: An ability to identify and to address their own educational needs in a changing world in ways sufficient to maintain their competence and to allow them to contribute to the advancement of knowledge.

References

Fosmire, M. (2014). Engineering Research. In P. Keeran & M. Levine-Clark (Eds.), Research within the Disciplines: Foundations for Reference and Library Instruction (eBook, pp. 46–49). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Phillips, M., Fosmire, M., Petersheim, K., Turner, L., & Lu, J. (2018). How do professional engineers use information compared to undergraduates, and how can libraries prepare students and support engineers for future success? In Proceedings of the IATUL Conferences. Paper 4 [Conference session]. https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/iatul/2018/beyondnow/4

Professional Engineers Act, Code of Ethics § 77 (1990). p. 28.

Professional Misconduct, Ontario Regulation 941 § 72 (1990). https://www.peo.on.ca/about-peo/what-peo/acts-regulations-and-laws/professional-misconduct-section-72-regulation-o-reg

Credit & licensing

Content Creators: Kate Mercer, Kari D. Weaver, Brie McConnell, Nasser Saleh, Michelle Spence, Ian Robson, and Jennifer Howcroft.

Instructional and Graphic Designers: Anthony Maocheia-Ricci, Stefaniada Voichita, Stephanie Mutch, Hiba Zubairi, Cathy Sebastian, and Kari D. Weaver.

Additional feedback was generously contributed by many faculty, staff, and students at the University of Waterloo, Queens University, and the University of Toronto.

This module was created with financial support from a 2021 eCampus Ontario Virtual Learning Strategy Grant and is licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution-Non-Commercial License

(CC 4.0 BY-NC).

This work should be cited as follows:

Mercer, K., Weaver, K.D., Saleh, N., Spence, M., Robson, I., Howcroft, J., Maocheia-Ricci, A., Voichita, S., Zubairi, H., & Sebastian, C. (2022). Information Use, Ethics, and Professionalism. eCampus Ontario. Link to repository. Used under CC 4.0 BY-NC.

For more information or to request permission for a non-licensed use, please email libaskus@uwaterloo.ca

This project was led by individuals who live and work in Waterloo, which is the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo’s main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is centralized within our Indigenous Initiatives Office.

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