On-Demand Webinars

Engineering Codes and Licensure-Exemption Laws:
How to Resolve the Ethical Dilemma and Protect the Public
Certificate Course

Designed and priced for the Individual
(at home or in the office)

Engineering licensure laws in almost every state, and DC, exempt most manufacturers, industries, utilities, and government entities from having to place PEs in responsible charge of engineering projects that put the public at risk. Accordingly, the public is often not served by competent and accountable PEs whose paramount responsibility is public protection. Instead, the bottom-line rules, engineering errors and compromises occur, and the public faces unnecessary risk. The presentation describes disasters that illustrate how licensure-exemption laws "handcuffed" engineers and harmed the public. Then it suggests actions that individuals and organizations could take to eliminate or reduce the adverse effects of such laws and enhance public safety.

If a surgeon errs during an operation, the consequences--however dire--are limited to one or a few people. In contrast, engineering failures injure, kill, and in other ways harm many. Examples: Ford Pinto fires, space shuttle Challenger explosion, GM ignition switch disaster, BP oil rig tragedy, amusement ride accidents, Merrimack Valley gas distribution system fires, Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashes, VW emissions fraud, and Gold King Mine wastewater spill.

Are some businesses jeopardizing safety for profits?
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you can maintain safety for everyone.

These, and other similar engineering catastrophes, had one thing in common-manufacturers, industries, utilities, and government entities responsible for the failures were exempt, in state licensure laws, from placing licensed engineers (PEs) in responsible charge of engineering analysis and design.

These licensure-exemption laws tend to create cultures with two characteristics:

• An absence of PEs who, if present, would contribute engineering competence and a paramount ethical-legal responsibility to protect the public.
• A bottom-line first mentality driven by top executives and influencing every part of the organization.

Too often, the cumulative effect is engineering errors or compromises, which cause injuries, death, and destruction.

To reiterate, because of licensure-exemption laws, the public is often not served by competent and accountable PEs whose paramount responsibility is public protection. Instead, the bottom-line rules and the public faces unnecessary risk. This situation stands in stark contrast with numerous engineering ethics codes all of which claim that public protection is paramount.

How did this happen? How can the engineering community make society safer? This presentation provides answers by:

• Describing disasters that illustrate how licensure-exemptions create cultures in which engineering errors and compromises are more likely to occur and compromise public safety.
• Suggesting remedial actions that individuals and organizations could take to reduce the adverse effects of engineering licensure exemption laws.

Every day across America, water supply systems supply, airplanes fly, chemical plants process, dams dam, generators generate, wastewater treatment plants treat, manufacturing lines manufacture, electric and gas distribution systems distribute, carnival rides spin, wind turbines turn, refineries refine, pipelines pipe, nuclear reactors react, bridges cross, offshore oil wells pump, and satellites orbit. All of us, whether within or outside of engineering, have a stake in engineering. Working together, we can serve society better.

As a result of participating in this event, you will be able to:

• Describe American engineering's licensure-exemption challenge.
• Explain some suggested solutions and maybe act on one or more of them.