Professional Engineering

ECOR 1010
Lecture 22
 Licensed Professions:
Health Care Business Design & Technology
• Medicine • Law • Engineering
• Nursing • Accounting • Geo Science
• Dentistry • Architecture
• Pharmacy
• Midwifery
• Social Work
• Psychology
• Veterinarians
• Medical Physics
• ...
Where else do we see licences?

• We need licences to
operate cars, trucks,
and airplanes
• What distinguishes
people with these
licences from licensed
professionals?
 What is a Profession?
• “A self-selected, self-disciplined group of
individuals who hold themselves out to the
public as possessing a special skill derived
from training and education and are prepared
to exercise that skill in the interests of others”
 Why do we Licence People?
• To tell clients and customers that these individuals
have met standards of education and competence
that we as a society deem sufficient to do the job.
– If you need brain surgery, you want someone who has the
right training, and is an honourable person; not some
quack who thinks he knows what to do.
– If you want to build a bridge, you want someone who has
mastered the art of bridge building, and is a trustworthy
person of good character.
• Licensed Professionals have an
exclusive legal right to practice
– No one else can do the job, by law.
Has nothing to do with
“looking professional”
 Reasons why you might want a professional

• On the right
are pictures
Remains after the southern span fell in 1907, killing 75 (courtesy NAC/PA-109498).

of the
collapse of
1907
• Above is a
picture from
the collapse
of 1916
• To the right is
the bridge
today.
The twisted steel wreckage of the Quebec Bridge after its collapse 29
August 1907 (courtesy National Archives of Canada).
Theodore Cooper’s design and the
current bridge …

9
 Professional Organizations
• All recognized professional bodies organize
themselves into self-governing professional
societies or associations
– e.g., College of Physicians and Surgeons
– Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO)
• Major function is to define the duties and
responsibilities of their members
– Code of Ethics
– Guidelines for Practice
– Disciplinary Procedures
 Legislative Mandate
• Provincial jurisdiction in Canada
– Professional Engineers Act
– By state in the USA
• Professional Engineering is defined in the Act
– “practice of professional engineering” means any act of
planning, designing, composing, evaluating, advising,
reporting, directing or supervising that requires the
application of engineering principles and concerns the
safeguarding of life, health, property, economic interests,
the public welfare or the environment, or the managing of
any such act;
 Legislative Mandate
• Provincial jurisdiction in Canada
– Professional Engineers Act
– By state in the USA
• Professional Engineering is defined in the Act
– “Any act of designing, composing, evaluating, advising,
reporting, directing or supervising; wherein the
safeguarding of life, health, property or the public
welfare is concerned, and that requires the
application of engineering principles, but does not
include practising as a natural scientist”
 Professional Engineers Act
• Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO)
– www.peo.on.ca
– http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_90p28_e.htm
– http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_900941_ev004.htm

Brand New (Passed into Law October 25, 2010):

http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/source/statutes/english/2010/elaws_src_s10016_e.htm
13
 Professional Engineering
• Unifying theme is public safety
– Bridges and buildings
– Designing vehicles that carry people
• Planes, trains, and automobiles
– Software to operate a nuclear reactor
– Electrical and electronic components
– Control systems
– Environmental engineering
– …
 Responsible and Accountable
• Society has granted Professional Engineers the
exclusive legal right to practice engineering
• In return, Society has expectations:
– Responsibility
– Accountability
– No unreasonable errors or omissions that involve
public safety
– Liability and liability insurance
 Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO)
• Licensing and enforcement body in Ontario
• Enforces Professional Engineers Act
• Enforces standards of competence
• Enforces use of the title “Professional
Engineer” and “P.Eng.”
• Responsible for public safety

• Does not protect engineers

• Has nothing to do with the “Iron Ring”
 Code of Ethics
• All Professional Engineers must follow the
“Code of Ethics”
• Part of Regulation 941 of the Professional
Engineers Act in Ontario
– http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/regs/english/elaws_regs_900941_ev004.htm

• The Code of Ethics spells out the duties and

responsibilities of a Professional Engineer
 Code of Ethics
• Defines the professional engineer’s
responsibilities to:
– Society and the environment
– The engineer’s employer and/or clients
– Fellow engineers
• Other professional obligations arise from:
– Technical standards and protocols
– Business and corporate practice
– International treaties
 Code of Ethics

It is your professional duty to

understand and abide by the code of
ethics to the very best of your ability
 Tenets of the Code of Ethics
• #1: Safety: Health and Welfare of the Public
• Practitioners are to do work only within their
competence
• Practitioners are to conduct themselves with
honesty, integrity, fairness and objectivity
• Comply with applicable codes, statutes,
regulations, etc.
• Uphold and enhance the honour and dignity of
the profession
 Code of Ethics and Misconduct
• Definition of Professional Misconduct: Section 72
of Regulations, R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 941, s. 72 (1); O.
Reg. 657/00, s. 1 (1):

http://www.peo.on.ca/complaints/definition_misconduct.htm
Definition of Professional Misconduct: Section 72 of Regulations RRO. 941
72. (1) In this section,
"harassment" means engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct that is known or ought reasonably to be known
as unwelcome and that might reasonably be regarded as interfering in a professional engineering relationship;
"negligence" means 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. R.R.O. 1990, Reg.
941, s. 72 (1); O. Reg. 657/00, s. 1 (1).
(2) For the purposes of the Act and this Regulation,

"professional misconduct" means,

(a) negligence,
(b) 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,
(c) failure to act to correct or report a situation that the practitioner believes may endanger the safety or the welfare of the
public,
(d) 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,
(e) signing or sealing a final drawing, specification, plan, report or other document not actually prepared or checked by the
practitioner,
(f) 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,
(g) breach of the Act or regulations, other than an action that is solely a breach of the code of ethics,
(h) undertaking work the practitioner is not competent to perform by virtue of the practitioner's training and experience,
(i) failure to make prompt, voluntary and complete disclosure of an interest, direct or indirect, that might in any way be, or
be construed as, prejudicial to the professional judgment of the practitioner in rendering service to the public, to an
employer or to a client, and in particular, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, carrying out any of the following
acts without making such a prior disclosure:
1. Accepting compensation in any form for a particular service from more than one party.
2. Submitting a tender or acting as a contractor in respect of work upon which the practitioner may be performing as a
professional engineer.
3. Participating in the supply of material or equipment to be used by the employer or client of the practitioner.
4. Contracting in the practitioner's own right to perform professional engineering services for other than the practitioner's
employer.
5. Expressing opinions or making statements concerning matters within the practice of professional engineering of public
interest where the opinions or statements are inspired or paid for by other interests,

(j) conduct or an act relevant to the practice of professional engineering that, having regard to all the circumstances, would
reasonably be regarded by the engineering profession as disgraceful, dishonourable or unprofessional,
(k) failure by a practitioner to abide by the terms, conditions or limitations of the practitioner's licence, limited licence,
temporary licence or certificate,
(l) failure to supply documents or information requested by an investigator acting under section 34 of the Act,
(m) permitting, counselling or assisting a person who is not a practitioner to engage in the practice of professional
engineering except as provided for in the Act or the regulations,
(n) harassment. R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 941, s. 72 (2); O. Reg. 657/00, s. 1 (2).
 Misconduct
• Negligence
– “negligence” means 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
• Failure to safeguard life, health and property
• Failure to report or correct something that
endangers public safety
• Failure to comply with codes, statutes, etc.
• Failure to disclose conflicts of interest clearly
to employer
 Misconduct

• Breach of the Act

• Undertaking work for which the Practitioner is
not qualified
• Disgraceful, dishonorable or unprofessional
conduct
• Failure to abide by license
 Misconduct

• Failure to cooperate with PEO investigators

• Permitting or assisting a person who is not a
practitioner to engage in professional
activities
• Harassment
– “harassment” means engaging in a course of
vexatious comment or conduct that is known or ought
reasonably to be known as unwelcome and that might
reasonably be regarded as interfering in a professional
engineering relationship
 Designation and Seal
• Your ECOR 1010 professor:
– G. McRae, P.Eng.
 Requirements for Licensing
• Be at least 18 years old
• Be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada
• Be of good character
• Meet education standards established by PEO
• Pass the professional practice exam (PPE) on
engineering law and ethics
• Meet engineering experience requirements
– Four years of engineering practical experience in
Ontario
 Steps to
becoming a
Professional
Engineer from
an accredited
university
program
Acceptable Engineering Experience
• Based on five quality-based criteria
1. Application of Theory
2. Practical Experience
3. Management of Engineering
4. Communication Skills
5. Social Implications of Engineering
 Pre-Graduation Experience
• You can count up to 12 months of experience
prior to graduation
• Experience counts only after you have
completed 50% of your coursework
– e.g., after second year
• Assessed on the five criteria in the previous
slide
 Experience Credit
• Graduate degrees (e.g., M.Eng., M.A.Sc.) can
give you up to 12 months of experience credit
– They must be in the same discipline as your
undergraduate engineering degree
• Thesis research can count if it is:
– Applied engineering in nature
– Is funded externally
• Total time credit cannot exceed the time
required for the degree and thesis research
 Academic Requirements
• Mathematics
– Minimum 1/8 of the program
• Basic sciences
– About 1/8 of the program
• Engineering sciences (ES)
– Minimum 1/8 of the program
• Engineering design (ED)
– Minimum 1/8 of the program
• ES plus ED must be minimum 1/2 of the program
• Complementary studies
– Minimum 1/8 of the program

Your Engineering Degree at Carleton satisfies these requirements

 Additional Academic Requirements
• Complementary studies must include
engineering economics
• Environment and sustainable development
• Health and safety
• Ethics and professional practice

Your Engineering Degree at Carleton satisfies these requirements

34
 Example Professional Practice Exam
(PPE) Question: Conflict of Interest
You are a Professional Engineer in the mechanical
department of a large general contracting firm. You
have recently inherited shares of stock in a company
that manufactures air handling equipment. You hold
this company's products in very high regard and often
specify them on projects that your company is
building.
Now that you are a shareholder of this company can
you ethically continue to specify its products? If you
feel that you can, is there any action that you should
take to do so ethically?
 Conflicts of Interest
• Individual engineers should be aware of the
potential for conflicts of interest
• Must be clearly and unambiguously disclosed
to the employer and/or client
 Other Conflicts
• Can arise from differences of ‘technical’
opinion between engineers, or between an
engineer and his/her company
• In such circumstances, engineers are advised
to maintain written records, kept in a safe
place, of any disagreement and the course of
action that was taken
 Enforcement of the Act
• Usually starts with complaint
– PEO also does pro-active investigations
– Based on Code of Ethics, e.g. a person practicing
without a license
• Complaint lodged with Discipline Committee
– Enacted through PEO Act
• Discipline Committee decides whether formal
hearing is warranted
 Hearing
• PEO is the prosecutor
• Engineer is defendant
• Complaints committee is judge and jury
• Fines, lifting of license, etc.
• Name and details published for all to see
– e.g., in the “Engineering Dimensions” publication

You do not want your name in the “blue pages”.

 You
Your name ? Your company

You are
Your company was
Your company ?
You
 Non-Engineers
• Practicing without a license
– PEO goes to public court
• If found guilty:
– $10,000 fine
– $50,000 fine for repeat offenders
• Enforcement on www.peo.on.ca
 Certificate of Authorization
• If you want to offer services to the public, you
need a Certificate of Authorization

“No person shall offer to the public or engage

in the business of providing to the public
services that are within the practice of
professional engineering except under and in
accordance with a certificate of authorization.”
 Certificate of Authorization
• Required anytime a firm or individual offers
professional engineering services to the public
• Individual
– Must be licensed professional engineer
– Must have five years of licensed practice
– Must demonstrate competency in C of A area
– Must be insured
• Engineering Firm
– Designates an individual P.Eng. as Chief Engineer
 PEO Act
• Public safety is central to PEO Act and practice
• The act
– Regulates behavior of Engineers as employers and
employees
– Regulates Engineers who act as consultants and
report on matters of safety
 Professional Engineers
• Designs are to be safe (first priority)
– Central focus of the profession
• Engineers violate the Act (i.e., the Law) if they
give advice that put workers in harm’s way
– Engineers have a special obligation because they
have been given the responsibility for public
safety
Example: Pre-Start Health & Safety Reviews

• Required by Section 7 of Regulation 941 for

Industrial Establishments
• For installation of new equipment or
hazardous processes
• Consists of report from P. Eng. stating what is
required to comply with Regulation
 Engineering Safety Reviews
• Safety reviews are required before a piece of
equipment, machine or device is:
– Reconstructed
– Altered in some way
– or installed in some way
• Situations where there is toxicity, flammability,
temperature, pressure changes, etc.
• Situations where there is the requirement for
guards, shields, control devices for safety, etc.
 Types of Certification
• Detailed reports stating, for examples:
– Equipment safe to operate, will not endanger a
worker
– Floor capable of supporting or withstanding
applied loads
– Stresses do not exceed material limits with
appropriate safety factor
 Letter of Confirmation
• P.Eng. investigates, reports to the owner, and
generates a letter of confirmation
– Certifying that equipment is safe
• Owner uses this in case of legal problems at
some point in the future
 Professional Engineers are legally
responsible for:
• Design work
• Producing reports
• Certifying equipment
• Certifying structures
• Performing Pre-Start Health and Safety
Reviews
 Bottom Line
• Provide certification/reports under the
Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA)
• Liable under both OHSA and PEO Act
• Must understand and correctly apply all
applicable legislation and standards
• Must not work outside experience/training
 Protect the Public and Yourself
Do Do Not
• Work within your • Work outside of your
competence field of knowledge
• Understand and • Assume that things are
document scope of “understood” without
work being documented
• Understand and apply • Become overconfident
national and • Be pressured by
international standards employer, client or
• Document all peers
references and
assumptions
PEO Online (www.peo.on.ca)
How Does the PEO Work?
 PEO Chapters
• Geographically based, chapters are local
branches of PEO
– Activities are organized by volunteer professional
engineers living within the chapter
• Chapter boundaries are defined mainly by
postal code
• PEO licensees are assigned to the chapter in
which they reside
 PEO Chapters
• Facilitates the participation of licensees
(Professional Engineers) in governing and
advancing the engineering profession
• Maintains a local presence for PEO through
activities of interest to engineers and of
benefit to their communities
PEO Chapters
 Canadian Council of Professional
Engineers (CCPE)
• A federation of the 13 provincial and
territorial licensing bodies
• Consists of over 160,000 licensed engineers
• Coordinates high national standards in
engineering education, practice, professional
qualifications and ethics
 Canadian Engineering
Accreditation Board (CEAB)
• A committee of the CCPE
• Accredits Canadian undergraduate
engineering programs
• Programs approved by CEAB fulfill PEO’s
educational requirement for licensing
• All engineering programs in Carleton are fully
accredited by CEAB
www.peng.ca
PEO Student Membership Program
(www.engineeringstudents.peo.on.ca)
 SMP Objectives
• Raise your level of professional knowledge
• Promote better communication between
students and the engineering community
• Standardize the delivery of PEO’s programs
and activities to students
• Seamless transition from student to P.Eng.
 Useful Websites
• SMP (Student Membership Program)
– www.engineeringstudents.peo.on.ca
• PEO (Professional Engineers Ontario)
– www.peo.on.ca
• OSPE (Ontario Society of Professional Engineers)
– www.ospe.on.ca
• CCPE (Canadian Council of Professional Engineers)
– www.ccpe.ca / www.peng.ca
• ESSCO (Engineering Student Socities Council of
Ontario)
– www.essco.ca
 Reading Assignment
• Chapters 4 and 5