consluting engineers in professional ethics

1. CONSULTING ENGINEERS

2. PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
• Professional ethics are principles that govern the behaviour of a person or group in a business environment.
• It is a set of rules , regulations and a code of conduct that governs how
a professional deals with each other and others outside of the
profession. It will be different from moral code and legal code.

3. WHAT IS CONSULTING ENGINEERS
• The consulting engineers work in
private. There is no salary from
the employers. But they charge
fees from the sponsor and they
have more freedom to decide on
their projects. Still they have no
absolute freedom, because they
need to earn for their living.
• A consulting engineer is an expert in the planning,
design, and construction of both public and private
infrastructures.

4. WHAT IS CONSULTING ENGINEERS
• The consulting engineers have ethical responsibilities different from the salaried engineers,
as follows:
1. Advertising
2. Competitive Bidding
3. Contingency Fee
4. Safety and Client’s Needs

5. ADVERTISING
The consulting engineers are directly responsible for advertising their
services, even if they employ other consultants to assist them. But in
many organisations, this responsibility is with the advertising executives
and the personnel department.

6. ADVERTISING
• They are allowed to advertise but to avoid deceptive ones. Deceptive advertising such as the following are
prohibited:
• (a) By white lies.
• (b) Half-truth, e.g., a product has actually been tested as prototype, but it was claimed to have been already
introduced in the market. An architect shows the photograph of the completed building with flowering trees
around but actually the foundation of the building has been completed and there is no real garden.

7. ADVERTISING
• (c) Exaggerated claims. The consultant might have played a small role in a well-known project. But they
could claim to have played a major role.
• (d) Making false suggestions. The reduction in cost might have been achieved along with the reduction in
strength, but the strength details are hidden.
• (e) Through vague wordings or slogans.

8. COMPETITIVE BIDDING
• It means offering a price, and get something in return for the service offered. The organizations have a pool of
engineers.
• The expertise can be shared and the bidding is made more realistic. But the individual consultants have to
develop creative designs and build their reputation steadily and carefully, over a period of time.
• The clients will have to choose between the reputed organizations and proven qualifications of the company
and the expertise of the consultants.

9. CONTINGENCY FEE
• This is the fee or commission paid to the consultant, when one is successful in saving the expenses for the
client. A sense of honesty and fairness is required in fixing this fee. The NSPE Code III 6 (a) says that the
engineers shall not propose or accept a commission on a contingent basis where their judgment may be
compromised.
• The fee may be either as an agreed amount or a fixed percentage of the savings realized. But in the
contingency fee-agreements, the judgment of the consultant may be biased.
• The consultant may be tempted to specify inferior materials or design methods to cut the construction cost.
This fee may motivate the consultants to effect saving in the costs to the clients, through reasonably moral and
technological means.

10. SAFETY AND CLIENT’S NEEDS
• The greater freedom for the consulting engineers in decision making on safety aspects, and difficulties
concerning truthfulness are the matters to be given attention. For example, in design-only projects, the
consulting engineers may design something and have no role in the construction.
• Sometimes, difficulties may crop-up during construction due to nonavailability of suitable materials, some
shortcuts in construction, and lack of necessary and adequate supervision and inspection. Properly-trained
supervision is needed, but may not happen, unless it is provided. Further, the contractor may not understand
and/or be willing to modify the original design to serve the clients best.
• A few on-site inspections by the consulting engineers will expose the deficiency in execution and save the
workers, the public, and the environment that may be exposed to risk upon completion of the project.

11. THE 5 ESSENTIALS OF CHOOSINGACONSULTANT
• Unimpeachable character
• Solid experience
• Creative problem-solving skills
• Outstanding communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills

12. UNIMPEACHABLE CHARACTER
• First and foremost, an effective consultant must be a person of the highest character.
• He or she must be the consummate professional.
• The consultant must be willing to put the best interest of the client ahead of their own.

13. SOLID EXPERIENCE
• A good consultant should have experience with the challenges or opportunities which the company is facing.
• She or he may not know your specific company or industry, but you and your people know your company and
your industry quite well, don’t you? What the consultant brings to the table is experience in addressing the
types of issues you face.

14. CREATIVE PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS
• You will want the consultant you engage to be an outstanding problem solver. After all, you are hiring a
consultant to help you solve problems (or take advantage of opportunities).
• Marvin Bower, the patriarch of McKinsey & Company, essentially founded management consulting and in the
process grew the firm from a fledgling enterprise to a global operation. He outlined his criteria for an
outstanding consultant.

15. OUTSTANDING COMMUNICATION SKILLS
• A good consultant should be articulate. He or she should possess unusually strong communication skills, both
orally and in writing.
• Of course, communication is a two-way street. Perhaps more important than her or his ability to speak
articulately and write eloquently is the ability to listen.
• No matter how smart a consultant is, she or he won’t be able to help you improve your business until
they fully understand the challenges you face. This will never happen until the consultant listens to you.

16. EXCELLENT INTERPERSONAL SKILLS
• Simply put, for any consultant to be successful in helping your company, a trust-based relationship is going to
have to develop. You will need to be comfortable revealing the intimate details of your business. The
relationship between consultant and client is not unlike the relationship between a doctor and patient.
• Without complete candor, the consultant will be hindered in his or her effort to help your business. Chose a
consultant with whom you can develop this kind of professional relationship.
• The right consultant can create tremendous value. The wrong consultant can destroy value. Following these
five guidelines will help ensure that you engage the right firm or individual.

17. KEY CHARACTERISTICS THAT EVERY SUCCESSFUL CONSULTANT
SHOULD POSSESS
• Have Self-Confidence
• Exhibit Humility
• Be a Good Listener
• Be a Team Player
• Have Good Communication Skills
• Be Able to Showcase Expert Knowledge
• Easily Cultivate and Gain Client Trust

18. WHAT DOES A CONSULTING ENGINEER DO?
• Consulting engineers are licensed professionals with diverse qualifications, including
civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, environmental, geotechnical, chemical,
industrial, and agricultural disciplines.
• At consulting engineering firms, teams of knowledgeable experts can fill many
distinctive educational, technical, and mechanical roles that can help to solve or
prevent any problems.
• Consulting engineers may design an entire project, or they might be responsible for
only one component of the design, depending on the need. Their support can be
provided throughout the whole process, from inception to completion, in order to
facilitate the best solutions.