Observation of professional-ethics has become critical more than ever to professionals accomplishing various day-to-day tasks. Updates to the principles or canons of professional-ethics are ongoing as put forward by various professions. The requirements of ethics have been put into practice since the BCE; at the core, the answers to what are ethics?, what is a gift?, what is a profession?, and who is a professional?, need to be well implanted into the professional practice.
The “character, competence, and commitment” in a professional have clearly been identified and practiced by the US Army. Various professionals are identified and have applicable requirements under the code of federal regulations (CFR). In our Engineering profession, we observe the requirements of professional-ethics and periodically obtain training to fine-tune our knowledge. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has updated the ethical responsibilities for its members to observe on (in the order): society; natural and built environment; profession; clients and employers; and, peers.
The environmental, health, safety, and security (EHSS) professionals observe professional-ethics in working with multifaceted professional-entities. This presentation includes: professional-ethics as stipulated by various (selected) professional societies, institutions, and organizations; requirements of professional-ethics to professional engineers (PEs) in the State of Wisconsin (WI USA); and, a discussion of ethical-situation(s) (to the extent feasible). Thus, a comprehensive review on professional-ethics would be conducted towards a good-guidance to the engineering professionals.
