1. Honesty and integrity

Engineering professionals have a duty to uphold the highest standards of openness, fairness, honesty and integrity at all times.

To conduct themselves in accordance with this principle, they will:

• Act reliably and in a trustworthy manner, accepting accountability for their actions
• Respect confidentiality, intellectual property and personal or sensitive information, including the privacy of individuals and communities
• Identify, declare and address conflicts of interest
• Avoid knowingly misleading others, taking steps to prevent corrupt practices including plagiarism, misrepresentation and the spread of misinformation
• Reject bribery and other improper influences

A graduate engineer was checking that the correct reinforcement was in place before a concrete pour for an in-situ concrete wall when they noticed that all of the continuity starter bars projecting from the wall kicker were loose.

The engineer discovered that, during a previous pour, these starter bars had been left out. To conceal this omission, the steel fixer had cut some short lengths of bar and placed them on the kicker. Some grout was splashed around the base of each bar to make it look as though it had been cast into the existing concrete.

The situation was remedied by resin-grouting new starter bars into holes drilled in the existing concrete. Disciplinary action was taken against the person responsible for the deception. Had the engineer failed to spot this deliberate act, it could have had serious ramifications. 

Read more about this case in the safety report published by Collaborative Reporting for Safer Structures (CROSS-UK).

2. Responsibility to society

Engineering professionals have a duty to protect people, respect rights, uphold the trust placed in them by society and obey all applicable laws and regulations. They must give due weight to facts, published standards and guidance, taking appropriate action to assess and manage risks.

To conduct themselves in accordance with this principle, they will:

• Make the health and safety of others a leading priority and draw attention to any hazards
• Report any wrongdoing and irresponsible or unsafe practice, whether within the workplace or outside it
• Be aware of how their activities might affect others, respecting the rights of individuals and communities
• Ensure that their work is lawful, justified, evidence-based and in the public interest
• Recognise the importance of security (both physical and cyber) and data protection
• Work to deliver inclusive outcomes, meeting diverse needs across society

A structural engineer spotted a partially collapsed 4m-high retaining wall while out for a walk. The wall lined the side of a river and supported a public walkway. Sheet piles forming the lower part of the structure had collapsed and there was significant deformation.

The engineer thought that the wall had become extremely vulnerable to damage such as scour and that its capacity had probably been severely reduced. In the belief that any further deterioration could lead to a total collapse, they reported their concern to the public bodies that they believed were responsible for the structure.

The engineer made a considerable effort to find the authority liable for the hazardous structure and raise their concerns about it. They also reported the matter to CROSS-UK.

Read more about this case in CROSS-UK’s safety report.

3. Accuracy and rigour

Engineering professionals have a duty to acquire, maintain and use wisely the knowledge and skills their role requires, so that their work meets the highest standards.

To conduct themselves in accordance with this principle, they will:

• Act with diligence in all professional work, recognising that the public’s trust in engineering depends on its integrity
• Undertake only work that is within their competence or is done under competent supervision, applying sound judgement and critical thinking, especially in emerging areas
• Actively maintain their knowledge and skills while helping others to do the same
• Test evidence objectively and without bias, respecting the views of others and maintaining awareness of uncertainties and limits of understanding

A checking engineer for a party-wall award raised concerns when the design engineer’s submission for a new basement under a semi-detached house contained several flaws that suggested a fundamental lack of competence. These included pages of finite element analysis software outputs with no explanation of how the basement was meant to resist applied forces; an assumed bearing pressure for the ground without any soil investigation; and no sign of awareness that the proposed basement would exert a horizontal force on the adjoining property’s basement wall.

When the checking engineer raised their concerns with the design engineer, it was clear that the latter did not understand the issues, while the director of their company also seemed not to grasp how the relevant forces might be resisted.

At this stage, the client recognised the design team’s lack of competence and substituted it with a competent replacement.

Read more about this case in CROSS-UK’s safety report. 

4. Leadership and communication

Engineering professionals have a duty to uphold and promote high standards of leadership and communication.

To conduct themselves in accordance with this principle, they will:

• Engage with communities and wider society, communicating responsibly about how engineering should meet people’s needs
• Act on well-founded concerns and foster a culture where such matters can be raised without fear of reprisal
• Communicate clearly, accessibly and proportionately about benefits, risks, uncertainties and trade-offs in engineering works
• Promote equity, equality, diversity and inclusion, fostering a culture that supports everyone in the profession
• Acknowledge and communicate any uncertainties and limits of evidence
• Maintain public trust and uphold the profession’s standing in society

Owing to recruitment and retention problems, a highway authority appointed a candidate with neither a relevant engineering degree nor appropriate experience to conduct principal and general inspections of safety-critical structures.

Another engineer has reported this situation to CROSS-UK because they are concerned that the authority may not be able to give its appointee sufficient support in their role and that no competent person will review their work and confirm that they have understood the structures correctly or the implications of any defects they might find. The engineer is concerned that this situation could jeopardise public safety, because critical structural flaws or warning signs may not be detected or understood.

Read more about this case in CROSS-UK’s safety report. 

5. Responsibility for the future of technology, society and the environment

Engineering professionals have a duty to act as stewards of technology, developing it responsibly with an awareness of the consequences of this work. They should take account of the lasting systemic, inter-generational and environmental impacts of the technologies they create and apply.

To conduct themselves in accordance with this principle, they will, as far as is reasonably practicable:

• Carefully consider the risks and ethical implications of emerging technologies such as AI and autonomous or semi-autonomous systems
• Anticipate the potential for misuse of technology and its wider ramifications, applying proportionate precautions where it could cause serious or irreversible harm
• Manage technology responsibly throughout its lifetime, including the decommissioning stage
• Take account of immediate, cumulative and systemic risks, including increased inequality, resource depletion, biodiversity loss and climate change
• Protect and, where possible, restore natural and built environments
• Consider the future impacts of engineering and avoid shifting risks or burdens to future generations, distant locations or supply chains, whether local or global

A retaining wall on an urban construction site collapsed after heavy rainfall. It was a diaphragm wall supporting a five-storey excavation next to a flyover and a road serving a crowded part of the city. There was exceptional rainfall on the day of the incident, with water accumulating on both the excavated and retained sides of the wall.

While many factors might have contributed to the collapse, this example does highlight the possible impact of extreme rainfall and the need to reappraise common practice in light of climate change.

Designers often specify drainage holes at the base of retaining walls to relieve water pressure. But heavy rainfall and the rapid saturation of retained material could overload this drainage, resulting in a significant short-term increase in water pressure behind the wall, which in turn may lead to the structure’s failure. If the design, especially its stability, is sensitive to this factor, a change in design practice is justified.

Read more about this case in CROSS-UK’s safety report.