Engineering as a Profession

Transcription

1 Engineering as a Profession Noreen E. Calderbank, P.Eng. Manager, Prelicensing Programs Notes for Noreen E. Calderbank, P.Eng. Manager, Prelicensing Programs Professional Engineers Ontario 1

2 Professional Engineers Ontario Professional Engineers Ontario website PEO Student membership website I would like to thank Professor for inviting me to speak to you today with an introduction to the profession of Engineering. To start, here are some contact avenues that you should note. If you have any questions, I encourage you to ask during the presentation. If they come to you later, visit PEOs websites or contact myself or my assistant, Margaret Walcott. An important component of PEO's role as the regulator of professional engineers, is licensing. I am part of the L&R department. The Student Membership Program connects students enrolled in each of Canada s and more specifically, Ontario s accredited engineering schools to PEO in order to help you learn more about your future profession, the benefits of licensure and the admissions process. 2

3 About Professional Engineers Ontario Mandate: Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) licenses professional engineers and sets the standards of practice for professional engineering in Ontario, in order that the public interest may be served and protected. PEO is the signature of the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario, the organization that sets the standards and regulates the practice of professional engineering in Ontario. It is a self-regulated association that licenses and disciplines professional engineers and professional engineering firms under the Professional Engineers Act. The Act covers requirements for admission to the profession, adherence to a code of conduct or ethics, and the use of titles. PEO administers the Act on behalf of the Ontario public and is accountable through the Ministry of the Attorney General. 3

4 Engineering The professional art of applying science to the optimum conversion of resources to benefit humanity". This is a very fancy way of saying that engineers make the things happen that society functions within. This is incredibly important and yet not very visible to most person. At best, most of us hear about engineering as an occupation, muddled up somewhere in the sphere of high tech. Why is it that most of society is not aware of engineering as a licenced profession? Basically, the public doesn t see us doing what we do we are the invisible profession, because we are not generally hired directly by individual members of the public like doctors and lawyers are we work behind the confines of industry. Be that as is may, we can t hide behind these walls in terms of our duties to the public. This was brought forward to me during a recent course in archeology showed me that what remains of a society after hundreds or thousands of years, are the remnants of engineering. Think about how profound that can be. Do you want to be part of creating pyramids or toxic waste sites? Many employers may ask 4

5 Professionalism A complex set of characteristics involving: Specialized knowledge Intense preparation Dedication to public service Autonomous decision-making authority in matters of importance to society. This leads me to the concept of "professionalism". Professionalism can be described as a complex set of characteristics involving specialized knowledge; intense preparation; dedication to public service; and autonomous decision-making authority in matters of importance to society. In addition, and more often implied, professionalism can be understood to include high standards of achievement, conduct and responsible behavior. Okay, we all know that engineering requires specialized knowledge and intensive preparation. Plus, there is no doubt that the engineering profession has a very strong organizational structure, as witnessed by the many professional and learned societies, educational institutions with accredited programs and the provincial regulator in the form of PEO. 5

6 Fundamental Questions What does it mean to be a professional? Why is ethical behavior important to society? How are these concepts important to me? I became a licensed practitioner of engineering following the completion of my bachelors of Chemical Engineering plus 4 years of engineering experience followed by writing and passing the Professional Practices Exam on Law & Ethics. My engineering degree was only the first step towards becoming a licensed professional engineer. Completing the degree alone does not give anyone the right to refer to themselves as an engineer. Why did I find it necessary to become a professional? At the time, it was mostly driven by the need to complete a journey that I had begun many years before. Later, the value of the ethics underlining each profession began to take root. All individuals who subscribe to a profession agree to take on the mantle of the expected behaviour of that profession. Basically, for society to trust a particular profession, that group must create a template to which all practitioners subscribe. 6

7 Importance of Ethical Behavior Individual Moral obligation Legislated requirement Vital building block your reputation, your livelihood Societal Reduce vulnerability to failure Maintain trust Eventually, this behaviour which may have begun out of a legislated requirement or imposed or moral obligation becomes something much more when you realize that as a professional, you carry a duty to continue to enhance the reputation of all of the other engineers in the group. When all members of the group agree to this, then the need to check for mistakes becomes reduntant and the overall quality of the work skyrockets. This, of course, leads to the creation and maintenance of societies trust factor of the profession. This works in your favour as your individual need to prove yourself becomes less important when those around you recognize that you are an engineer. Trust equals enhanced value which leads to personal achievement, fulfillment and other benefits. 7

8 Common Ethical Dilemmas Confidentiality Conflict of interest Spirit vs letter of agreements Fiduciary duty Intellectual property Of course, there is the flip side to these responsibilities and here are a few of them. I will try to discuss how these can be eliminated as potential problem areas. 8

9 Ethics - Internal Tools How do I feel about this? Would Mom be proud of me? How will my boss/client react? Will this enhance trust relationships? Could I explain this to a judge? What would the National Enquirer say? Basically, the best solution when dealing with ethical situations is the gut approach. Here are some questions that you can use when determining the best direction to take. 9

10 The Arch of Professionalism This illustration puts it all together. This arch illustrates how the knowledge and skills meet with the ethical conduct to create the full professional with the end results that go along with it. (discuss some aspects of this slide) What do you think would happen in terms of reputation, value, respect and trust if you take away either of the pillars? 10

11 Professional Engineers Act of Ontario Under the Act, PEO licenses and disciplines individual professional engineers and consulting engineering firms, determines admission requirements to the profession, adherence to the Code of Ethics and the use of professional titles, like P.Eng., "Consulting Engineer" and the term "Engineer" itself. Now, let s get to the legal issues behind all the feel good aspects of engineering. The Professional Engineers Act regulates professional engineering in Ontario. This Act was first enacted in It was a registration law only and provided engineers with the right to title. In 1937, a newly revised Act upgraded the standards and subsequently the level of responsibility of a professional engineer and included the right to practice. The collapse of bridges in the 1930s convinced the government of the day, that the public was indeed put at risk when poorly skilled practitioners practiced engineering. Under the Act, PEO licenses and disciplines individual professional engineers and professional engineering firms and determines admission requirements to the profession, adherence to the Code of Ethics, the use of professional titles, like P. Eng., "Consulting Engineer" and the term "Engineer" itself. 11

12 Self-regulation Self-regulation is a privilege granted to certain occupational groups and is tied to specific statutory requirements. In engineering, these requirements are set out in the Professional Engineers Act and its supporting regulations. PEO is governed by elected members of the profession and government appointees. These elected and appointed representatives form a governing Council that is responsible for administering the profession under the Professional Engineers Act. Professional self-regulation means that PEO is governed by elected members of the profession as well as government appointees from the lay community - within strict legal parameters. These elected and appointed representatives form a governing Council that is responsible for administering the profession under the Act. The PEO president, which is an annually elected position, chairs this governing Council. Like a corporate board of directors the Council is responsible for setting policy. To support this governing structure, PEO has a permanent staff of about 80 led by a CEO, Kim Allen, who manages the operation. Another 1000 volunteers from our membership participate on committees, local chapters and a score of task groups. 12

13 Professionalism means Leadership Leadership Instilling trust through having the conscience, courage and conviction to make decisions that reflect professional values and reinforce trust. Accepting not only responsibility for your decisions, but also personal accountability. Professionalism is about leadership, about instilling trust through having the conscience, courage and conviction to make decisions that reflect values and reinforce trust. It's also about accepting not only responsibility for your decisions, but also personal accountability. Today, many engineers in emerging fields must manage similar risks to the public as those working in traditional areas and it is therefore just as important for them to be licensed. Up until a very few years ago, most persons involved in the computer industry were computer scientists. Today, new categories of engineering disciplines have sprung from that scientific stream. Identifying and quantifying the differences between the pure science and the engineering specialities required intensive study by teams of experts in the industry and acceptance by the regulating authorities. Basically, all disciplines of engineering require training and knowledge in two areas beyond the scientific principles - control systems & economics. An engineer must be aware of the social 13

14 Leadership means ethics Engineers should work to moral and ethical standards which: Show respect for individuals and their property Help others Do not cause harm to others Provide equal opportunity Conserve the environment Of course, just like a building that requires a solid foundation - leadership is built on the foundation of ethics and ethical behaviour. These ideas may seem like basic common sense to you. If they do, congratulations, you are already there! If not, it is never too soon to adopt a code of conduct based on these concepts. You will soon find that others will begin to deal with you in the same way that you do with them and the level of ethical behaviour will increase within your surroundings. This is a good experiment that I urge to to try! 14

15 PEO Code of Ethics Protect public welfare and the environment Be fair and loyal Follow high ideals Be faithful and honourable Avoid or disclose any conflict of interest Expose unethical conduct Following PEOs code of ethics will support the earlier self-evident leadership qualities. Again, although you are years away from becoming a licensed member of PEO, it will stand you well to adopt these principles. 15

16 PEO Code of Ethics Practitioners shall: Regard public welfare as paramount Enhance public regard for the profession Express only well founded opinions Act as a faithful agent or trustee Disclose conflicts of interest immediately Cooperate with other professionals Here is a more detailed look at the Code. 16

17 PEO Code of Ethics Review another professional s work only with that professional s knowledge Not injure another professional s reputation Not pay or accept bribes or commissions Give proper credit for engineering work Expose unprofessional, dishonest or unethical conduct by other practitioners And again, another more detailed look. 17

18 PEO Code of Ethics Bottom Line Being a professional carries certain legal and ethical responsibilities. Recognizing ethical dilemmas and determining actions to address them are important skills for professionals. Your professional colleagues can assist you to make ethically sound decisions. So what is the bottom line? If you want to experience the benefits of belonging to a respected profession, you have to follow the rules of such. And these are not as hard as you may think. Looking at the statistics for engineers who have misbehaved, very few have done so when compared to other professions. In fact, the order of magnitude is down by one or even two when you compare to lawyers and accountants (case in point Enron). The interesting part is that the same things that make you a good citizen and team player will also make you a good engineer. It may be difficult to recognize an ethical issue, especially as you begin your careers, but keep in mind that as part of a profession, you are not alone and you will be able to rely on other more senior members to point you in the right direction. Probably the most important one to remember is to disclose all potential conflicts of interest and remember to discuss issues that bother you with your supervisor. It s also a very good idea to find a mentor within the profession and have regular discussions on this topic. 18

19 The Future of Engineering In the old economy, engineers build the asset base; the plants and equipment. In the New Economy, they ARE the asset base, because it's a company's knowledge - its intellectual property - that really counts." Nuala Beck You may have heard of the phrase paradigm shift. I am about to take you on one in this presentation and look at the serious topic of engineering in the real world. Paradigm shift essentially means that due to rapidly accelerating technological changes, all the rules and institutions developed by our society over the past several centuries are basically being reinvented. You may also have heard of the term, New Economy. This was coined by a famous Canadian economist, Nuala Beck. It has been adopted around the globe to mean the economic sector based on technology and the development of knowledge. It includes the telecommunications industry, new media firms, the internet and others in our knowledge-based' economy. Because of these trends, you will probably have the opportunity to work in a dynamic system of innovation, where the contributions of engineers can be different from those economic systems which are based more on commerce alone. 19

20 Myopic Systems of Innovation Technological investments undertaken in response to well-defined market need. Managers with finance experience rank higher in terms of power and prestige than those with technical competence. Science and engineering education focused and specialized within narrow, specific topics. (Concepts prevalent in countries such as US & UK) I m sure you have heard of the concept, necessity being the mother of invention. In the classical western world, engineers take scientific principles and apply them to create items to fill the needs or demands of the economy. In this type of economy, engineers have become servants of the bean counters. Innovations based on safety and environmental issues are not necessary accepted. Engineers are often told, We will build it if it makes good, economic sense for this fiscal year. Resources are not valued per se, but only if the marketplace reflects it. Of course, this only works when you have abundant resources. The true cost of such things as pollution are not fully realized in this type of analysis. This is why you don t see full-scale solar and wind energy systems in place today. 20

21 Dynamic Systems of Innovation Emphasis on longer-term performance of investments in science and technology Education system for scientists and engineers provides exposure to greater breadth of knowledge (Concepts underlying engineering in countries such as Germany and Japan) The world economy is changing so quickly, the concepts employed in economically crippled countries such as Germany and Japan after the second world war, are quickly becoming the new norm. This means that the traditional behaviour of engineers responding to existing market demands can no longer be the direction to follow. We must be able to think outside of the box. We must be aware of the greater picture of engineering and how our work affects not only the current bottom line of the company, but the future of the resource base. 21

22 Canada Canada has traditionally been a resource-based nation. In the "new economy" sector, which is becoming increasingly important, dynamic systems of innovation are critical. We in Canada have had the luxury over the past three centuries to behave as if the resources were all renewable. Neither is this true in general nor is it true when you consider the world s population. We have to think at a fundamental scale of economy as the world s resources become much smaller with respect to this overall increase in the world population. 22

23 Where is the Engineering Work? Low: Basic Science Research, Customer Support, Trouble-Shooting Moderate: Production Process Management, Specialized Solutions for Customers/Clients High: Design of Product or Process - Canadian Council of Professional Engineers So, where are engineers likely to find themselves in this new economy? The Canadian Council of Professional Engineers, which is the national federation of provincial professional engineering associations, recently surveyed employers in emerging disciplines about what skills are important for engineers to advance in their careers. The employers said it is just as important for you as an engineer to be able to work well in a team and communicate your ideas as it is to have top technical competency. These low/medium/high items refer to advancement opportunities, level of professionalism and, surprise, remuneration. All of which come together again in the long run. 23

24 "It is important for engineers to have the right blend of technical and non-technical skills. If a candidate applied to us and had A+ on all his courses, he would not be useful here, unless he had other nontechnical skills to offer. We are looking for strong team players." IT Manufacturer - 2,500 employees Here is a quote from an industry leader that you should keep in mind. 24

25 "We will take people with two years of experience and the right 'soft skills' - especially the ability to work in a team-based environment - over someone who has 15 years of experience, but is lacking the soft skills - Publicly Traded Environment Employer And here is another. Notice they all seem to say the same thing? Teamwork and communication are obvious in these quotes, but what are the other soft-skills that they are referring to? 25

26 Important Non-technical Skills Team-related skills General communications skills Writing skills Presentation skills Business understanding Leadership skills As I mentioned, teamwork and communication are at the top of the list, but these are quickly followed by writing and presentation skills. Imagine my surprise when I realized that probably the most important courses in my engineering career have been all of the english literature and creative writing that I took throughout high school and as non-technical courses at university. At least 50% of my time is spent writing or rather, typing. (Thankfully I have very good keyboarding skills!) When I graduated, s did not exist, so PCs were mostly used to prepare technical reports. Today, these reports still form a large % of my work but s have taken over a lot of what used to be done by phone, fax, more formal memos and physical meetings. They have greatly increased the number of communications per day. The final two items, Business understanding & Leadership, well, haven t we been discussing those as well? This brings us full circle back to ethical behaviour and respect for both people and 26

27 Summary Broaden your knowledge base. Stay current and evolve to be creative and innovative in a dynamic economy. Learn to make responsible, ethical decisions and accept personal accountability for them. Start participating in the profession. Join PEO as a student member. During your educational career, I would encourage you to broaden your knowledge base because the ability to be creative and innovative in a dynamic economy will depend on your ability to stay current and evolve. Many surveys have found that the technical skills that you learn will only be valuable for five years after you graduate. The most important aspect about becoming a professional engineer is learning to make responsible, ethical decisions and accepting personal accountability for them. To start you on that path, start participating in the profession and join PEO as a student member. Thank you for your attention. 27