LICENSING OF CORPORATIONS
A corporation may apply for a license to practice engineering or geoscience as a legal entity. However, the goal of licensure is to safeguard the public from human characteristics like incompetence, negligence, and professional misconduct. Who is granted a license to offer engineering or geoscience services is the obvious question that emerges.
The Act resolves this issue by requiring each corporation to get a Permit to Practise in practically every province and territory (also called a Certificate of Authorization). For the corporation to be granted this permit, the professional engineer or geoscientist must be acting in a supervisory capacity and taking personal responsibility for the corporation’s services. Additionally, the corporation needs liability insurance. Additionally, the corporation’s engineers and geoscientists are typically required to take part in a program for ongoing competence (as discussed in Chapter 3).
Professional engineers and geoscientists employed by organizations with existing licenses to practice (or certificates) do not need to apply for individual licenses, and organizations that do not provide such services to the general public do not require licenses either.
But in some states, like Ontario, a Certificate of Authorization is necessary for any entity—individual, partnership, or corporation—that offers or renders professional engineering services to the general public.
27 Before offering such services to the public, an engineer must first discuss the matter with the provincial Association. An engineer may be breaching the law if they work “moonlighting” at night or on the weekends without a license (or certificate).
THE PROFESSIONAL SEAL
An “seal” (often a rubber stamp), which the engineer or geoscientist uses to approve documents, is also given with a licence when an Association grants it.
Before releasing any final drawings, specifications, plans, reports, or other comparable papers for action, the expert must sign, seal, and date them. Do not cover the seal; instead, write your name, the date, and your signature next to it.
Both seals are used when two or more professionals work together on various project components. Next to the seal, each professional outlines in writing the scope of their responsibilities.
The seal signifies your approval of the document and has significant legal significance. A seal indicates who was in charge and guarantees that it was properly made. Securing only finished papers Documents that are preliminary must be marked “preliminary” or “not for construction” and are not required to be sealed. When draft documents are considered as approved final designs, costly mistakes might happen.
A document should only be sealed by the engineer or geoscientist who prepared or approved it. The seal suggests intimate familiarity with and authority over the material. Use the seal only when necessary.
A professional may be charged with professional misconduct and held accountable for damages if they intentionally sign or seal a document that they did not personally prepare (or that was made by assistants under their supervision).
When a superior requests that you “examine,” “sign,” and “seal” documents that someone else has already produced, a potential issue arises. Such documents ought to bear the engineer’s seal, either from the person who created them or from the person who oversaw them.
If the paperwork were created by a non-professional, perhaps an engineer should have been supervising the project. Professionals who signed and sealed documents created by others that afterwards turned out to have severe defects have been the subject of numerous disciplinary cases.
Chapter 6 provides a definition of the effort involved in “checking” a document. It might be necessary to perform the analysis completely twice for a proper check. Naturally, it is appropriate for you to take responsibility for the analysis if you repeat it. Never, however, provide your approval before doing a comprehensive, independent assessment of the paper. (Chapter 6 examines electrical seals and provides much more information on seals.)
THE CODE OF ETHICS
Every provincial and territorial Act mandates a high standard of professional conduct, which is defined by the Code of Ethics. Natural justice, common sense, and fundamental ethical principles are all included in the Code of Ethics. General obligations of professionals toward the public, employers or clients, other professionals, the profession, and oneself are outlined in the code.
By requiring professional conduct, the code safeguards the public and serves as the foundation for penalizing dishonest practitioners.
The code should be studied and understood by all professionals, although it is not required to memorize it. The majority of professionals conduct themselves ethically using common sense, adhere to the code naturally, and are unafraid of being accused of professional misconduct. Appendix B contains the Code of Ethics for each Act. Numerous case studies in this textbook reference the rules, and Chapter 11 analyzes the codes’ ethical foundation.
In addition to the Code of Ethics, there is also a far older voluntary pledge known as the Obligation of the Engineer, which Rudyard Kipling wrote and first used in 1925. Engineers who have taken this pledge can be clearly identified by the iron ring worn on the working hand. In recent years, earth science rings designed for geoscientists have become a component of a ritual akin to the iron ring ceremonial.
(Chapter 5 describes these ceremonies in greater detail.) Wearing an earth science or iron ring does not imply that the wearer has earned a degree; rather, it signifies that the wearer took part in the ring ceremony and made a voluntary commitment to uphold high standards in their professional endeavors.
Do not mix up the Obligation and the Code of Ethics, despite the fact that they serve the same objective. The Code of Ethics mandates high standards, while the Obligation is a voluntary commitment to high standards. According to the Act, violations of the Code of Ethics are punishable by discipline.
ENFORCEMENT AND DISCIPLINE
The Associations must make sure that only competent individuals are practicing in order to protect the welfare of the public. Furthermore, it is occasionally required to penalize the few engineers or geoscientists who engage in unethical behavior. Each Association has a staff that handles complaints, prosecutes those who practice under false pretenses, and handles any grievances against licensed members in order to carry out the Act’s enforcement. Chapter 4 provides a detailed explanation of these functions, however the following is a succinct summary.
Enforcement
Each Association carries out the Act’s enforcement by bringing legal action against anyone who practice engineering or geoscience without a license or who use the titles “professional engineer,” “professional geoscientist,” “professional geologist,” or “professional geophysicist” (or the French equivalents). A license from a provincial or territorial association of engineers and/or geoscientists (in Quebec, the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec or the Ordre des géologues du Québec) is required in order to use any of these titles.
Professional Misconduct and Discipline
Each Act mandates that the Association discipline, suspend, or expel members who engage in unethical behavior. Professional misconduct is often defined by each Act as carelessness, ineptitude, or corruption, as well as a major transgression of the Association’s Code of Ethics. Since the codes supported by many technical societies are actually voluntary guidelines for behavior, it is crucial to distinguish between your Association’s Code of Ethics (which is enforced under the Act) and them.
Peer review, information gathering or investigation, and hearings for members accused of misconduct make up the three steps of the disciplinary process. Final decisions are made by a Discipline Committee that is chosen by council.