NSPE Code of Ethics
Definition
The ethical code of the National Society of Professional Engineers (US), built around six fundamental canons, the first of which requires engineers to hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.
- Issuing body
- National Society of Professional Engineers (US)
- Structure
- Six fundamental canons
- Canon 1 priority
- Public safety, health, and welfare held paramount
- Scope
- Applies to professional engineering practice generally
Common questions
How does the NSPE Code of Ethics apply specifically to a forensic engineer?+
A forensic engineer giving expert testimony is still bound by the same duty to hold public safety paramount and to give honest, objective opinions, which constrains them from shading a technical conclusion to favour whichever party retained them.
What happens if an engineer's conduct violates the code?+
The NSPE code itself is not law, but many state licensing boards incorporate similar ethical duties into their regulations, so a serious violation can trigger board discipline including licence suspension or revocation.
Related terms
- ASCE Code of Ethics
- The code of the American Society of Civil Engineers, structured around four fundamental principles (justice, sustainability, competence, and public safety) and supporting...
- Confirmation Bias
- The cognitive tendency to search for, interpret, favour, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or...
- Hindsight Bias
- The tendency to view a past outcome as having been more predictable than it was, because the outcome is now known. In...
- Professional Registration
- A state-issued licence or registration that permits an engineer to offer engineering services to the public. In the US this is the...
- Whistleblower Obligation
- The duty, found in the NSPE and ASCE codes and some statutory provisions, to inform appropriate parties when an engineer becomes aware...