Standardisation is a very interesting process as it requires high-level engineering skills, outstanding communication skills, transparency and ethics. At the same time, every engineer commits to respect a certain deontology and, most of the time, this commitment is formalized through an Ethics Charter.
Let’s take the example for the French Engineer’s Ethics Charter enforced by the IESF (Société des Ingénieurs et Scientifiques de France):
ENGINEERS’S ETHICS CHARTER
Translated from French
Original version at https://www.iesf.fr/offres/doc_inline_src/752/150731_Charte_ethique.pdf
A. THE ENGINEER IN THE SOCIETY
- The engineer is a responsible citizen ensuring the link between science, technology and the human community; she/he is involved in civic actions aimed at the common good.
- The engineer disseminates her/his knowledge and transmits her/his experience to the service of society.
- The engineer is aware of and raises awareness of the impact of technological achievements on the environment.
- The engineer is part of a “sustainable development” approach.
B. THE ENGINEER AND HER/HIS SKILLS
- The engineer is a source of innovation and a driving force for progress.
- The engineer is objective and methodical in her/his approach and judgments.
- The engineer regularly updates her/his knowledge and skills according to the evolution of science and technology.
- The engineer listens to her/his partners, is open to other disciplines.
- The engineer knows how to admit her/his mistakes, take them into account and learn from them for the future.
C. THE ENGINEER AND HER/HIS PROFESSION
- The engineer makes full use of her/his skills, while being aware of their limitations.
- The engineer loyally respects the culture and values of the company and those of its partners and customers. She/He cannot act contrary to her/his professional conscience.
- The engineer respects the opinions of her/his professional partners.
- The engineer behaves loyally and fairly towards her/his employees without any discrimination. It encourages them to develop their skills and helps them to develop in their profession.
D. THE ENGINEER AND HER/HIS MISSIONS
- The engineer seeks to achieve the best result by making the best use of the resources at her/his disposal and by integrating the human, economic, financial, social and environmental dimensions.
- The engineer takes into account all the constraints imposed by her/his missions, and in particular those relating to health, safety and the environment.
- The engineer integrates in her/his analyses and decisions all the legitimate interests for which she/he is responsible, as well as the consequences of all kinds on people and property.
- The engineer is rigorous in the analysis, processing method, decision-making and choice of solution.
- The engineer, faced with an unforeseen situation, takes immediate action to deal with it under the best possible conditions, and properly informs the appropriate people.
I believe that you do recognize yourself in most of the above statements.
However, this charter is incomplete because it is mainly governing the code of conduct of the engineer during the execution of her/his daily tasks inside her/his company.
This text does not give clear guidance for the engineer to behave within collaborative tasks where competition and ethics might be conflicting
What do you think?
