A professional engineer is obligated to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. Since 1934, NSPE has served as an advocate for licensed professional engineers across the nation and assists them in upholding the duty of protecting the public. The Society also supports members and state societies to combat efforts to devalue engineering licensure and to expand the role of licensed engineers to improve public safety.
9/16/2015
NSPE Warns: Proposed Model Code Could Increase Litigation Against PEs
An effort by the World Federation of Engineering Organizations to address climate change and infrastructure resiliency could create negative consequences for professional engineers, says NSPE.
NSPE believes that the WFEO’s Model Code of Practice document is, at its core, a thoughtful document on an important issue: how to address the increasing challenges posed by climate change to infrastructure resiliency. However, the standards and provisions within the draft document could establish a new standard of care for professional engineers that far exceeds the existing duties and responsibilities of the professional engineer.
The Society is urging the American Association of Engineering Societies’ representative to the WFEO to recommend that the document be modified to address the provisions that will expose professional engineers to potential increased claims and litigation.
▶ Read NSPE's Letter to AAES (PDF)
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NSPE Urges ABET to Emphasize Licensure’s Role in Engineering Curriculum (January 2017)
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NSPE Promotes Licensure Standards in Letter to ABET (December 2015)
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NSPE Questions Virginia Court’s Decision on Liability (April 2015)
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60 Minutes Statement (March 2015)
The National Society of Professional Engineers applauds CBS’s 60 Minutes’ news story (“The Storm After the Storm,” March 1, 2015) about altered professional engineering reports on homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The 60 Minutes segment brought to the public’s attention the important health and safety role that ethical and licensed professional engineers play in investigating structural failures caused by hurricanes and other natural disasters. Importantly, the 60 Minutes story also highlighted the serious ramifications and consequences associated with the unlicensed practice of engineering.NSPE does not have independent knowledge of the facts in this case and acknowledges that the issues reported in the 60 Minutes story are under active investigation by federal and state authorities. Regardless of the outcome of those investigations, NSPE wants to recognize the engineer who made the hard ethical call and did the right and courageous thing, honoring his duty to the public as a licensed professional, by bringing what he discovered to those authorities’ attention.
NSPE, which has a more than 80-year history of dedication to the public safety, health, and welfare, eagerly awaits the results of those investigations by the proper authorities. We firmly support all professional engineers who exhibit the highest standards of honesty and integrity in carrying out their work, ever mindful of their obligation to hold the public health, safety, and welfare above all other considerations. Watch “The Storm After the Storm” at http://www.cbsnews.com/60-minutes/
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NSPE’s Top Licensure Priorities for 2015 (Report to NCEES Participating Organizations Liaison Committee, March 2015)
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Defending the License (June 2014, PE)
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New York Society Backs Licensure Bill (August/September 2014, PE)
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Levee Certifications Program Puts PEs at Risks, says NSPE (August/September 2014, PE)
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West Virginia Society Supports Law Requiring PEs for Storage Tank Inspections (May 2014, PE)
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Pennsylvania PEs Take Aim at Industry Exemption (April 2014, PE)
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North Carolina Society Backs PE Role in Fast-Tracking Bill Signed by Governor (November 2013, PE)
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NSPE Calls for Licensure Flexibility (August/September 2013, PE)