Question No.1 (BEM essay)

Question No.1  As a young engineer, you are instructed by your employer to prepare a bankable report for a prospective project based on the information provided by your employer. You have no access to ascertain the reliability of the information provided. In light of the IEM Regulations on Professional Conduct, how do you advise your employer so that you may complete your assignment with integrity.  Answer A  A challenge that an engineer would probably face f ace in his or her routine work is instructed by employer to prepare a bankable report with no access to ascertain the reliability of the information provided. However the limited information provided could be the only information that the employer had obtained as well. There are four statements clearly written in IEM Regulation on Professional Conduct that we can apply if we face such a situation. 1) A member shall at all times take care to ensure that his work work and the products of his work constitute no avoidable danger of death or injury or ill health to any person 2) A member called upon to give an opinion in in his professional capacity shall, to the best of his ability, give an opinion that is objective and reliable. 3) A member shall inform inform his employer in writing writing of any conflict between between my personal interest and faithful services to his employer. 4) A member whose professional advice advice is not accepted, accepted, we shall take take all reasonable measures to ensure that the person overruling or neglecting our advice is aware of the danger and consequences in which we believe will result from such overruling and neglect. Therefore we shall take all reasonable measures to explain the consequences consequences of the inaccurate information to employer that may affect the results both positively and negatively. The explanation of consequences shall not only be limited to the consequences faced by the employer or their client, but shall also include any consequences to the other minority stakeholders of the project, which may include the local community or the surrounding natural environment. In order to complete the report, I would list down the required information that are not provided and to discuss with my employer the importance and necessity of the missing data. If the employer has similar doubt about the provided information, by virtue of professionalism the employer shall approach the client to clarify the vagueness and request for more information. I would also seek advises from specialist, IEM or BEM representatives who is specialize in the field and might experience the same problem before. Their input could reduce the uncertainty and improve my competency in technical knowledge.

 All discussion will be noted down and put in record for future reference. If the required information is still not provided due to some reason, I will still proceed with preparing the report while clearly stating in the report that the reliability of the base information and data provided cannot be ascertained and the outcome and recommendations of the report may be affected, either positively or negatively should the baseline information change or be amended. On top of that, I would advise my employer in writing that the consequences might include legal implication resulting in potential negative effect to any person, project or community. Should the client choose to ignore our professional advice, I will request myself to be removed from the assignment and advise my employer to withdraw from the bidding on the basis of non-compliance to IEM’s Regulations on Professional Conduct, engineer shall not undertake responsibility as professional engineer which he does not believe himself competent to discharge. IEM Regulations on Professional Conduct should always be referred whenever doubts occur. This could prevent me as a young engineer to undertake actions that are unethical but also to promote high integrity and esteem.