DP1

DecisionPoint
http://proethica.org/ontology/cases#DecisionPoint

DP1

Should Engineer A accept the county surveyor appointment, decline it outright, or proactively disclose his chemical engineering background and domain incompetence to the county commissioners before any acceptance decision is made?

Engineer A, a licensed PE with education and experience exclusively in chemical engineering, is offered appointment as county surveyor by the county commissioners. The position requires oversight of surveying reports and highway improvement projects — domains outside Engineer A's competence. Before responding to the appointment offer, Engineer A must decide whether to accept, decline, or proactively disclose the competence gap to the appointing authority.

Engineer A recognizes that his chemical engineering background does not provide the competence required to meaningfully oversee surveying reports and highway improvement projects, and formally declines the county surveyor appointment before acceptance, citing the NSPE Code's requirement to practice only within areas of competence.

Engineer A affirmatively discloses to the county commissioners, prior to any acceptance, that his education and experience are confined to chemical engineering and do not encompass surveying or highway engineering, enabling the commissioners to make an informed appointment decision and fulfilling Engineer A's independent ethical disclosure obligation.

Engineer A accepts the county surveyor position on the basis that he holds a valid PE license satisfying the county ordinance's credential requirement, without disclosing the domain competence gap or independently verifying that chemical engineering background is sufficient for the oversight duties of the role.

Engineer A (Chemical PE Offered County Surveyor Appointment)