DP1

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

DP1

Should Engineer A continue sealing plans prepared by subordinates on the basis of general direction and confidence in their competence, or must he either conduct a detailed review of each plan before sealing or restructure sealing authority so that responsible charge is actually exercised?

Engineer A, as Chief Engineer of a large engineering firm, seals plans prepared by both registered and non-registered subordinate engineers without conducting a detailed review or check of the design, justifying this practice by citing organizational scale and confidence in his subordinates' competence. The core decision is whether Engineer A may ethically affix his professional seal under these conditions or must instead either conduct the requisite detailed review or restructure the sealing authority so that responsible charge is genuinely exercised before any seal is affixed.

Engineer A institutes a mandatory, substantive review of each project's completed plans at a defined milestone before affixing his seal — examining design calculations, specifications, and drawings for conformity to design intent, applicable standards, and public safety requirements — accepting that this will slow firm output and may require reducing project volume or hiring additional registered engineers to share the review burden.

Engineer A continues his current practice of sealing plans prepared by subordinates on the basis of general direction, design-concept involvement, and confidence in subordinate competence, treating his managerial engagement as sufficient to constitute responsible charge given the organizational realities of a large firm.

Engineer A requires each registered subordinate engineer to affix their own professional seal to the technical segments they personally prepared, invoking the Section II.2.c coordinating engineer model, so that Engineer A's coordinating seal rests on formally attributed segment-level professional accountability rather than on unverified trust — while Engineer A retains responsibility for project integration, coherence, and conformity to overall design requirements.

Engineer A Chief Engineer Sealing Supervisor