DP10

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

DP10

Should Engineer A continue sealing plans under a general managerial oversight model, restructure the firm's sealing practice to require subordinate registered engineers to affix their own seals to segments they prepare, or decline to seal any plans he has not personally reviewed in detail?

Engineer A, serving as Chief Engineer of a large engineering firm, seals plans prepared by subordinate engineers — both registered and non-registered — without conducting detailed reviews of each document, relying instead on general supervisory oversight and confidence in subordinates' competence. The core decision is whether Engineer A should continue sealing under this managerial model, restructure the firm's sealing architecture to distribute accountability to subordinate registered engineers, or decline to seal documents he has not personally reviewed in sufficient detail.

Require each subordinate registered engineer to affix their own seal to the technical segments they personally prepare, while Engineer A assumes the coordinating engineer role under Section II.2.c — exercising genuine responsible charge over project integration, design requirements, and coherence — and declines to seal any non-registered engineer work without direct control and personal supervision.

Retain the current practice in which Engineer A seals all firm plans based on his conceptual direction, design-requirement setting, and consultative input, treating the Chief Engineer Managerial Responsible Charge Standard as sufficient to satisfy responsible charge obligations given the organizational scale and demonstrated competence of subordinates.

Implement a mandatory detailed review checkpoint for each project at a defined completion milestone before Engineer A affixes his seal — examining design calculations, specifications, and drawings for conformity to design intent and applicable standards — even if this reduces firm output or requires hiring additional registered engineers to share the review burden.

Engineer A