ECU 500: Engineering Practice and Ethics First Semester Examination

Engineering practice and ethics paper for the bachelor of science in engineering degrees, sat on Thursday the sixth of February 2020 from eight to ten, in two parts: part A for the electrical, biomedical and mechanical students and part B for the civil and biosystems students. In part A, question one explains the role of ethics for engineers, expounds the requirement that engineers shall act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees and asks what that means in practice and how far it limits the engineer's role, sets the role of a consulting engineer in project implementation against that of a contractor, and works through disagreement between a consulting engineer and client and between an engineer and a contractor he may be supervising - the difference between the two kinds, how each is resolved, and how the client's interest is affected. Question two takes the recent floods and hurricanes across Central and North America, Asia and Africa: what engineers should do to reduce such loss of life and property, which engineers have a professional interest in such incidents, why all engineers should take an interest, and an example of a remedy or intervention that can minimise loss of life and property in countries at risk. Question three separates a partnership from a company and an engineering company from one trading in goods such as stationery, explains why those differences are necessary, and gives the function of a board of directors. Question four contrasts the challenges of an engineer employed by a large organisation with one in private practice, asks whether the rules of ethics apply to the employed engineer differently, and whether an engineering firm should pass to family members on death or disability including in restricting circumstances. Question five explains why laws are required in society, defines intellectual property and the process of obtaining its protection, and how a dispute in a contract is resolved on an engineering project. Part B asks for the philosophical definition of the engineer and a detailed description of the objectives of the Code of Ethics for Engineers in Kenya under its fundamental principles, fundamental canons, rules of practice and professional obligations; works through a multi-storey building that collapsed during construction in Nairobi county and how the design structural engineer, the engineer who approved the design drawings and the engineer supervising construction could each have contributed; and sets a government project whose land is allocated between civil servant, middle income and low income housing with schools, a hospital, a shopping centre and a police station, asking how suitable consulting engineers would be identified to carry out planning, design and supervision of the roads, water supply and sewerage, how their brief would be developed, how the tender would be run and a suitable contractor identified, and how construction would be kept to standard specifications.