Professional Ethics in Engineering 3

[Art]

A brief version of the oath for the Order of the Engineer could be stated as follows:

“As an Engineer, I will carefully apply my skills and knowledge for the public good and according to the Golden Rule, our code of ethics. I will participate in none but honest enterprise and persuade others to accept my professional practice based on these principles.”

 

[RDK]

In Canada we have a ritual called the "Calling of the Engineer". It originated in the 1920's and the iron rings worn by most Canadian engineers is part of this ritual. If you know any Canadian engineers look at the little finger of their working hand.

While the ritual is private there is an obligation for adherence to high professional ethics. The ritual is held near the final year of engineering studies and has lots of symbolic signifance.

While the ritual is not the main point the seriousness of the ritual and the voluntary taking of the oath, which is witnessed by the ring does have meaning.



See also

http://www.ironring.ca

for more information.

 

[leanne]

The iron ring thing in Canada is kind of a neat symbol. It's too bad we don't have a symbol like that in the US.

The NSPE (US) has a published Code of Ethics:

http://www.nspe.org/ethics/eh1-code.asp

 

[jstickley]

leanne --

We DO have that in the U.S. Several engineers I know have participated in the Order of the Engineer ceremony and proudly wear the ring as a symbol.

 

[TheTick]

The iron ring sorta reminds me of the Rearden metal bracelet in Atlas Shrugged.

I may make you feel, but I can't make you think.

 

[PM]

jstickley

Could you tell me more about this Order of the Engineer that you have in the US? Where, how, who is eligile, who sponsors it, etc?

Regards,

 

[dig1]

PM,

Here is the website link.

http://www.order-of-the-engineer.org/

 

[jstickley]

PM --

Looks like dig1 supplied the link while I was typing my post.

The Order of the Engineer is open to any licensed engineer (or graduate from an ABET accredited engineering school) who is willing to participate in the ceremony, take an oath that basically says that you will practice engineering with integrity, and pay a one-time fee to cover the cost of a certificate and ring.

This is very similar to the ritual held in Canada, but in the U.S. it's a stainless steel ring rather than wrought iron. As much as I hate to admit it, our friends north of the border started such an organization first (we only lagged behind by 44 years).

The website has more information, as well as links to local "links" (chapters).

 

[TD2K]

The ring in Canada I got in 1981 was stainless steel. I don't think wrought iron has been used for a while, the person administering our 'calling' mentioned they used to be made of iron (and had to be replaced ever so often ) but I got the feeling the changeover was a while before 1981.

 

[RDK]

I got mine in 1977 and am still wearing the original.

It's stainless steel, but still called an iron ring.



Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng

Construction Project Management
From conception to completion

http://www.kitsonengineering.com

 

[miner00]

I had to replace my first one after a volleyball game.
Unfortunately there is not a prominent knuckle on your pinkie finger to keep it in place. Glad it is only stainless!

The ring is a great reminder though of all the reasons that I became an engineer.

It is amazing how many of them you start to notice once you know what they mean.

miner

 

[PSE]

I have been practicing engineering for some 15 years and had only heard about The Order of the Engineer through postings on this site. I will be inducted next month.

 

[PM]

My dad's ring was iron. His first ring (1944, from the scrap of the second collapse of the Quebec River Bridge) corroded off of his finger in 1957. His replacement was also iron, but when he lost that one in 1964, it was replaced with stainless steel. My ring is also stainless (graduated 1975).

I wonder if you guys know why the ring is iron and more importantly why it's worn on the working hand? I've heard some wild explanations over the years that are all wrong.

Regards,

 

[PSE]

For those wanting to know more.

http://www.order-of-the-engineer.org/

 

[PM]

The original source for the first iron rings was from scrap steel from significant engineering projects of the past, (often associated with fatalities and property damage). The most notable source was the second Quebec River Bridge collapse that killed a number of workers.

The essential point, among others, is that all of an engineers's work is touched by the ring (ie. working hand)which itself includes the remnants of a structure where the engineering was inadequate to prevent fatalities and property damage. This is supposed to be a poignant reminder of the consequences of incompetent professional work.

Regards,

 

[electricpete]

A ring for the secret order of the engineer? Sounds like a Tolkein novel. You guys are joking, right?

 

[TD2K]

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.



Umm, nope. Why do you ask? Are you not one of the chosen ;-)

 

[RDK]

The Canadian Iron Ring is NOT a secret order. The Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer is however considered a private commitment made by an engineer in front of his or her fellow engineers. Therefore there is a policy of no publicity surrounding the ritual.

I will say, since it was written by Rudyard Kipling, that the ritual is full of symbolic meanings. It simply is a remainder of the higher obligations to public safety mandated by our profession.

Then we all went to the bar.






Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng

Construction Project Management
From conception to completion

http://www.kitsonengineering.com

 

[k111er]

^
Rick, you said it all!
It is not a secret order, but a private commitment, made in the presence of peers. Then we all went to the bar.

 

[RDK]

The funniest part of it was that we were wearing suits in shall we say not the nicest bar in the city. As the day wore on people drifted away and by 5PM there were only two guys left. One was the quiet unobtrusive type. I actually think this was the first time he ever went into a bar.

As they were leaving, one of the regulars at that particular establishment was walking in, took one look at these two guys wearing suits and said “Think you’re a smart guy with a suit, try this” He took a swing and broke the guys two front teeth. He looked like a hockey player until the dentist was finished.


Rick Kitson MBA P.Eng

Construction Project Management
From conception to completion

http://www.kitsonengineering.com