Part 2:

Topic III. Professional Practice

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I. Professionalism (7 – 10 Questions)

II. Ethics (17 – 21 Questions)

III. Professional Practice (27 – 32 Questions)

IV. Law for Professional Practice (23 – 28 Questions)

V. Professional Law (7 – 10 Questions)

VI. Regulation of Members & Discipline Process

(7 – 10 Questions)

(Numbers may vary to make room for Ontario-specific questions)

2

NPPE Syllabus

Ethics Textbook:▪ Canadian Professional Engineering and Geoscience: Practice

and Ethics, by Gordon Andrews, Patricia Shaw, and John

McPhee

Law Textbooks:▪ Practical Law of Architecture, Engineering, and Geoscience, by

Brian Samuels and Doug Sanders

▪ Law for Professional Engineers by Don Marston

PEO Resources:▪ Ontario Professional Engineers Act & Regulation 941

▪ PEO Guidelines to Professional Practice

3

1. Professional Accountability for Work, Workplace Issues, Job

Responsibilities, and Standards of Practice

2. The Role and Responsibilities of Professionals to Employers and

Clients

3. Relations with Other Professionals and Non-Professionals;

Business Practices

4. Statutory and Non-Statutory Standards and Codes of Practice

5. Risk Management, Insurance, Quality Management and Due

Diligence

6. Environmental Responsibilities and Sustainable Development

7. Use of Software, Computers and Internet-based Tools; Liability for

Software Errors

8. Document Authentication and Control

9. Duty to Inform; Whistleblowing

10. Communication

4

Professional responsibility for work▪ How it comes into being

▪ Where it rests

▪ Responsibility for work of junior members and subordinates

▪ Responsibility for work created by several members in multiple disciplines

The corporate world▪ Corporate ethics and pressures on the professional

▪ Corporate responsibilities and loyalty vs professional responsibilities

▪ Confidentiality vs professional responsibilities, transparency or accountability

▪ Confidentiality or ownership of data and knowledge

Due diligence

Globalization▪ Responsibilities of international work (when laws differ, what governs?)

▪ Responsibilities of using products and knowledge developed internationally

Legality▪ Practise within the boundaries and intents of the law

▪ Meet the spirit of the law

Professional responsibilities in developing software

Relying on work prepared by others

5

Professionals are seen as individuals who have special skill, which gives

them the ability to see things invisible to someone without that skill.▪ e.g., expert witnesses

Members of the public are expected to trust professionals when it comes to

matters of their professional opinion - professionals rely on this trust.

This trust comes at a price: professionals are then capable of negligence; this

occurs when they don't exercise the care and skill of a reasonably prudent

practitioner in that circumstance.

▪ Negligence (according to R72.1): “means an act or an omission in the

carrying out of the work of a practitioner that constitutes a failure to

maintain the standards that a reasonable and prudent practitioner would

maintain in the circumstances.” ▪ Due Diligence means the amount of carefulness that you ought to have in that

circumstance.

▪ Fulfilling your due diligence requirements means never being negligent

6

Professionals are much more easily susceptible to Tort liability

Tort is one of two ways you can be sued (the other is breach of contract)

You’re liable in tort whenever (all 3 must be true):▪ You owe someone a duty of care (e.g., don’t be negligent),

▪ You breach this duty (e.g., by being negligent), and

▪ That person (or corporation) suffers an injury as a result of your breach

(e.g., they lose some money they should’ve had).

Professionals implicitly (i.e., by default; without having to explicitly promise it)

owe everyone a duty of care to not be negligent in their professional services ▪ i.e., for professionals, the default is that you’re responsible

▪ You're responsible for the work of your subordinates; if they’re professionals

they’re also responsible.

▪ When engineering is done by other disciplines in a report you're the lead on, you're

responsible as well. Be sure to be clear who's responsible for what; this helps

avoid mistakes.

7

Sole Proprietorship

▪ One owner who’s legally equivalent to the company for income

tax, liability, and debt purposes

Partnership

▪ Multiple owners as partners; at least one must be a “general

partner” who has the same unlimited liability for the business as a

sole proprietor would.

▪ Others may be “limited liability partners”

Corporation

▪ Owners are shareholders; their representatives are the directors

(who serve on the board of directors led by the chair, chairman,

chairwoman, or chairperson)

▪ Top employees (management) are the Officers

▪ Corporation is distinct from its owners and operators and can

independently go bankrupt

8

Duties of Directors of a Corporation▪ Directors’ Standard of Care: Directors have a duty to act in the best

interest of the corporation and with the care diligence and skill of

reasonably prudent persons in that circumstance.

▪ Directors’ Disclosure of Conflict: Directors of a corporation must disclose

any conflict of interest they have in the business dealings of a corporation

and can’t vote in approval of such a transaction; if they do, they’re liable

to surrender any profit they personally realize to the corporation

Employees of a corporation are similarly expected to act in the best interests

of the corporation

9

Engineers owe duties of loyalty to employers:

▪ 77.1.i: It is the duty of a practitioner to ... the practitioner’s employer ... to act at all

times with,... fairness and loyalty to the practitioner’s associates, employer, clients,

subordinates and employees,

Engineers must keep an employer’s information confidential, disclose conflicts of

interest to employers, and be a professional & faithful agent:

▪ 77.3: A practitioner shall,

act in professional engineering matters for the practitioner’s employer as a

faithful agent or trustee and

shall regard as confidential information obtained by the practitioner as to the

business affairs, technical methods or processes of an employer and

avoid or disclose a conflict of interest that might influence the practitioner’s

actions or judgment [to your employer].

These do not overrule your duty to public welfare:▪ 77.2.i: A practitioner shall ... regard the practitioner’s duty to public welfare as

paramount,

10

When working internationally, multiple laws can apply▪ You must follow local laws

▪ Professionally, you can be held accountable to maintain standards set in Ontario if

the work is done here but for an international jurisdiction

▪ Even when out of the country, if something locally legal is illegal in Ontario you

may be charged with professional misconduct at home for things you’ve done

abroad

Legality:▪ Letter of the law = what it technically says; what do these words mean according to

the dictionary? (strict interpretation)

▪ Spirit of the law = what it intends; what did the lawmakers want to happen by writing this? (Liberal interpretation)

▪ Practice in such a way that you meet both the letter and the spirit of the law

11

Duty to the employer/client

Loyalty, confidentiality, competence, diligence

Conflict of interest - recognition of

▪ avoidance of

▪ expected conduct when in a conflict of interest

Personal interest vs employer’s/client’s interest

Duty to the employer/client vs duty to the public

Professional environment and development

▪ recognition of the code of ethics by the employer as necessary to

support professionals in their work and career

12

Employer: ▪ An entity you work for on an ongoing basis; usually one at a time

▪ You usually have an employment contract, company pays you while directly

deducting income tax on your behalf, usually fixed work hours at a rate that they’ve

set (adjusted by salary negotiations)

Client:▪ An entity has hired you to provide services for a particular project; usually you

would have several clients per year (though not necessarily all at once)

▪ You have a service contract with the client, with you as a consultant (or contractor)

and them as client (or owner), usually flexible work hours at a rate that you’ve set

▪ As an employee engineer of an engineering consulting firm, you often interact

directly with the clients of your firm. These are not your clients, but your

employment status makes you owe professional duties to them as you would your

own client.

13

Professionally, you owe a duty of loyalty to your employers and clients▪ 77.1.i) It is the duty of a practitioner to the public, to the practitioner’s employer, to

the practitioner’s clients, to other members of the practitioner’s profession, and to

the practitioner to act at all times with, ... fairness and loyalty to the practitioner’s

associates, employer, clients, subordinates and employees,

A duty to be loyal to employers and clients means to act in their best interests

This is balanced with our obligation to always treat the public welfare as

paramount, and with similar duties of loyalties to other entities:▪ 77.1.i) It is the duty of a practitioner to the public, to the practitioner’s employer, to

the practitioner’s clients, to other members of the practitioner’s profession, and to

the practitioner to act at all times with, ... fairness and loyalty to the practitioner’s

associates, employer, clients, subordinates and employees,

14

Interest = Motivation▪ I want to make a lot of money

Conflict of interest = when your motivations interfere with each other▪ I want to do a good job on this government environmental assessment project

▪ I want to spend as much time as possible watching Netflix

Secret conflict of interest▪ I want to do a good job on this government environmental assessment project

▪ If I write the assessment in a way that makes the coal mining company look good they’ll give me a $5 M bonus

Secret conflicts of interest are the problem. The solution is to

disclose them to clients before starting the job.▪ Required by Codes of Ethics & Definitions of Professional Misconduct

In some extremely compromised situations, or when you’re making

the decision rather than recommending to others, disclosing isn’t

enough and you must fully avoid the CoI (by taking yourself off of the

project)

15

72.2.i reads: [professional misconduct means] failure to make prompt, voluntary and complete disclosure of an

interest, direct or indirect, that might in any way be, or be construed as, prejudicial to the professional judgment of

the practitioner in rendering service to the public, to an employer or to a client, and in particular, without limiting the

generality of the foregoing, carrying out any of the following acts without making such a prior disclosure:

▪ 1. Accepting compensation in any form for a particular service from more than one party.

▪ 2. Submitting a tender or acting as a contractor in respect of work upon which the practitioner may be

performing as a professional engineer.

▪ 3. Participating in the supply of material or equipment to be used by the employer or client of the practitioner.

▪ 4. Contracting in the practitioner’s own right to perform professional engineering services for other than the

practitioner’s employer.

▪ 5. Expressing opinions or making statements concerning matters within the practice of professional

engineering of public interest where the opinions or statements are inspired or paid for by other interests,

In simple terms: failure to disclose an interest that might be prejudicial to the professional judgment of the practitioner in rendering service

Disclosing conflicts of interest to employers & clients is also addressed in 77.3-5:

▪ 3. A practitioner shall ... avoid or disclose a conflict of interest that might influence the

practitioner’s actions or judgment [to your employer]...▪ 4. A practitioner must disclose immediately to the practitioner’s client any interest, direct or indirect, that

might be construed as prejudicial in any way to the professional judgment of the practitioner in rendering

service to the client.▪ 5. A practitioner who is an employee-engineer and is contracting in the practitioner’s own name to perform professional

engineering work for other than the practitioner’s employer, must i) provide the practitioner’s client with a written statement of the nature of the practitioner’s status as an employee and the attendant limitations

on the practitioner’s services to the client, must

ii) satisfy the practitioner that the work will not conflict with the practitioner’s duty to the practitioner’s employer, and must

iii) inform the practitioner’s employer of the work.

16

Unless it’s publicly available (i.e., on their website),

assume all information you learn about your employer or

client while working for them is confidential

It’s unethical to disclose confidential information to others

This is overruled if public safety is at risk by keeping the

information secret▪ When time allows, it’s better to work with the company to correct

the problem or disclose it to the government

Note the distinction between Conflict of Interest & Confidential

Information:

▪ Conflict of Interest: keeping it secret is the problem

▪ Confidential Information: keeping it secret is the solution

17

Discussed explicitly in the code of ethics for employers for

77.3:▪ A practitioner ... shall regard as confidential information obtained by the

practitioner as to the business affairs, technical methods or processes of an

employer...

Isn’t explicitly mentioned for clients, but still required under loyalty to

clients (77.1.i), and devotion to the high ideals of personal honour

and professional integrity (77.1.iii).

18

Managers have an obligation to contribute to the

professional development of their employees▪ As an engineer, this is explicitly required through your duty to be loyal to

your employees (77.1.i), but also through 77.7’s requirements that you

act towards other practitioners with courtesy and good faith,

provide opportunity for professional development and advancement of

the practitioner’s associates and subordinates, and

extend the effectiveness of the profession through the interchange of

engineering information and experience.

Which professional development is right for which individual

depends on that individual’s interests

Managers should seek to maximize the potential of their

employees both for the benefit of those employees and their

employer

19

Roles of technicians, technologists, scientists in multidisciplinary

teams

Respect and consultation with other professions

Reviewing the work of another professional

Need to consult with experts outside of own field of practice

20

Watch out for errors▪ 77.7.ii reads that you should “not accept an engagement to review the work of

another practitioner for the same employer except with the knowledge of the other

practitioner or except where the connection of the other practitioner with the work

has been terminated,”

▪ If the other practitioner wasn’t ready for their work to be reviewed it might still

contain errors, omissions, or ambiguity they intended to correct, and could lead to

mistakes if you apply it elsewhere

be courteous▪ Let the other practitioner know you’re going to review their work if you need to

review it; keep them informed in this situation (technically they don’t need to

consent to the review, though of course they should, and if there’s some reason

they object to it then ideally sort that out before proceeding)

don’t violate confidentiality▪ If a client asks you to review work which is marked as confidential and only for that

client to view, you need to request that they get a waiver of that confidentiality for

you before reviewing it.

21

Professional, legal, social

Generally accepted professional practices

Finality and interpretation

Limitation of standards

The role of standards (international, national, government)

Legal authority responsible for codes (provincial, national, municipal)

Application of codes and standards

Standard and code setting bodies

22

The federal government can

enact legislation regarding:▪ 2: regulation of trade and

commerce

▪ 3: taxation

▪ 10: navigation and shipping

▪ 15: banking, incorporation of

banks, and issuing of money

▪ 21: bankruptcy and insolvency

▪ 22: patents

▪ 23: copyrights

▪ 27: criminal law

23

The provincial governments can enact

legislation (applicable in their own

provinces only) regarding:

▪ 2: taxation for provincial purposes

▪ 10: All local works and undertakings

except: interprovincial transport/communication,

international transport, even if it is only directed

at that one province within Canada, and

anything the Parliament of Canada decrees

(before or after it comes to exist) is for the benefit

of Canada or at least two provinces, even if it is

geographically localized within one province.

▪ 11: incorporation of companies

▪ 13: Property and civil rights

▪ 14: administration of justice: provincial courts, both civil and criminal,

procedure-making for the civil courts only.

▪ 16: Provincial matters

The Constitution Act 1982 (which updated & replaced the British North America Act

1867) decrees that different governments have different jurisdictions:

Owner vs. General Contractor. vs. Subcontractor in Construction▪ Owner needs some improvement done on their land, so hires general contractor

▪ General contractor does some work, but subcontracts the rest out

▪ Subcontractors (separately contracted by the general contractor to help them fulfill

their contract with the owner) have no contract with the owner, but do work to

improve their land.

Liens:▪ A lien is a claim for partial ownership of land that you’ve improved if you weren’t

paid for the work you did to improve it. This can make it difficult to sell the property; you need to satisfy all liens first

work here includes direct materials and labour of tradespersons and construction workers,

but also professional work like those of engineers and architects

▪ To avoid liens, owners need to hold back some of the money they were going to

pay to the general contractor (typically 10%) until the deadline for subcontractors

to file leans has passed. This is called the “statutory holdback” because it’s required by the Ontario Construction Act

note: Statute = Act

24

Ontario’s Ministry of Labour, Training, and Skills Development:▪ Develops & enforces labour laws

▪ Advances “safe, fair, and harmonious workplace practices that are essential to the

social and economic well-being of the people of Ontario.”

▪ Any employee can file a claim with the ministry if they believe their employer is not

following Ontario’s Employment Standards

[Ontario’s] Employment Standards Act, 2000▪ Sets rules for wage payment, including minimum wages

▪ Hours of work, overtime, vacation, and public holidays

▪ Many types of leave, including pregnancy & parental, sick, bereavement, family

responsibility, critical illness, reservist, infectious disease emergency leave, and

more...

▪ Termination & severance pay

▪ Special rules for certain types of employees

25

Canadian Labour Code (federal version of the provincial labour laws)▪ Applies rather than a provincial labour law:

Anywhere (in Canada) for some industries (e.g., broadcasting, telecom, air transport,

shipping, etc.) which are governed by federal rather than provincial government, and for

some crown corporations

On the Territories

On First Nations Reserves

▪ Governs strike & lockout rules,

occupational health & safety, and

employment standards.

26

Risk Management▪ General principles and benefits (basic

requirement of public protection)

▪ Legal framework (general)

▪ Overview of current methods of analysis

Risk assessment

Hazard identification

Types of hazards

Types of risks

Analysis and estimation

Evaluating the risks

▪ Risk management for professional practice

▪ Transfer, retention and monitoring of risk

▪ Hazard reduction and failure analysis

▪ Case studies

Insurance▪ Commercial general insurance (purpose)

▪ Professional errors and omissions insurance

Purpose – what is covered

Statute of limitations – retroactive date

Compulsory vs optional (where so)

Corporate vs individual

Consultant vs employee

27

Quality Management▪ General principles (basic requirement of public

protection)

▪ Legal framework (general)

Overview of quality management standards

Overview of current methods of analysis (ISO,

6Sigma, CSA, LEAN, TQM)

Application to professional practice

Management of technical quality

Communication and records

Due Diligence▪ Concept and requirements

▪ Concepts of foreseeability, preventability,

controllability

Risk: ▪ the effect of uncertainty on objectives (according to ISO 31000, Risk Management)

▪ bad thing that could happen if certain conditions take place

Risk management: ▪ Identifying, evaluating, & prioritizing risks, then

▪ Developing & implementing plans that minimize the likelihood or impact of those

risks.

Risk management is likely to occur in two areas in your engineering practice:▪ Risks to public welfare

Here, you’re professionally responsible for putting public welfare first and minimizing the

risk to public welfare

▪ Risks to your client’s project or business success The owner (client) is ultimately responsible for this risk management

You the engineer will provide expert advice to the client and make suggestions but the

client decides whether and how to follow this advice (similar to how a medical doctor can

give you professional advice but it’s your responsibility to decide what to do with it).

28

“Hazard Analysis” is a type of risk management

specific to safety risks of products or processes

In Canadian Professional Engineering and Geoscience – Practice and Ethics, 5th edition (page

137, FYI), Gordon C. Andrews breaks Hazard

Analysis into 4 steps:▪ 1. Identify: first, make sure you’ve discovered all the

obvious or hidden hazards of your product or process

▪ 2. Eliminate: where possible, remove the hazard

entirely

▪ 3. Shield: if eliminating the hazard isn’t possible, shield

users from it so it can’t hurt them (or at least, can’t hurt

them as long as they don’t they circumvent the shield)

▪ 4. Warn, Remedy, Recall: if shielding isn’t possible

either, then put up warnings and provide remedial

action to minimize damage when things go wrong (like

posting escape routes), or even recall products entirely.

29

Craftex 14IN. BANDSAW 2HP 110V CX SERIES CSA

CX119N from Busy Bee Tools:https://www.busybeetools.com/products/14in-bandsaw-2hp-110v-cx-series-csa.html

Liquidated Damages Provision▪ Term in the contract that writes what the damages (i.e., money you’ll need to pay

to compensate for the loss you’ve caused) will be for certain breaches of contract

(places where you didn’t do what you were supposed to, like finish the contract on

time, generate enough power, etc.)

▪ Without this term, the damages courts will assign are harder to anticipate (i.e.,

more risky) (it may require a lawsuit, and will depend on what they see should have been reasonably

expected as the damage for this breach, in line with the Hadley v. Baxendale Principle)

Force Majeure Provision▪ Term in the contract that extends the completion deadline (or provides other

remedies) in the event of a foreseeable (but currently non-existent) external factor

(i.e., beyond the control of the parties involved) that could delay performance, like

war, riot, insurrection, flood, labour dispute, etc.

▪ This term frees both parties from unknown additional obligation in the event that

some external risk comes true “Force Majeure” = “Superior Strength”; i.e., “act of God”.

30

Insurance is a way of recovering from a loss of things (property insurance) or

damages from being sued (liability insurance).

To receive compensation, you need:▪ The loss to be in your policy’s list of “perils covered”

▪ The peril to occur during your “coverage period”

▪ To make a claim to the insurance company (i.e., let them know what’s happened)

within the “limitation period”

▪ Pay any appropriate “deductible” (the amount of money deducted from the amount

you’d recover to compensate your loss)

▪ To cooperate with your insurance company Tell them all important pieces of information, including changes to your situation that could

affect your premiums (otherwise, you’ve potentially made a “material non-disclosure” and

could lose coverage)

Answer their questions in a timely manner once you’ve launched a claim

If you’re being sued and you’ve notified them so they’re involved in your defense, you can’t

admit fault; go through them

31

Insurers and insured have rights and obligations (i.e., duties). If insurers fail

to fulfill their obligations the insured will successfully sue them, while insured

who fail to fulfill their obligations risk losing coverage.

Insurers (i.e., the insurance company) have▪ A duty to indemnify (i.e., pay relevant losses of the insured)

▪ [For liability insurance] a duty to defend (i.e., pay legal fees to defend their insured

if they’re sued for something covered by the policy)

▪ A right to subrogation i.e., if the general contractor is sued and their insurance company pays out on the claim,

their insurance company can then sue the subcontractor (if it was actually the

subcontractor’s fault) to recover damages they had to pay out defending the general

contractor just as if they were the general contractor themselves; “the insurance company is

subrogated to the rights of the general contractor”

Insured have▪ A duty of good faith – tell the insurance company all relevant information; don’t

mislead them when entering a policy

32

Holders of a CofA are required to have Professional Liability Insurance (or exemption from it) before they can use it

to offer engineering service to the public:

74. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a holder of a certificate of authorization must be insured against professional

liability under a policy of professional liability insurance which complies with the following minimum requirements:▪ 1. A policy limit for each single claim of not less than $250,000 and either an aggregate policy limit for all claims of not less than

$500,000 per year or an automatic policy limit reinstatement feature.

▪ 2. A maximum deductible amount under the policy of the greater of $5,000 or 5 per cent of the annual fees the holder billed in the

twelve months immediately before the issuance of the policy.

▪ 3. Coverage for liability for errors, omissions and negligent acts arising out of the performance of all services within the practice of

professional engineering offered or provided to the public by the insured subject to such exclusions and conditions and otherwise on

such terms as are consistent with normal insurance industry practice from time to time.

▪ 4. A provision that neither party may cancel or amend the policy of insurance in a way that results in non-compliance with this

Regulation without first giving the other party at least forty-five days written notice or, in the event of non-payment of premiums,

fifteen days written notice.

▪ 5. The insurance must be placed with an insurer with an aggregate capital and surplus of at least $20,000,000 or an underwriter or

syndicate of underwriters operating on the plan known as Lloyds.

(2) A holder of a certificate of authorization is not required to be insured against professional liability under

subsection (1) if,▪ (a) the holder is participating in the Indemnity Plan of the Ontario Association of Architects and the holder’s practice is limited to

professional activities covered by that Plan;

▪ (b) substantially all claims arising out of the service performed within the practice of professional engineering would be covered by

other insurance whose terms of coverage are not materially less than the minimum requirements under subsection (1);

▪ (c) the professional liability insurance would be in respect of pollution hazards, nuclear hazards, aviation hazards or shipping

hazards; or

▪ (d) before entering into an agreement to provide professional engineering services, the holder notifies each person to whom the

holder intends to provide professional engineering services that the holder is not insured in accordance with the minimum

requirements of this section and receives from each such person written authority to provide these services without that insurance.

Note: As an OSPE member, you can secure both Professional Liability and Commercial General Liability insurance

through the OSPE insurance program.

33

Quality management means taking steps to ensure that products or services

meet at least certain minimum standards (a target level of excellence).▪ Any engineering service must, at a minimum be done at a quality that achieves

protection of public welfare

▪ Maintaining quality in engineering service means ensuring technical accuracy and

suitability of designed solutions, but also things like clear communications with

clients and employers over the reasons for decisions.

Several standards exist which are appropriate for different organizations at

different times (ISO, 6Sigma, CSA, LEAN, TQM)

e.g., the ISO 9000 series of Quality Management standards requires certified

organizations to manage their quality of services or products in line with seven key

“Quality Management Principles”:▪ QMP 1: Customer Focus

▪ QMP 2: Leadership

▪ QMP 3: Engagement of People

▪ QMP 4: Process Approach

▪ QMP 5: Improvement

▪ QMP 6: Evidence-Based Decision Making

▪ QMP 7: Relationship Management

34

“Due Diligence” means acting with the amount of knowledge, care, and skill,

that a person who would usually be expected to complete that task would

exercise in the circumstances.

The amount of diligence due depends on:▪ The complexity of the task

▪ The amount of safeguards for errors (people that will check over the work)

▪ The amount of people relying on the work being done correctly

▪ The severity of the consequences if it’s done incorrectly

For minimizing risk to the public, any practitioner should engineer in a way

that at least satisfies OHS (Occupational Health and Safety) requirements –

ask yourself:1. Can a reasonable person predict or foresee something going wrong?

2. How severe is the potential harm to workers?

3. Is there an opportunity to prevent the incident?

4. Who is responsible for preventing the incident?

Or, as Alberta puts it, you must be able to justify that your work meets these standards:▪ 1) Foreseeability — could a reasonable person foresee that something could go wrong?

▪ 2) Preventability — is there an opportunity to prevent an injury or incident?

▪ 3) Control — who has the ability or responsibility to prevent an injury or incident from occurring?

35

Engineers are more susceptible to tort liability than technicians because

a. Engineering is very broad compared to what a technician does, so

there is more to know and possibly get wrong

b. Engineering is a profession and professionals implicitly owe

everyone a duty of care

c. Engineers are often wealthier than technicians and therefore have

more potential to pay for damages if sued

d. Engineers, as professionals, are not able to write disclaimers that

remove their professional obligations in contract

36

Which of the following is not a business form?

a. Sole proprietorship

b. Corporation

c. Company

d. Partnership

37

A professional engineer best serves the public when:

a. They perform work that aligns with the UN’s sustainable

development goals

b. They always follow the letter of the law

c. They put their employer & client before themselves

d. They satisfy due diligence

38

An engineer who negligently designs an airplane would

likely not be liable for damages to:

a. An airline employee physically injured by the airplane

b. The client who actually contracted the engineer to

design the plane

c. A member of the public who safely flew on that airplane

prior to the accident

d. The airline who purchased that plane before the

damage was discovered

39

If an honest corporation goes bankrupt, who usually is

responsible to use personal wealth to compensate its

outstanding debts?

a. The CEO and other officers

b. The chair and other directors

c. Both a. and b.

d. No one

40

An engineer’s employer becomes the centre of a legal scandal surrounding a

government project they were working on. If the engineer was not involved in

or aware of any potential wrongdoing, and the engineer is approached by a

reporter and asked to comment, then engineer should

a. Refuse to comment, and refer the reporter to the company’s PR office

b. Only comment on technical aspects they are aware of

c. Give their full opinion of the right thing a company should do in this

situation, in the interests of educating the public on best practices

d. Speculate on the most exciting aspects of this scandal in order to fulfill

their obligation to be interesting the public

41

As an engineering manager, you have an obligation to

a. Help your subordinates only when necessary for public safety &

welfare

b. That, plus helping them in technical matters they need help with as

long as it’s helping them do work for your employer

c. Both of those, plus providing professional development

opportunities even in non-technical areas to those interested

d. All of the above, plus providing financial assistance to help them

with personal debts that are impacting their ability to concentrate at

work

42

Your boss asks you to look over the calculations your colleague made on a

pressure vessel design because you have expertise on pressure vessel

designs and your colleague has been having problems at home and seems

distracted. You should:

a. Help only if the colleague is informed of this review

b. Help only if the colleague is informed of this review OR if public safety

urgently depends on it

c. Help only if the colleague consents to this review OR if public safety

urgently depends on it

d. Help only if the colleague consents to this review

43

Appeals to the ministry of labour of the province can take place after

a. You’ve been wrongfully dismissed

b. You’ve been denied parental leave

c. You’ve noticed the employer not paying overtime where it’s

required

d. All of the above

44

You are approached by a client and asked to review confidential plans prepared

by a different engineering firm. The plans read “strictly confidential; for review

by Client X only, other parties require express written consent from Engineering

Firm Y.” You should:

a. Help with the review because your client has the plans now and can

therefore choose to waive the confidentiality

b. Help as long as the client offers to pay for your professional services

c. Help only if you receive permission from the other engineering firm to view

the plans

d. Refuse to help under any circumstances

45

A lien is likely to be claimed by:

a. An owner after the general contractor fails to perform on their work

b. An architect who isn’t paid for design work

c. An insurer who suffers a loss on a construction project

d. All of the above

46

Usually, risk management:

a. Is exclusively handled by the owner

b. Is the owner’s responsibility but the consultant provides advice

c. Involves the owner and consultant equally

d. Is the consultant’s responsibility, but the owner provides advice

47

Which of the following actions are examples of “risk management”?

a. Installing guardrails around a dangerous machine

b. Writing a term into a contract that extends the completion deadline

in the event of a labour dispute

c. Implementing a training program to ensure operators use

equipment safely

d. All of the above

48

A force majeure provision would be a good way to deal with:

a. The possibility that a major government grant the owner is relying

on is not awarded

b. The risks associated with the owner becoming bankrupt during the

project

c. The possibility that hazardous subsurface material is discovered

during construction

d. All of the above

49

Hazard analysis involves 4 key steps. Identify the correct ones and put

them in order:

A: Warn, Remedy, Recall

B: Diversify

C: Deflect, Adapt, Circumvent

D: Identify

E: Eliminate

F: Shield

a. A, B, C, E

b. D, A, F, E

c. A, F, E, C

d. D, E, F, A

50

When obtaining professional liability insurance for their private consulting firm,

a professional engineer explains to their insurer that they always use a triple

redundancy system (having three engineers do the same work independently

and compare solutions on every project) to greatly reduce the possibility of

mistakes. On the basis of this information, the insurance company gives the

consulting firm reduced premiums on their insurance policy. Later that year, the

consulting firm drops the triple redundancy system to save costs, subsequently

makes a mistake, and is sued for damages. The consulting firm can expect

a. to be covered by the insurance company’s duty to indemnify and duty to

defend

b. to be covered by the insurance company but only if they retroactively pay

increased premiums

c. not to be covered due to a failure of duty of good faith

d. to be covered for defense (but not indemnified for loss) due to a material

non-disclosure

51

Which of the following is not a true statement about the right of

subrogation?

a. the insurer can use it to “put themselves in the shoes” of the

insured for the purpose of recovering losses

b. it is not a right shared equally between insurer and insured

c. waiving your insurer’s subrogation rights in contract can void your

right to indemnification

d. in some cases, the insurer’s right to subrogation can allow the

insurer to recover losses by suing the insured

52

Installing a guardrail on a narrow elevated walkway in an industrial

plant is an example of which hazard analysis step?

a. Shield

b. Eliminate

c. Warn, Remedy, Recall

d. Diversify

53

As considered from a non-politicized perspective.

Understanding environmental and sustainability issues in the field of

expertise

Use of environmental or sustainability specialists when necessary

Application of professional and responsible judgment to environmental and

sustainability considerations

Ensuring that environmental planning and management are implemented

Consideration of environmental costs when evaluating the economic viability

of projects

Recognition of the value of environmental efficiency and sustainability

Responding to environmental concerns in a timely fashion

The desire to meet or exceed regulatory environmental and sustainability

requirements

Working with others to improve environmental understanding and

sustainability practices

Examples and case studies

54

Sustainable development is using resources (environment, people, etc.) in a

way that is conducive to being able to make use them in the long term

Engineers’ professional duty requires them to meet or exceed environmental

law

Putting the public welfare as paramount often means going against the

employer’s interests when they conflict with sustainability laws

If possible, fulfill your duty to the public welfare in a way that also satisfies

your obligations to your employer & client (loyalty, maintaining confidential

information) and other professionals (loyalty, courtesy)

55

Where ▪ ISO 9001 focuses on Quality Management – ensuring that the products and

services that an organization produces and delivers are consistently at a high

standard and are produced and delivered efficiently, and

▪ ISO 31000 focuses on Risk Management – establishing systems to identify risks

and minimize both their chance of occurring and their impact when they do occur

The ISO 14000 Family on Environmental Management▪ Is a set of standard strategies for organizations to eliminate pollution in all of its

forms, quantify their effect on the environment, and ensure that they are complying

with all relevant environmental standards. “[ISO 14001] maps out a framework that a company or organization can follow to set up an

effective environmental management system.

Designed for any type of organization, regardless of its activity or sector,

it can provide assurance to company management and employees as well as external

stakeholders that environmental impact is being measured and improved.”

56

Validation of (analysis and design) software

▪ Responsibility for the outputs of software

The role of computers in professional practice

Respect of copyright law: software piracy and plagiarism

Computer system security from the perspective of licensed

professionals

Internet ethics (harassment, courtesy, "netiquette")

57

Professionals are expected to verify the reasonableness of data produced by

software packages. ▪ This does not mean that you need to reproduce every digital calculation by hand,

only that you need to conduct a reasonable amount of sense checks to confirm

that the software solutions are reasonable, especially with black-box software.

▪ You should never treat software solutions as perfect and turn off your own thought

process – just because the computer has 20 digits of precision doesn’t mean it’s

right

Professionals writing software can themselves be responsible for errors that

arise from them if parts of the software (and especially any warning labels on

its limits) are created negligently

58

Authentication of documents

Use of stamp or seal, verification stamps

Electronic authentication of documents

Review of documents

Document revision control

As-built drawings – responsibility for

Record keeping and turning over records when required

Preservation of records in a usable format (8" floppies, faded paper,

etc.)

Responsibility for control of personal stamp or seal

59

Engineers have a seal that they place on completed engineering

work that is issued to the public R53: Every holder of a licence [etc.] who provides to the public a service

that is within the practice of professional engineering shall sign, date

and affix the holder’s seal to every final drawing, specification, plan,

report or other document prepared or checked by the holder as part of

the service before it is issued.

It’s professional misconduct to seal something you didn’t actually

prepare or check: R72.2.e: [Professional misconduct means] signing or sealing a final

drawing, specification, plan, report or other document not actually

prepared or checked by the practitioner...

60

PEO publishes a guideline on the Use of a Professional Engineer’s Seal

As a professional engineer, every service within engineering you (or people under your

supervision) perform for the public needs to be sealed before it is issued

The seal isn’t a legal guarantee of accuracy, rather that the documents were

competently prepared by an engineer

The seal needs to be accompanied by a signature and a date

You would seal:▪ Things prepared directly for your client or your employer’s client

▪ Things that a regulatory authority specifically requires a seal on, like a Commitment to General

Review

▪ [Possibly] internal documents if your organization has adopted it as part of its internal quality

assurance program

However: no external authority can require you to seal a document – it’s important that

you make the assessment that something involves the practice of professional

engineering done for the public and therefore needs your seal; ▪ external rules say things need to be done by an engineer, but not that something only needs

an engineer’s seal.

You can seal work done by others (subordinates or people you’re collaborating with),

but only if you have intimate knowledge of the work and control over it – the ability to

change anything in it if you don’t agree with it.

61

The seal doesn’t expire; if it’s reasonable to assume the design should still

work decades later you could still be liable

Multidisciplinary Documents:▪ Each engineer taking responsibility for a given aspect of the document seals,

signs, and dates as normal but also specifies next to the seal which

qualification/discipline they’re sealing for.

▪ If the work was coordinated by a supervising or coordinating engineer they also

seal and indicate that they coordinated the work of the various disciplines

You need to take all reasonable steps to ensure you keep control of your seal▪ This principle guides both paper and digitally sealed documents

▪ Paper documents: Copy the original, then seal the copy and submit that while retaining the original

▪ The guideline specifies that before you seal an electronic document, you must

ensure that the method you use will: “control and protect the electronic facsimile of the seal and signature;

ensure document integrity, i.e. documents are not altered once signed, without undergoing

the revision process; and

allow verification of the identity of the practitioner originating the document.”

62

Copy-then-seal is the best

practice

An original sealed doc

can be edited

A copy of the seal can be

edited then copied again

63

PEO publishes a guideline for reviewing work of another practitioner▪ The professional whose work is being reviewed should consent to the review, and

needs to be informed of it

▪ “Thoroughness of review must be based on the principle of fairness; that is, a

review must be thorough enough to provide the client or employer with sufficient

information to resolve outstanding questions and to warrant the opinions made by

the reviewer about the quality of the work. If a review is not thorough enough, the

reviewer might miss issues that should be brought to the attention of the client or

employer. In this case, the reviewer’s service would be inadequate.”

▪ “On the other hand, a review must not be taken to the point of criticizing irrelevant,

minor issues. A reviewer should not report on spelling errors, poor grammar, poor

drafting or other aspects of the form of a document, unless these problems cause

a document to be ambiguous, difficult to understand, or create the possibility for

mistaken application by those relying on the document.”

▪ Reviewing engineers have several duties: Provide Notification (Make sure they know you’re reviewing their work if they’re a coworker

and still working on it, to comply with 77.7.ii)

Maintain Confidentiality

Act with Good Faith (be realistic about your judgements; ensure your statements are true)

Act with Fairness

Disclose Conflicts of Interest

64

To clients or employers, regulatory agencies, the public

Communicate openly, honestly and truthfully (the WHOLE story)

Whistleblower protection

65

“Whistleblowing” means exposing (publicly or to a client or regulatory

agency) the secret illegal or secret unethical actions of your employer or

fellow employees▪ (or, in the case of internal whistleblowing, to higher management)

Engineers are professionally obligated to whistleblow if necessary to

maintain the safety & welfare of the public▪ If the public is seriously and immediately at risk then you must take whatever

action returns them to safety as quickly as possible, internal or external.

▪ If time allows, out of your duty to your employer you should usually try to resolve

things in the following order, only escalating if the previous step failed: Solving the problem yourself if your responsibility, or having a friendly conversation with the

one responsible

Going to higher management with the concern

Going to top management with the concern

Going to the relevant government authorities

66

Threats and retaliation against employees

425.1 (1) No employer or person acting on behalf of an employer or in a position of

authority in respect of an employee of the employer shall take a disciplinary measure

against, demote, terminate or otherwise adversely affect the employment of such an

employee, or threaten to do so,(a) with the intent to compel the employee to abstain from providing information to a person

whose duties include the enforcement of federal or provincial law, respecting an offence that the

employee believes has been or is being committed contrary to this or any other federal or

provincial Act or regulation by the employer or an officer or employee of the employer or, if the

employer is a corporation, by one or more of its directors; or

(b) with the intent to retaliate against the employee because the employee has provided

information referred to in paragraph (a) to a person whose duties include the enforcement of

federal or provincial law.

Marginal note: Punishment

(2) Any one who contravenes subsection (1) is guilty of(a) an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years; or

(b) an offence punishable on summary conviction.

67

Though in theory whistleblowers should be officially protected, according to

transparency international Canada▪ public sector whistleblowers don't have enough protection at both the federal &

provincial levels and

▪ private sector whistleblowers have an almost a complete lack of legal protection.

Some legislation where whistleblowers have protection:▪ Criminal Code of Canada

▪ Public Servants Disclosure protection Act

▪ Public Service of Ontario Act 2006

▪ Securities Act

Considering this, while fulfilling your professional duty for the greater good,

make sure to take reasonable legal measures to document your case both to

protect yourself and ensure that the greater good can actually be served by

the problem being corrected.

68

Legal, Ethical, and Practical Aspects of Communication

▪ and problems of internet based communications

▪ Issues concerning electronic documents and records

▪ Proper use of the professional title

The Professional Relationship

Communication Skills (meta aspects)

▪ Important aspects of technical writing and reports

▪ Important aspects of presentations

▪ Oral communication

▪ Technical writing

▪ Internet communication

Languages

69

PEO

Member or License Holder (P.Eng.)

Temporary Licence Holder (P.Eng.)

Provisional Licence Holder

Limited Engineering Licensee (L.E.L.)

Engineering Intern (E.I.T.)

NA

Certificate of Authorization Holder or

Engineering Firm

70

APEGA

Professional Member or Professional

Engineer (P.Eng.)

NA

NA

Professional Licensee (P.L.)

Member-in-Training or Engineer-in-

Training (E.I.T.)

Licensee

Permit to Practice Holder or APEGA

Permit Holder.

-While PEO only considers “full” licence holders “members”, APEGA considers all individuals

“members” and distinguishes “full” licence holders by calling them “professional members”

-APEGA requires Professional Members to be Canadian Citizens or P.R.s; “Licensee” is the

membership for people who aren’t but would otherwise qualify for Professional Membership

Ontario’s Professional Engineers Act, section 40:

Offence, use of term “professional engineer”, etc.

(2) Every person who is not a holder of a licence or a temporary licence and

who,

(a) uses the title “professional engineer” or “ingénieur” or an abbreviation or

variation thereof as an occupational or business designation;

(a.1) uses the title “engineer” or an abbreviation of that title in a manner

that will lead to the belief that the person may engage in the practice of

professional engineering;

(b) uses a term, title or description that will lead to the belief that the person

may engage in the practice of professional engineering; or

(c) uses a seal that will lead to the belief that the person is a professional

engineer,

is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable for the first offence to a fine of

not more than $10,000 and for each subsequent offence to a fine of not more

than $25,000.

71

If you are not licensed, you can't use reserved titles or designations in job titles, on

resumes, or on social media because the public may believe that you have the right to

practise engineering or geoscience. This can endanger public safety.

72

Engineering Reserved Titles & Designations

Professional engineer (or P.Eng.)

Professional licensee (engineering)

(or P.L. (Eng.))

any title or abbreviation that implies you are

licensed with APEGA

The word engineer combined with any name, title,

description, letter, symbol, or abbreviation that

implies you are licensed with APEGA

Examples of Engineering Titles & Designations

Jane Doe, P.Eng., Structural Engineer

Jane Doe, P.L. (Eng.), Civil Engineer

Geoscience Reserved Titles & Designations

Professional geoscientist (or P.Geo.)

Professional geologist (or P.Geol.)

Professional geophysicist (or P.Geoph.)

Professional licensee (geoscience) (or P.L. (Geo.))

any title or abbreviation that implies you are licensed with

APEGA

The word geoscientist, geologist, or geophysicist combined with any name, title,

description, letter, symbol, or abbreviation that implies

you are licensed with APEGA

Examples of Geoscience Titles & Designations

John Smith, P.Geo., Wellsite Geologist

John Smith, P.Geo., Hydrogeochemist

Rule of contra proferentem: where the contract is ambiguous, it’s interpreted against the party who wrote that part

In engineering writing it’s much more important to be clear and accurate than

it is to be formal, and this often means writing things as simply as possible

Plus, some research shows that using simpler words to explain things makes

you seem smarter to your audience – Consequences of Erudite Vernacular

Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with Using Long Words

Needlessly

73

On working at a client’s site, you notice that inadequate environmental

protection equipment is in place and the site is exhausting excess

hazardous material contrary to legal limits. If this has nothing to do with

why you’re on-site, your first course of action should be:

a. The work you were there to do with due diligence

b. Discussing the issue directly with the responsible people on-site

c. Discussing the issue with your employer

d. Reporting the client to the ministry of the environment

74

Working at Mega Engineering, you’ve obtained significant experience designing buildings

with the help of a commercial finite element methods software package. Recently you left

your position at Mega and accepted a new position for a smaller startup engineering firm,

Microeng. At Micro, you initially will be the only person doing this kind of design work, so

personally look into getting a licence for that software package. Much to your dismay,

you discover that even a single-user licence to that software is over $20 000. Micro

currently cannot afford to purchase you a licence for this, but you are concerned that

without it your designed buildings might endanger public safety. However, due to an IT

oversight, you still have access to your account credentials at Mega Engineering. You

should:

a. Keep using your licence at Mega Engineering because the public safety depends on

you having that software while designing

b. Keep Mega out of it and pirate your own copy of the software to protect public safety

and the interests of your past employer

c. Design buildings without using the software, even if it damages public safety

d. None of the above

75

An engineer uses an expensive commercial software package to

determine the required spacing of support beams for a building. This

engineer

a. Must also complete a hand calculation to verify the

reasonableness of the software’s output

b. Can optionally verify the output, but it isn’t necessary if they’ve

used similar software before

c. Has no special obligation to check the validity of the software’s

output as long as they can confirm they’re using it correctly

d. Would normally only be free of professional responsibility for

mistakes from improperly using the software if it’s a validly-

purchased copy

76

Which of the following is acceptable use of an engineering seal?

a. Certifying that final-form internal documents you’ve prepared

involving engineering have been prepared competently

b. Responding to a city inspector who requests that invoices be

sealed

c. Sealing a scientific journal publication prepared for public

consumption

d. All of the above

77

If a document needs an engineer’s stamp on it and the EIT preparing the

document doesn’t have one, they should:

a. Borrow the stamp of a colleague and attach it, but indicate that they have

borrowed the stamp and the stamp owner does not necessarily endorse

these designs

b. Use their name, job title, and only EIT in place of the stamp

c. Have a colleague (who has a stamp) stamp it instead

d. Write to PEO requesting a stamp

78

Which of the following documents are most commonly sealed by an

engineer?

a. Licences

b. Financial risk assessments

c. Final construction plans

d. Drafts

79

The stamp on a drawing lasts:

a. 10 years

b. 1 year past construction completion

c. Until the date written next to the stamp

d. Forever

80

Engineers are often asked to confirm that a technical document is a

true copy of an original technical document. When doing so,

a. The engineer should seal a statement certifying it’s a true copy

b. The engineer should seal the copy

c. The engineer should make a statement certifying it’s a true copy

but not seal this statement

d. The engineer may or may not be required to seal the copy

depending on whether the engineer has the training and skill to be

able to confirm that it is technically sound

81

Whistleblowing is usually the appropriate action whenever:

a. The public welfare is immediately at risk

b. The public welfare is at risk (though not urgently at risk), but internal

attempts to resolve the problem have failed

c. Both of the above

d. None of the above

82

You design turbo-diesel injection engines for consumer automobiles. Recently, the

government has implemented changes to emissions standards which mean that your

engines require a re-design which would meet the standards but sacrifice performance.

On reporting the bad news to your manager, the manager informs you that if the

performance suffers then the competition would put your company out of business. The

manager suggests that you could implement a workaround where the engine operates

differently whenever the car is doing an emissions test in order to keep performance while

driving but appear to meet the environmental standards when testing. The manager

reasons that the competition is also doing this and that the environmental standards are

based on incomplete economic models of the Earth anyway. You should

a. Refuse to design the workaround

b. Design the workaround, but also work on new ways to improve the engine’s

efficiency for the next model

c. Design the workaround, but report the manager to higher management

d. First get a second opinion from an Engineer at a competing company on whether

the manager is correct about their actions

83

A person working for a construction company who is not a member of a

provincial licencing body uses the term “project engineer” as their job

title on social media. The likely consequences are:

a. Nothing, because the person did not say or do anything in person

b. Nothing, because public safety is not at risk by this use of this title

c. Nothing, because the provincial regulator has no jurisdiction online

d. The person will receive an order to remove the title and possibly a

fine

84

If you work for an engineering consulting firm, then

a. Your company needs have registered with the provincial

engineering regulator, which depends on the province/territory

b. You and each of your fellow engineering employees personally

need to carry professional liability insurance (or have exemption

from it) to work for clients through this company

c. You need to seal all final documents you produce relating to

engineering even if they’re only intended for internal use

d. Your primary obligation is to your client

85

To authenticate a document in engineering, you

a. Have a colleague look it over

b. Apply your stamp, sign, and date it

c. Staple a business card to it

d. Take a timestamped photo of it

86

A registered member who years ago worked on a line of city busses for

Mississauga discovers later (once the busses are already in use) that under

some operating conditions the bus will exhaust much more carbon monoxide

than it is supposed to. The engineer reports the problem to their manager but is

told that project is over and not to worry about it. The engineer suspects that

this violates environmental standards and could be unnecessarily hazardous to

the health of commuters, but isn’t absolutely sure. The engineer should first:

a. Explain to the manager that the engineer needs to report this to

government authorities

b. Report this to the environmental governmental authorities without

involving the manager, because this is potentially seriously impacting

public welfare

c. Immediately tweet about this

d. Report this discretely to local news

87

A registered member who years ago worked on a line of city busses for

Mississauga discovers later (once the busses are already in use) that under

some operating conditions the bus will exhaust much more carbon monoxide

than it is supposed to. The engineer reports the problem to their manager but is

told that project is over and not to worry about it. The engineer suspects that

this violates environmental standards and could be unnecessarily hazardous to

the health of commuters, but isn’t absolutely sure. The engineer should first:

a. Report this to the news, because that is the fastest way to get people off of

the busses immediately

b. Report this to the environmental governmental authorities, because this is

potentially seriously impacting public welfare

c. Get the second opinion of a colleague outside the firm, because the

engineer is not totally sure about the hazards and standards

d. Keep quiet about it because this is not in the best interests of their

employer or profession

88

Consider the following actions:A: discussing with a coworker, B: discussing with management, C: discussing with higher

management, D: correcting the situation, E: reporting to the government, F: discussing with a

colleague outside the company, G: reporting to the public via social media

You design turbo-diesel injection engines for consumer automobiles. Recently, the government has

implemented changes to emissions standards which mean that your engines require a re-design which

would meet the standards but sacrifice performance. On reporting the bad news to your manager, the

manager informs you that if the performance suffers then the competition would put your company out

of business. The manager suggests that you could implement a workaround where the engine

operates differently whenever the car is doing an emissions test in order to keep performance while

driving but appear to meet the environmental standards when testing. The manager reasons that the

competition is also doing this and that the environmental standards are based on incomplete economic

models of the Earth anyway. Of the following possibilities, the best escalation procedure to follow in

this situation (i.e., escalating only if the previous step failed to resolve the situation) is

a. B, C, then E

b. B, D, C, then G

c. E

d. E, then G

89

Consider the following actions:A: discussing with the coworker who is the subject of these posts, B: discussing with your manager,

C: discussing with higher management, D: discussing with the colleagues responsible for these

messages, E: reporting to the government, F: discussing with other colleagues who haven’t

participated, G: reporting to the public via social media, H: reporting to PEO, J: asking to be removed

from the group message

You are an engineer for a big engineering firm. After a company golf tournament, one of your

coworkers (who is not an engineer) posts some group photos to a private message in a social media

group which includes some (but not all) of the people at the golf tournament. After a series of posts by

this and other coworkers, some members of the messaging chain start making derogatory remarks

about another coworker (who is not part of the messaging chain). To you, the remarks seem

inappropriate for a workplace environment and would definitely be considered harassment if spoken

directly to the coworker. Your manager (who is an engineer) is on the messaging chain but doesn’t

seem to have participated.

Of the following possibilities, the best escalation procedure to follow in this situation (i.e., escalating

only if the previous step failed to resolve the situation) is

a. A, D, B, C

b. D, B, C

c. D, B, C, H

d. B, C

90