Engineering and Professional Responsibility

Professional responsibility/professionalism has been an important aspect of engineering throughout history. Records from as early as 6000 B.C. illustrate the public's desire that engineers be held responsible for their actions. Responsibility was essential to ensuring that the professional's work was of a high quality and safe! Public requirements for ethics and professionalism have continued, over the years, to become more standardized. This has led to the promulgation of laws concerning what professionals can and cannot do in the practice of their profession. While the modern public is concerned with quality of the work, they also expect the professional to practice morally and ethically. The Texas Legislature drafted the Texas Engineering Practice Act (TEPA) to define the basis for professional engineering conduct, but professional responsibility/professionalism encompasses much more than that narrowly defined by the act. Professional responsibility is based upon personal ethics, morals, and the dedication to always doing what is right.