Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 193C - Engineering and Land Surveying Examining Board › Chapter 8 - Professional Conduct of Licensees › Rule 193C-8.2 - Code of Professional Conduct

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
All persons licensed under Iowa Code chapter 542B are charged
				with having knowledge of the existence of this code of professional conduct and
				are expected to be familiar with its provisions, to understand them, and to abide
				by them. Such knowledge includes the understanding that the practices of
				engineering and land surveying are a privilege, as opposed to a right, and the
				licensee shall be forthright and candid in statements or written response to the
				board or its representatives on matters pertaining to professional
				conduct.
(1)
Responsibility to
			 the public.
Licensees will conduct their professional practices in a
			 manner that will protect life, health and property and enhance the public
			 welfare. If their professional judgment is overruled under circumstances where
			 safety, health and welfare of the public are endangered, they shall inform their
			 employer or client of the possible consequences, notify such other proper
			 authority as may be appropriate, and withdraw from further services on the
			 project.
Licensees may neither approve nor certify engineering or land
				surveying documents that may be harmful to the public health and welfare and that
				are not in conformity with accepted engineering or land surveying
				standards.
(2)
Competency for assignments.
Licensees may perform engineering or
			 land surveying assignments only when qualified by education or experience in the
			 specific technical field of professional engineering or professional land
			 surveying involved. Licensees shall engage experts or advise that experts and
			 specialists be engaged whenever the client's or employer's interests are best
			 served by such service.
Licensees may accept an assignment on a project requiring
				education or experience outside their field of competence, but only to the extent
				that their services are restricted to those phases of the project in which they
				are qualified.
(3)
Truth in reports and testimony.
Licensees, when serving as
			 expert or technical witnesses before any court, commission, or other tribunal,
			 may express an opinion only when it is founded upon adequate knowledge of the
			 facts in issue, upon a background of technical competence in the subject matter,
			 and upon honest conviction of the accuracy and propriety of their testimony.
			 Under these circumstances, the licensee must disclose inadequate knowledge.
Licensees shall be objective and truthful in all professional
				reports, statements or testimony. All relevant and pertinent information shall be
				included in such reports, statements or testimony. Licensees shall avoid the use
				of statements containing a material misrepresentation of fact or omitting a
				material fact.
(4)
Conflict of interest.
Licensees shall:
a. Not issue statements, criticisms or
			 arguments on engineering or land surveying matters connected with public policy
			 that are influenced or paid for by an interested party, or parties, unless they
			 have prefaced their comments by explicitly identifying themselves, by disclosing
			 the identities of the party or parties on whose behalf they are speaking, and by
			 revealing the existence of any pecuniary interest.
b. Avoid all known conflicts of interest with
			 their employers or clients and, when unforeseen conflicts arise, shall promptly
			 inform their employers or clients of any business association, interest, or
			 circumstances that could influence judgment or the quality of services.
c. Not accept compensation, financial or
			 otherwise, from more than one party for services on the same project, unless the
			 circumstances are fully disclosed and agreed to by all interested
			 parties.
d. Act in professional
			 matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees and maintain
			 full confidentiality on all matters in which the welfare of the public is not
			 endangered.