Gathering Places
Gathering Places
Civil engineers hold
high ethical standardsThe American Society of Civil Engineers has been following the recent allegations of improper political campaign contributions by local engineering firms with a great deal of anguish. Some of the individuals who have been accused of wrongdoing are civil engineers and members of our organization. We want to make it perfectly clear that we strongly disapprove of the practice of exchanging campaign contributions for government contracts.
ASCE has a strict code of ethics, which states in its canon: "Engineers shall not give, solicit or receive either directly or indirectly, any political contribution, gratuity, or unlawful consideration in order to secure work." The society enforces this code and will take disciplinary action if warranted. It has done so in the past and may very well do so again in the future.
This behavior is clearly out of line. The appearance of impropriety by a few individuals tarnishes the civil engineering profession as a whole. Civil engineers are involved in the planning, design, construction and operation of our infrastructure, from bridges and buildings to roads, airports, harbors, water distribution and sewage treatment systems. They also act as environmental stewards and health and safety advocates.
Civil engineers rely on the public's trust in their efforts to build a better quality of life for everyone. We teach this to our students and expect them to adhere to high ethical standards once they enter the profession. In addition, we are all bound to strict ethical guidelines by virtue of our licensure. Fortunately, the vast majority of civil engineers in Hawaii practice engineering in a knowledgeable and responsible fashion and deserve the trust of our community.
ASCE has been working to eliminate the conditions that favor the exchanging of political contributions for contracts. We have been cooperating with other local engineering and architectural organizations to lobby the state Legislature to revise the current Procurement Code to reflect a more open, transparent and accountable system, along the lines of Congress's Brooks Act of 1972.
The Brooks Act mandates that federal engineering, architectural and surveying contracts be awarded by means of a Qualifications Based Selection system. As the term implies, the selection, procurement and administration of engineering services is based strictly on the qualifications of the engineering provider and not on political contributions or other unwarranted preferences. ASCE and other organizations across the country endorse this approach. In addition to the federal government, 42 states have successfully implemented QBS contracting laws. There is no reason that such a system should not work here in Hawaii.
We were pleased to hear Governor Lingle state in her inaugural address that, "A new beginning means awarding contracts openly and strictly based on the merit of the proposal." We are hopeful that when her administration is in place the unsavory practice of exchanging political contributions for contracts can be eliminated once and for all in Hawaii.
Horst Brandes is president of ASCE Hawaii Section.