BEM Convention 2022
Commitment to Professional Ethics in Engineering Profession : An Aircraft Engineer ’ s Perspective
By Ir . Ricky Liew Chee Leong First Place Winner
ESSAY COMPETITION WINNERS
Introduction
The world of engineering has always been filled with excitement . The excitement of designing technology and maintaining systems with innovativeness to overcome various types of challenges has kept the engineer ’ s life very interesting , at least for me . It is even more interesting because the Registration of Engineers Act ( REA ) 138 ( 2015 ) defines engineering works as “ all works which include any publicly or privately-owned public utilities , buildings , machines , equipment , process , works or projects that require the application of engineering principles and data ”. This covers all the disciplines and branches of engineering functions in Malaysia . The scope is wide and the engineering profession has an impact on the safety and well-being of everyone . It is a noble profession that engineers can be proud of .
Engineering Ethics Test in the Real Aviation World
Having been in the aviation engineering industry for more than 33 years , it is undeniable that the essence of engineering has ethics at the core of the norms of engineering practice . I remember years ago when I was the engineer in charge of an aircraft that was being used for an election campaign . It was a very busy schedule for the election candidate but when they returned to base , I found that the aircraft had a system fault and decided to ground the aircraft . This would disrupt the candidate ’ s campaign schedule and may affect the results of the election for the candidate . The senior management pressured me hard to release the aircraft so that the campaign schedule can be met .
Despite the tremendous management pressure for me to release the aircraft , I stood by my decision that the aircraft is not safe and would not certify and release the aircraft as airworthy . To me , the safety of the pilots , election candidate and other crew members was my responsibility and I was prepared to be terminated . I faced the pressure calmly and confidently because I had a clear conscience that the practising engineer ’ s intention to protect the public means the engineer is in turn is protected by law . This is the comfort for a practising engineer who holds the safety of the public as paramount .
The Registration of Engineers Regulations ( RER ) ( 1990 ) Amendment ( 2021 ) no . 24 ( b ) clearly states that an engineer “ at all times holds paramount the safety , health and interest of the public ”. This is where the practising engineer ’ s adherence will protect both the public and the engineer . The regulation complements and also supports my certification privileges issued under the national aviation authority Civil Aviation
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