[ Legal and Regulatory ]

Those of us doing “knowledge work” owe a duty of care to the public who are affected by the work done. It is an obligation in the engineering profession, both internally as a person, and externally to the public, to work within the laws, regulations, codes and other instruments which we are legally bound to apply.

It’s sometimes not easy to digest those documents, but we are obligated to take the time to investigate and understand them. Interestingly, norms and values (and ethics) are indicative of legal and regulatory requirements. This is a complex competency which needs some thinking about.