--- title: "Consultant's friend supplies material; community objects" subject: "Engineering Professional Practice" chapter: 7 key: "semester_8/engineering_professional_practice:consultant-friend-supplier-quit" source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_8/engineering_professional_practice/consultant-friend-supplier-quit site: BCT Engineering --- # Consultant's friend supplies material; community objects Engineering Professional Practice · Chapter 7: Case Studies based on Engineering Practices - Asked in: year not given - Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14 - Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_8/engineering_professional_practice/consultant-friend-supplier-quit - Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_8/engineering_professional_practice/chapter-7 ## Question You are appointed as a consulting engineer in a project where your best friend is supplying material. The community people knew the fact and asked you to quit the job because you cannot control the quality of the material. How do you cope with this situation? Discuss ethical aspects related to this situation. ## Short answer Disclose the friendship to the client in writing, arrange independent testing and client monitoring of the friend's materials, refuse all favors, and explain safeguards to the community. Step down if trust or independence cannot be maintained. ## Answer #### Case and assumptions I am the consulting engineer who approves and checks the quality of materials in a community project. My close friend is the material supplier, and the community has found out and demands that I quit. I assume the friend was selected through a fair process and that I did not know about it before accepting the appointment. #### Ethical aspects - **Conflict of interest:** my duty is to the client and the community, to check strictly, but my friendship may tempt me to be lenient. Even if I stay fair, there is an apparent conflict that harms public trust. - **Code of conduct:** the Nepal Engineering Council code requires an engineer to avoid or disclose conflicts of interest, act as a faithful agent of the client, be honest, and not be influenced by personal relations or benefits. The Public Procurement Act 2063 also seeks to prevent conflicts of interest in procurement. - **Public confidence:** the community's concern is legitimate, because they will use the facility and bear the consequences of poor quality. Their objection should be taken seriously, not as an insult. - **Duty of disclosure:** I should tell the client as soon as I learn of the relationship. #### Options 1. Ignore the objection and continue: this risks the project's credibility and my ethics. 2. Quit at once: clean, but the project loses an engineer, and it may not be needed if the conflict can be managed. 3. Disclose and manage the conflict while continuing. 4. Ask the friend to withdraw as supplier (not always possible if already contracted). #### Recommended action 1. Immediately inform the client in writing about the relationship and let the client decide. 2. Arrange safeguards: material tests by an independent accredited laboratory; another engineer or the client's representative signs the acceptance of the friend's materials; sample testing in front of the community committee; publication of the test results. 3. Do not take any gift or favour from the friend, and keep a professional distance at work. 4. Meet the community, explain these steps and invite them to monitor quality. 5. If the client or the community still does not accept this, or if I cannot keep my independence, I should step down gracefully. Public trust and the project's success are more important than my appointment. To cope with this, I should be transparent and impartial, and must not let the friendship lead me to hide any facts. ## Check yourself The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why. 1. Why is the consulting engineer's friendship with the supplier an ethical problem even if he stays fair? A. Friendship with a supplier is a crime B. It automatically proves poor quality C. The apparent conflict harms public trust and may tempt leniency D. Suppliers cannot be friends with anyone Answer: C. His duty is to check strictly for the client and community; friendship may tempt leniency and the apparent conflict harms public trust. (Key point: Conflict of interest) 2. What should the engineer have done at the beginning? A. Say nothing as the supplier was chosen fairly B. Tell the client about the relationship at the outset C. Quit the job immediately without explanation D. Ask the supplier to hide the friendship Answer: B. He has a duty of disclosure: inform the client in writing about the relationship and let the client decide. (Key point: Duty of disclosure) 3. Which safeguard helps manage the conflict? A. The engineer alone accepts the friend's materials B. Testing by the friend's own laboratory C. Accepting small gifts to keep goodwill D. Independent accredited laboratory tests, another engineer or client representative signing acceptance, and publishing test results Answer: D. Independent testing, separate sign-off, testing before the community committee and publishing results restore trust. (Key point: Safeguards) 4. When should the engineer step down? A. Immediately, at the first objection B. Never, because the community has no say C. Only if the supplier asks him to D. If the client or community still does not accept the safeguards, or he cannot keep his independence Answer: D. Quitting is the last step if the conflict cannot be managed; public trust and project success matter more than his appointment. (Key point: When to step down) ## Related in Engineering Professional Practice - [Site engineer uses weaker mortar and concrete mix](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fengineering_professional_practice%3Amortar-ratio-friend-silence) — Engineering Professional Practice, chapter 7 - [Contractor friend's dinner and guesthouse offer](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fengineering_professional_practice%3Afriend-dinner-guesthouse-ethics) — Engineering Professional Practice, chapter 7 - [Engineer opens confidential salary file](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fengineering_professional_practice%3Aconfidential-salary-file-conduct) — Engineering Professional Practice, chapter 7 - [Job description of fresh engineers](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fengineering_professional_practice%3Afresh-engineer-job-description) — Engineering Professional Practice, chapter 3, asked 5× - [Contractor asks supervisor to prepare running bill](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fengineering_professional_practice%3Acontractor-running-bill-bribe) — Engineering Professional Practice, chapter 7 - [Substandard sand offered with cost-saving share](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_8%2Fengineering_professional_practice%3Asubstandard-sand-aggregate-share) — Engineering Professional Practice, chapter 7 ## Related in other subjects - [WBM: material, equipment, procedure, quality control](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftransportation_engineering_ii%3Awbm-materials-equipment-quality-control) — Transportation Engineering II, chapter 3 - [Quality; QA vs QC; site engineer steps](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fproject_engineering%3Aquality-qa-qc-site-engineer-steps) — Project Engineering, chapter 4 - [Short note: Project quality control](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Fproject_engineering%3Aquality-control-techniques-note) — Project Engineering, chapter 4, asked 2× - [Community, management, empowerment and engineer's role](https://www.bctengineer.com/question.md?key=semester_7%2Ftechnology_environment_and_society%3Acommunity-empowerment-engineer) — Technology, Environment and Society, chapter 2