Question: Was it ethical for Engineer A to charge Client X for the complete traffic study?

Question

Facts: Engineer A, a professional engineer, performs a traffic study for Client X as part of the client’s permit application for traffic flow for the development of a store. Engineer A invoices Client X for a complete traffic study.

Later, Client X learns that part of the traffic study provided by Engineer A to Client X was earlier developed by Engineer A for a developer, Client Y, at a nearby location and that Engineer A invoiced Client Y for the complete traffic study. The second study on a new project for Client X utilized some of the same raw data as was in the report prepared for Client Y. The final conclusion of the engineering study was essentially the same in both studies.

homework in ece100

Answer 1

No.  Since client Y paid for the complete study, engineer A should have

1.  repeated the measurements to obtain new raw data

2.  or, made a formal request to Client Y to allow re-use of the initial raw data, and not charged Client X the 'complete cost' of that data, as if he had collected it solely for Client X.

3.  Both 1 & 2, to have a better sample set of raw data for the subsequent analysis.

If the engineer had not charged Client Y for the complete cost of obtaining the raw data, and/or had an agreement through which the engineer retained ownership rights to the raw data, then the engineer could ethically charge Client X for some or all of the cost of the data.

In most cases, the engineer would be prohibited from releasing data obtained from the Client Y study without specific permission from Client Y.  The engineer is obligated to keep this information confidential, unless legal agreements exist to allow its release.