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Order of the Engineer:
There is an organization that is very, very,
exclusive; only the confident, knowledgeable and
dedicated engineer need apply. These members
don’t have secret passwords, but you can tell who
they are by their special ring. They wear a
stainless steel ring on the pinky finger of their
working hand. The sight of one of these rings
tells you instantly - this person is different
from the rest. This person only signs off on work
that is done right, and the work can be counted on
to put the safety of the public above other
interests.
In this day and age of casual
attitudes toward the job and concern for others,
we still have a group who believe that engineers
have an obligation to see that the safety of the
public is ensured Every engineer is pressured to
reduce costs and shorten performance schedules.
It comes with the job. The question is, who draws
the line against over-eager accountants, profit
driven bosses and demanding investors? The answer
is the one who has the most knowledge: the
engineers who design projects and construct them.
So it is, that we engineers inherit the
responsibility for making the final decision. If
you are one of these dedicated engineers, you need
to belong to the Order of the Engineers.
The Order of the Engineer
grew out of a bridge failure that should not have
occurred. The deviation from accepted procedures
and the under-designing key structural elements
cost the lives of 76 construction workers. A group
of engineers formed what became known as the Order
of the Engineer, and through it, pledged
themselves to always remember the sacred trust
that resides with them in their work. They
originally used a beam of that same bridge to form
a
wrought iron ring which was placed on the little
finger of the working hand. This ring was to be a
reminder of the pledge they had made to practice
in a professional and competent manner..
The Order of the Engineer is
a unique organization in that there is only a
nominal $15 initiation fee, which covers the cost
of the certificate, the ring, and the ceremony.
There are no annual dues or formal meetings. A
group only gets together to accept the pledge of
fellow engineers who wish to make their public
declaration of responsibility for the public
safety and welfare by joining the Order of the
Engineer. Ethically, every engineer should belong
to this group and publicly proclaim their
responsibility and remain conscious of it.
We hope you will find it in
your heart to be a part of keeping the public
trust alive by joining the Order of the Engineer.
Ernesto J. Bonet was
inducted into the Order of the Engineer
along with 9 other PE's at the Annual New PE
Recognition Ceremony on October 4th 2006.
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