Original question written by FE Exam AI Prep from the public FE Civil exam specification. Before release, a solver model re-derived the answer twice from the question alone, without its answer key, and a critic model checked the result. No licensed engineer reviews these questions. It is not an NCEES question and does not come from any NCEES practice exam. FE Exam AI Prep is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NCEES.
Professional Ethics and Public Welfare: FE Civil practice problem 3
For the Summit Road industrial service road, a design checker preparing an asset management screening discovers a field condition that may create an immediate public safety risk near an open excavation. What should be done first?
- AWait for the next monthly progress meeting so the record is orderly.
- BKeep the concern internal until the contractor requests design assistance.
- CAvoid documenting the issue because the site is under another firm's control.
- DCommunicate the hazard promptly through the responsible chain and support immediate protective action.
Show the answer and worked solution
Answer: D — Communicate the hazard promptly through the responsible chain and support immediate protective action.
Worked solution
- Step 1. Identify the professional obligation
Public welfare, competence, honesty, and conflict disclosure control the decision.
- Step 2. Select the defensible action
The correct response preserves transparent review and avoids misleading reliance.
Why the other choices are wrong
- Choice A
- Waiting for the next scheduled progress meeting subordinates an active safety hazard to administrative convenience, leaving workers exposed near the open excavation for weeks. An orderly record does nothing to protect anyone from a hazard that needs attention now rather than at the next meeting.
- Choice B
- Keeping the hazard internal until the contractor happens to ask for help treats a public safety issue as something to withhold rather than proactively raise. The excavation risk exists regardless of whether the contractor requests assistance, so staying silent until asked leaves the hazard unaddressed.
- Choice C
- Avoiding documentation because another firm controls the site uses a jurisdictional boundary as an excuse to suppress information about an immediate hazard. Public safety obligations do not stop at a contract line, so withholding the record leaves a known excavation risk unrecorded and unaddressed.