LoadPath PDH — PE/NICET supplemental PDH (not FHWA/NBIS refresher training).

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EthicsOnline self-study

Ethics for Bridge Engineers: Sealing, Ratings and Critical Findings

1 PDH · about 60 minutes · Course no. BR-X01 · Instructor: Michael Craig, PE

About the instructor

Michael Craig, PE is Senior Vice President and Southeast Director at Strinteg Corporation, leading bridge inspection and structural engineering across eight states and Puerto Rico. In 27+ years he has inspected over 4,000 structures and completed 3,000+ load ratings and 160+ load tests. He has managed repair and preservation design for complex bridges, including cable-stayed bridges. He holds PE licenses in twelve states, DC and Puerto Rico, SPRAT Level 1, and FAA Part 107 credentials.

Bridge engineers make decisions that the traveling public never sees and cannot check: whether a rating supports keeping a bridge open, whether a crack is a critical finding, whether a set of plans is ready to seal. This one-hour ethics course works through those decisions using three primary sources: the NCEES Model Law and Model Rules (August 2026 editions), which most U.S. licensing boards use as a template for their own statutes and rules, and the NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers (as revised July 2019). It connects those obligations to the federal National Bridge Inspection Standards (23 CFR 650 Subpart C) where the regulation creates specific moments of ethical pressure: load ratings, load postings, closures, quality control and critical findings. Scenarios are invented for teaching and are labeled as such.

⬇ Download study guide (PDF)

Learning objectives

  • Apply the paramount duty to public safety
  • Handle pressure on ratings and postings
  • Use seals properly
  • Report and escalate concerns

Outline

  1. Why ethics is a bridge engineering topic
  2. The sources: model law, model rules and a society code
  3. The paramount duty
  4. Competence and responsible charge
  5. The seal: what it certifies
  6. Ratings, postings and closures under pressure
  7. Critical findings and escalation
  8. Truthful reports and quality control
  9. Conflicts of interest, gifts and procurement
  10. Reviewing others' work and reporting violations
  11. Consequences: discipline and personal responsibility
  12. A decision process for hard cases
  13. Open the course (18 screens, 2 knowledge checks)
  14. Final quiz — 10 questions, 70% to pass

References

  1. NCEES, Model Law and Model Rules
  2. NSPE, Code of Ethics for Engineers
  3. 23 CFR Part 650, Subpart C — National Bridge Inspection Standards (final rule published May 6, 2022)
  4. NCEES, Model Law (August 2026) and Model Rules (August 2026 revision), ncees.org
  5. NSPE, Code of Ethics for Engineers, Publication #1102, as revised July 2019