Professional Practice Exam Headquarters The Fast Track Guide To Mastering the National Professional Practice Exam By: Mike Grossman, P. Eng. www.ppehq.com Document Name Your Company Name (C) Copyright (Print Date) All Rights Reserved 1
Professional Practice Exam Headquarters The Fast Track Guide to the National Professional Practice Exam By Mike Grossman, P. Eng. Copyright 2013, Mike Grossman, P. Eng. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED No part of this publication may be reproduced, transcribed, or used in any form or by any means, very specifically web distribution, without the written prior permission of Mike Grossman. P. Eng. In other words please don t copy this work, pass it off as your own nor share with your friends. I worked hard to prepare this material, and would simply like you do to the right thing
Writing this ebook is my first shot at online business! I made a pact to only engage in business ideas that provide mega value while doing something that I enjoy. My intent is not to worry much about the return for providing this value, and to trust that money will follow in time. I graduated the University of Saskatchewan in 2001 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. In 2003, I took two weeks off to prepare for my NPPE exam two weeks of my hard earned vacation time. I started by ordering the material and simply making study notes of that material. It wasn t until I was 60% of the way through the material that I realized I should be making study notes on the supplied syllabus. I cannot tell you how much time I wasted making study notes of the OH&S manual and the CIPO documents only the find out they were worth less than 5% of the exam. Super Disappointed!! My goals are to make this exam experience as quick and painless as possible for you. There is no reason you cannot get through this material in a weekend. DO NOT take two weeks off to study as I did. DO NOT make study notes on the material, follow the syllabus. In fact do not make study notes at all as they have been carefully prepared for you within this ebook that is packed full tips and those Tricky Exam materials. I thank all of you that have supported me thus far in creating this ebook and this business adventure I truly appreciate all your help. To those aspiring Professional Engineers and Geoscientists kind enough to send feedback I cannot thank you enough. If at any point you have questions related to this ebook or the NPPE exam please don t hesitate to contact me. mike@ppehq.com 2
Contents INTRODUCTION 4 SECTION A: PROFESSIONALISM (10%) 6 A.1 Definition & Interpretation of Professionalism & Professional Status A.2 The Roles & Responsibilities of Professionals in Society A.3 Engineering & Geoscience Professions in Canada; Definitions & Scopes of Practice A.4 The Value of Engineering & Geoscience Professions to Society A.5 The Roles & Responsibilities of Professionals to Management SECTION B: ETHICS (20%) 9 B.1 The Role of Ethics in Society; Cultures & Customs B.2 Classical & Modern Ethical Theories & Principles B.3 Codes of Ethics of Professional Engineers & Geoscientists in Canada B.4 Ethical Standards & Codes & Their Relationship to the Conduct of a Professional B.5 Common Ethical Issues & Dilemmas; Making Ethical Decisions SECTION C: PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE (27%) 13 C.1 Professional Accountability for Work, Workplace Issues, Job Responsibilities & Standards of Practice C.2 Relations With Other Professionals & Non-Professionals; Business Practices C.3 Statutory & Non-Statutory Standards & Codes of Practice C.4 Insurance, Risk Management & Quality Management; Due Diligence C.5 Environmental Responsibilities & Sustainable Development C.6 Use of Software, Computers & Internet-Based Tools; Liability for Software Errors C.7 Documentation Authentication & Control C.8 Duty to Inform; Whistleblowing SECTION D: COMMUNICATION (1%) 18 D.1 Legal, Ethical & Practical Aspects of Communication D.2 The Professional Relationship D.3 Communication Skills SECTION E: LAW FOR PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE (23% 19 E.1 The Canadian Legal System E.2 Contract Law - Elements, Principles, and Applications E.3 Tort Law Elements, Principles, and Applications E.4 Civil Code in Quebec and Common Law in Rest of Canada E.5 Business, Employment, and Labor Law E.6 Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) E.7 Intellectual Property Patents, Trademarks, Trade Secrets, Software Issues, Copyright 3
E.8 Expert Witness E.9 Construction Liens E.10 International Law E.11 Environmental Law E.12 Workers Compensation and Occupational Health & Safety E.13 Human Rights and Privacy Legislation SECTION F: PROFESSIONAL LAW (8%) 39 F.1 The Act, Regulations and Bylaws, Provincial & Territorial Acts F.2 Code of Ethics; Conflicts of Interest F.3 Admission to the Professions F.4 Illegal Practice; Enforcement Against Unlicensed Practice and Misuse of Title F.5 Professional and Technical Societies SECTION G: REGULATION & DISCIPLINE PROCESSES (11%) 43 G.1 Discipline and Enforcement Procedures G.2 Professional Inspection; Practice Reviews of Individuals G.3 Response to Complaints G.4 Licensing Corporations and Practice Review of Firms G.5 Response to Unethical or Incompetent Practice; Consequences of Unethical Practice G.6 Canadian and International Mobility G.7 Continuing Professional Development G.8 Use of Seals and Stamps 4
Introduction The National Professional Practice Exam (NPPE) The NPPE is a closed book exam of 100 multiple choice questions to be completed within 2 hours. British Columbia and Saskatchewan have added answer essay questions to the NPPE and granted an additional hour for a total of 3 hours. A mark of 65% is required to pass the NPPE! You will not be notified if you passed the examination and you will only be notified in 4 6 weeks if you failed. The syllabus for the NPPE is provided in the table of contents with a weighting of each section. DID YOU JUST FEEL A NINJA LIKE TINGLE? You should of, since this material is based on the syllabus and not simply notes based on recommended resources. The number one mistake of newbies preparing for this exam is devoting efforts based on the suggested texts rather than the syllabus itself. There are many sections of the suggested material that you shouldn t bother reading at all. The materials suggested by your Association are in the order of 875 pages; this ebook is in the order of 47 pages what would you rather? It is also very important to realize the NPPE is administered by Alberta s Association (APEGS) and this exam is utilized by a number of other Associations including: APEGBC British Columbia APEGM Manitoba APEGS Saskatchewan APENS Nova Scotia APEGNB New Brunswick PEGNL Newfoundland and Labrador APEPEI Prince Edward Island NAPEG Northwest Territories and Nunavut APEY Yukon 5
The exclusions are Quebec and Ontario. Regardless one can immediately see that a few topics in the exam must be generic to suit all the associations. Therefore: DO NOT memorize your Associations Act, Bylaws, Regulations or specifically DO NOT memorize your Associations Code of Ethics. Common themes and a thorough understanding of this material contained within this ebook. DO NOT spend much time reviewing your Province s Occupational Health and Safety Act. Each Province and Territory has their own and the questions relating to this subject will be generic to all of them. This ebook outlines generic material common to all Associations. DO NOT spend much time reviewing Province specific material suggested in your Association s Literature Order information. For example, APEGA suggests a Royal Bank Letter; however, the vast majority of Associations do not. Therefore it is very reasonable to assume that reading this document is not required. FEEL ANOTHER NINJA LIKE TINGLE? YOU SHOULD YOUR NOW ON THE FAST TRACK It is a personal decision to read all of the documents and texts in entirety. I am not suggesting that you do not read the material; ACTUALLY YES I AM STATING THAT YOU SHOULD NOT READ ALL OF THE SUGGESTED MATERIAL. However, you should be familiar with the material, an extremely quick skim is in order. 6
Section A: Professionalism (10%) A.1 Definition and Interpretation of Professionalism and Professional Status A definition of Professional utilized in Canadian Professional Engineering and Geoscience is as follows: Professional - A calling requiring specialized knowledge and often long and intensive preparation including instruction in skills and methods as well as in the scientific, historical, or scholarly principles underlying such skills and methods, maintaining by force of organization or concerned opinion high standards of achievement and conduct, and committing its members to continued study and to a kind of work which has for its prime purpose the rendering of a public service. 1 Tricky Exam Material - this definition is considered general (not of a restrictive scope) and is not specific by any means. A nice summary is as follows: A group (membership) Specialized knowledge (skills and methods) Accountable and responsible (self-regulating & governing) Continued study (lifelong learning) Performing a public service (protecting the public) 6
A.2 The Roles and Responsibilities of Professionals in Society Considerations for the Professional include: Public trust (fragile & must be protected) Elitist misperception Monopoly misperception Public expectations Increased Complexity & Specialization Accountability (public, regulator, self, profession, employer/client, shareholders NOTE it is worthwhile to quickly skim the professionalism document that APEGA produces named Concepts of Professionalism, v1.0, September 2004. Self-Regulation It is important to note that each province and territory has passed Acts to create Associations, which regulate that profession. This is termed a selfregulating profession and is an important difference from the US system that is regulated by government. Members of the Association elect the majority of the Association s Council who are for the most part members of the Association. Self-Regulation provides the mean of: Right to title ( P. Eng. or Professional Geoscientist ) Scope of practice Tricky Exam Material - a graduating engineer does not have the right to use the title Professional Engineer nor Engineer in Training. They must register with the Association in order to use titles. The main benefit of self-regulation is that it ensures knowledgeable professionals typically Association members - are in Council to administer the Act. The public also benefits from self-regulation since the Association is funded primarily through licensing fees and not provincial or federal funding. 7
A.3 Engineering and Geoscience Professions in Canada; Definitions and Scopes of Practice Professional Engineering & Geosciences There are a number of organizations that define the term Professional Engineering including: Engineers Canada and your Association. However, these definitions are broad in nature and all include verbiage around an act putting math and sciences to practical use while protecting the public. Another major point is the responsibility of utilizing the sound engineering judgment in applying an appropriate factor of safety. Tricky Exam Material - a term often used is the legal definition and it is important to note that your Association is created by legislation and is therefore a legal entity providing a legal definition. A.4 The Value of Engineering and Geoscience Professions to Society This section of the syllabus is very brief as it is very simple. The benefits to the public are the protection of the public by allowing only qualified and licensed professionals to control the quality of professional services. A.5 The Roles and Responsibilities of Professionals to Management This section of the syllabus is also very brief and the purpose is simply to make the professional aware of managerial roles. The typical Engineer and the typical Geoscientist have a career that begins in a technical role of learning, leading to a fork in the road. At this point the career either turns more specialized or managerial. It is important to realize that a managerial role will have the professional focus of skills that are not technical. However, the high standards of professionalism are a must to influence the organization as a whole. 1 Webster s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1993 8
Final Words I trust this sample chapter has helped hone your ninja like exam skills. There is far more information than we can cover in a small ebook such as this. I have gone into far more depth and simplified the studying process for you greatly in my ebook, The Fast Track Guide to the Professional Practice Exam, available at www.ppehq.com. Contact me anytime at Mike@ppehq.com and best wishes with your exam. 8