Agenda

Webinar instructions will be emailed 24-48 business hours before the date of the webinar. 

Please log into the webinar 15 – 30 minutes before start time.


Friday, September 12, 2025
10:00 am – 12:00 pm CDT


Agenda:
Presented by Neil Opfer

Handling Ethical Issues in Engineering Practice

  • What is a profession?
  • What is meant by ethics?
  • Ethics versus laws/regulations
  • Professional ethics and the reasonable standard of care
  • Obligations to the public and to others

Case Studies in Engineering Ethics

  • Geotechnical engineering report was “dry-labbed”
  • Failure by engineering firm to place competent special inspectors on $750 million hotel/condo project
  • Structural engineer failed to properly supervise college students performing design work at SE’s office
  • Underbidding on special inspection budget by engineering firm led to $2 million lawsuit
  • Structural engineer failed to properly review contractor shop drawings/review initial design leading to structural failure

 

Webinar Instructions 
 
All attendees must log-on through their own email – attendees may not watch together if they wish to earn continuing education credit. HalfMoon Education Inc. must be able to prove attendance if either the attendee or HalfMoon Education Inc. is audited. 

Certificates of completion can be downloaded in PDF form upon passing a short quiz. A link to the quiz will be sent to each qualifying attendee immediately after the webinar. The certificate can be downloaded from the Results page of the quiz upon scoring 80% or higher. 

Webinars are presented via GoToWebinar, an easy-to-use application that can be run on most systems and tablets. Instructions and login information will be provided in an email sent close to the date of the webinar. It is highly recommended that you download, install and test the application before the webinar begins by clicking on the link in the email. 

GoToWebinar App requirements:  
Windows 10 or higher, macOS 11 or higher, Linux, Google Chrome OS 

Web Browser:  
Google Chrome (most recent 3 versions) 
Microsoft Edge (most recent 3 versions) 

Internet connection: 1 Mbps or better 

Hardware:  2GB of RAM (minimum), 4GB or more of RAM (recommended) 

For more information, visit the Support section at www.gotowebinar.com 

Credits

Engineers
2.0 PDHs*

 

Continuing Education Information

This webinar is open to the public and is designed to qualify for 2.0 PDHs for professional engineers in most states. *This course is not approved for continuing education credit in New York; please refer to specific state rules to verify eligibility.

HalfMoon Education is an approved continuing education sponsor for engineers in Florida (Provider License No: CEA362), Indiana (License No. CE21700059), Maryland, and New Jersey (Approval No. 24GP00049300).

Attendance will be monitored, and attendance certificates will be available after the webinar for those who attend the entire course and score a minimum 80% on the quiz that follows the course (multiple attempts allowed).

*On-Demand Credits*

The preceding credit information only applies to the live presentation. This course in an on-demand format is not pre-approved by any licensing boards and may not qualify for the same credits; please consult your licensing board(s) to ensure that a structured, asynchronous learning format is appropriate.

Speakers

Neil Opfer

Associate Professor with the University of Nevada Las Vegas Civil and Environment Engineering and Construction Department

Professor Opfer teaches coursework in construction management, cost control, cost estimating, structural design, and facility systems. He is also an industry consultant on design and construction issues, construction safety/defects, methods/materials, production, and cost management issues. He earned a B.S. degree in Building Theory, cum laude, a B.A. degree in Business, cum laude, and a B.A. degree in Economics, cum laude, all from Washington State University. Subsequently he earned his M.S. degree in Management (MBA) from Purdue University and his P.D. degree in Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also holds estimating-related certifications as a Certifed Estimating Professional (CEP), Certifed Cost Professional (CCP), Certifed Professional Cconstructor (CPC), and he is a licensed general contractor in Nevada.

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