The subject of professional ethics has become increasingly topical and important in the construction and engineering industries over recent years on a national and global level. This has largely been predicated on high profile global cases that have come to light where unethical practices, standards and behaviours have been identified and widely publicised. These have involved breaches of governance and codes of conduct and aspects of corruption in more extreme cases, which has led to reputational damage for the organisations involved and a general loss of public confidence in the construction and engineering industries. Given that construction and engineering activities operate almost wholly in the public eye, it is inevitably scrutinised significantly more than other sectors of the economy, which present real challenges for those responsible for evidencing consistent, ethical practices across complex and sometimes challenging supply networks. Put simple, as a direct consequence of these inherent difficulties, I strongly believe that there is an absolute imperative for long term transformational change and the construction and engineering industries are at a critical juncture in this regard.

With his vast experience in the construction industry across 32 years, the author is very well placed to address the dilemmas and challenges around professional ethics and the book does provide a thorough articulation and analysis of the practical and pragmatic ways and means to approach the application of ethical standards. To contextualise the scale of the problem whilst offering best practice solutions, the author has covered many different areas including ethical dilemmas, regulation and governance, professional codes of conduct and corporate social responsibility. The book draws on case studies from the authors experience alongside hypothetical practical examples to describe certain ethical dilemmas and suggested best practices in many different scenarios. In addition, the author has also developed an ethics toolkit, as a practical guide for managing projects. It is hoped that this will encourage more ethical behaviours and standards and discourage breaches in immoral and illegal practices. The result is a professionally focused textbook aimed at vocational learners (at both undergraduate and postgraduate taught levels) and practitioners in construction, engineering, architecture, and the wider built environment.

This book is not the first to outline some of the ethical shortcomings in the construction and engineering industries, but I believe does offer what many have been waiting for. I hope this book offers the inspiration for more moral and responsible and ethical professional practices, in the overall pursuit of building more confidence and trust in the construction and engineering industries. In this sense, if it creates a new perspective of understanding and dialogue around professional ethics, then it will have served its purpose.

Dr Abdul Salam Darwish BSc MSCCITM PhD PGCE DTQM DEPMP DMM DBM
School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment, University of Bolton