On 11 March 2011, the Disciplinary Board considered allegations of improper conduct against a Graduate member, Mr Anthony Sheehy, Membership Number 60865366, of South London.
It was alleged that Mr Sheehy had used the designations ‘CEng MICE’, to which he was not entitled, on a business card for his company, ‘DRAFT3D’ which he presented to a prospective client. It was also alleged that when Mr Sheehy subsequently produced structural calculations for alterations to the client’s house, he failed to reply to queries from the Local Authority Building Control Department about his calculations, and did not reply to his client’s repeated requests to him to do so.
The Disciplinary Board found Mr Sheehy guilty of Improper Conduct in relation to the allegation against him in that he had breached By-laws 34, 35 and 36 and Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct.
By-law 34 states that a member may not use a designation to which the member is not entitled.
By-law 35 requires all members to order their conduct so as to uphold the dignity, standing and reputation of the Institution.
By-law 36(4) lays down that “improper conduct” shall mean any conduct, other than that laid down in By-law 36(1) – (3), which shall indicate unfitness to be a member or shall otherwise be unbefitting to a member as such.
Under By-law 35, the Council is empowered to make Rules of Conduct to be observed by all members to ensure the fulfilment of the requirements of By-law 35. Rule 1 of these Rules of Professional Conduct states: “All members shall discharge their professional duties with integrity”.
Under the powers conferred on it by By-law 40, the Disciplinary Board ordered that Mr Sheehy should be Expelled from the Institution and that the fact and particulars of the Order against him, and the details of the improper conduct of which he had been found guilty, should be posted in the Institution and published.
In making the Order against Mr Sheehy, the Disciplinary Board noted that on 17 September 2009, Mr Sheehy had appeared before the Disciplinary Board to answer the allegation that he had described himself as ‘MICE’ in a report he had submitted to a London Council. In relation to this allegation, the Disciplinary Board found Mr Sheehy guilty of improper conduct, and ordered that he should be Severely Reprimanded and Fined two hundred pounds.