Sheet 36Mix-up sheet · Ethics, integrity and leadership
The BCSP Code of Ethics, standard by standard
Eight short standards make up the BCSP Code of Ethics, and each one is easiest to learn as a jobsite decision: a superintendent who wants a hazard left alone, a supplier offering game tickets, a résumé line that stretches the truth. The Code falls under Leadership and Ethics, 13.2% of the STSC7 blueprint (BCSP, as of October 2026).
BCSP Code of Ethics, paraphrased; the exact wording is in BCSP's textscroll →
Standard
In short
Where it meets a jobsite
1
Hold safety and health paramount; warn employers, clients, the public and authorities of serious danger
A hazard that stays in place after you have raised it
2
Be honest, fair and impartial; avoid conduct that discredits the profession or deceives the public
Logs, incident reports, training records
3
Make public statements only when objective, truthful and grounded in facts and competence
Talking to a reporter after an incident
4
Take on work only when qualified; keep competence current through education and experience
Being asked to approve a lift plan or a shoring design
5
Represent qualifications, experience and past responsibility accurately
Résumés, job applications, how you describe a past role
6
Keep professional relations honest, avoid conflicts of interest, report another status holder's misconduct to BCSP
A gift from a supplier whose work you inspect
7
Act free of bias, discrimination and harassment
Jokes aimed at a coworker's accent or faith, uneven discipline
8
Seek civic service; share knowledge and skills
Community safety events, professional groups
Talking point 02
Ethics calls in the field
Each card sets up a situation and asks what the Code expects. The notes name the standard behind the right answer.
Card 1 of 7 · 0 right
Card 1
A partially demolished wall leans over a public sidewalk. The supervisor has documented it and escalated twice, but management still refuses to close the sidewalk or brace the wall. What should the supervisor do?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
AA sign warns but does not prevent a collapse onto the sidewalk, so the duty to protect the public is not met.
BCorrect: the Code holds public safety paramount and calls for advising appropriate authorities when internal escalation fails to resolve a danger.
CDocumentation is necessary but does nothing for pedestrians exposed while management delays.
DSocial media is not an objective, accountable channel and does not reach the authority able to act.
Card 2
While reviewing a bid package, a supervisor sees the company has listed the supervisor's STSC as active. It lapsed last year after a missed recertification. What should the supervisor do?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: the Code requires qualifications to be represented accurately, so the lapsed credential must be corrected before the package goes out.
BRenewing later does not fix the record; the package would still be false on the date the client relies on it.
CCalling a lapsed credential pending renewal still suggests it is current and misleads the client.
DHaving once earned the credential does not allow it to be presented as active after it lapses.
Card 3
A worker reports that higher-paying tasks keep going to native-born crew members over equally qualified immigrant workers. What should the supervisor do FIRST?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ARequiring statements first shifts the burden onto the worker and delays a fair review.
BCorrect: Checking the records and escalating with facts addresses possible bias fairly rather than on assumptions.
CAccepting the foreman's reasoning without checking ignores a possible discrimination concern.
DChanging the system without a review may hide the problem without addressing it.
Card 4
A worker tells the supervisor that a coworker keeps making sexual comments toward the worker, but asks the supervisor not to do anything about it. What should the supervisor do?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: A supervisor who learns of possible harassment must act and escalate it, even when the worker asks for no action.
BKeeping a private note leaves the harassment in place and may violate company policy.
CRequiring a written complaint before acting puts a barrier in front of the worker.
DHandling it informally may not stop the behavior and bypasses the proper process.
Card 5
Only a few favored workers are offered advanced safety training while others with similar duties request the same opportunity. What should the supervisor do?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ALetting workers sort it out among themselves offers no fairness safeguard and can leave the same people excluded.
BSeniority alone is not tied to job duties or training needs, so it can still deny training to those who need it.
CRefusing everyone avoids one inequity by creating another: workers with real training needs go without it.
DCorrect: Job-related, documented criteria make training access consistent and defensible, removing favoritism from the decision.
Card 6
A supervisor learns that a peer supervisor tells workers not to report minor hazards so the area scores well on inspections. What is the MOST appropriate action?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: Discouraging hazard reports puts workers at risk, so the facts should be documented and raised with site management.
BInspecting the peer's area may find some hazards but does not fix the practice of discouraging reports.
CInviting reports helps, but it bypasses management and does not stop the peer's behavior.
DA private request may not end the practice, and management needs to know so it can be corrected.
Card 7
A worker reported exposed wiring on a temporary power panel directly to the safety manager, bypassing the line supervisor. The supervisor is considering a reprimand. What should the supervisor do?
Pick an answer. A short note for each option, A to D, appears here.
ACorrect: Hazard reports should be welcomed by any route, and punishing one discourages others from speaking up.
BA note in the personnel file is a form of punishment and discourages future reports.
CReprimanding a hazard report can look like retaliation and teaches workers to stay quiet.
DFunneling every report through one person can keep hazards from being reported at all.
Talking point 03
Where the Code is easy to misread
The Code covers more people than the credential does. Its opening policy applies it to anyone holding status with BCSP, and names applicants and candidates alongside credential holders.
Outside your competence, Standard 4 points to a qualified person. It does not ask a supervisor to refuse every unfamiliar task, only to avoid taking one on alone: an engineer for a shoring design, a qualified person for a fall-arrest anchorage.
A gift is a Standard 6 question when it could sway judgment. Declining it, disclosing it, or stepping back from evaluating that supplier are the moves the Code supports. Confidentiality has no standard of its own in the current text; questions that raise it lean on the honesty of Standard 2, and it never outranks Standard 1 when a life is at risk.
Ethics also counts toward keeping the credential: holders must earn 0.5 recertification points from ethics courses in cycles starting on or after July 1, 2023 (BCSP Recertification Guide, as of October 2026). Points, cycles and fees for the five-year cycle are laid out under STSC renewal, while leadership questions outside the Code sit with ethics, integrity and leadership.