Engineering work carries consequences that generic marketplace policies are not built for. This page states plainly what we act on, how fast, and — just as importantly — what the platform does not and cannot take responsibility for.
Grouped by type. In every case the response is stated, because a policy that describes the harm but not the consequence is not a policy.
Fabricated degrees, forged registration certificates, invented certifications or inflated grades within a genuine registration. Detected by direct checks against issuing institutions and registers rather than by inspecting uploaded PDFs, which are trivially forged.
Immediate badge withdrawal, account suspension pending investigation, and permanent removal on confirmation. Where a registration was forged, the issuing authority is notified, because a person claiming their registration falsely is that authority's problem as much as ours.
Claiming to be registered, chartered or licensed when not; claiming registration in a jurisdiction where none is held; or implying a registration authorises work it does not cover. This includes the subtler version: a genuine registration in one jurisdiction presented as if it were general.
Immediate correction of the profile, a formal warning on first instance where it appears to be genuine confusion about scope, and permanent removal where it is deliberate. Clients on live contracts with that engineer are notified.
Offering to stamp, seal or certify work where the engineer is not registered to do so, or implying a deliverable will be certified when it cannot be. Treated as among the most serious violations on the platform, because the downstream harm falls on third parties who never chose to take the risk.
Immediate suspension, permanent removal on confirmation, notification to the client and, where the work has already been submitted somewhere on a false basis, notification to the relevant authority.
Operating under another person's identity, credentials or professional reputation, including agencies operating profiles nominally belonging to an individual engineer who does not perform the work.
Immediate suspension, forced re-verification, and permanent removal on confirmation. Funds in escrow are protected while the account status is resolved.
Presenting another engineer's drawings, models, calculations or case studies as one's own. In engineering this is especially detectable: drawing sets carry title blocks, revision histories and consistent conventions, and a portfolio assembled from several sources rarely maintains internal consistency.
Portfolio items removed, portfolio verification revoked, and a record kept against the account. Repeat or extensive plagiarism results in permanent removal. Where the original author is identifiable, we notify them.
Reusing a client's confidential design, drawing set or model on another engagement, or submitting work derived from a former employer's proprietary material without rights to it.
Immediate suspension, preservation of the evidence record for both parties, and permanent removal on confirmation. Because this often has contractual and legal consequences beyond the platform, we preserve and provide the record to the affected party.
Sharing, retaining or exploiting documents received under an NDA or a restricted access level. Access logging means the retrieval record exists even where the onward disclosure happened elsewhere.
Immediate suspension, full access log disclosure to the affected party, and permanent removal on confirmation. Platform records are made available to support the affected party's own legal position.
Work or advice that is plainly outside the person's competence, ignores a governing standard, or presents an unverified result as authoritative in a context where failure causes harm. This is the hardest category to police, because bad engineering is not always distinguishable from unusual engineering without expert review.
Referred to independent discipline expert review rather than judged by a generalist. Substantiated findings lead to scope restriction, suspension or removal, and the client is notified directly regardless of the eventual determination, because they need to know before acting on the deliverable.
Passing work to an unnamed third party whose competence and registrations the client never assessed. Subcontracting is legitimate and common; concealing it is not, because the client contracted a specific competence.
Disclosure required and the client given the right to terminate with escrowed funds returned. Concealment after a direct question is treated as deliberate misrepresentation.
Stolen payment instruments, chargeback abuse, attempts to move an engagement off-platform to evade escrow, laundering through fabricated contracts, or engineers colluding with clients to generate fake transaction history.
Transaction blocked, funds frozen, account suspended and, where indicators warrant it, reported to the relevant financial authority. Off-platform solicitation specifically to evade escrow is a removable offence on its own.
Refusing to fund an agreed milestone, withholding acceptance on a deliverable that demonstrably meets the agreed criteria, or abandoning an engagement after work has been performed.
Escrow is the structural answer: work should not begin on an unfunded milestone, and the platform will not release a deliverable's funds to a client. Where acceptance is withheld unreasonably, the engineer escalates to review and a determination is made against the acceptance criteria. Persistent non-payment results in client account restriction.
Demanding work outside the agreed scope without a change request, repeatedly re-specifying after award, using the revision allowance to obtain additional deliverables, or threatening a negative review to extract unpaid work.
The contract baseline and change request record settle it. Review-based coercion is treated as a serious violation independently of the scope question, and reviews obtained under it are removed. Repeat offenders lose the ability to post.
Fabricated engagements to generate reviews, paid or reciprocal reviews, or pressure on a counterparty to alter or withdraw a review.
Affected reviews removed, review privileges restricted, and permanent removal for systematic manipulation. Reviews are only accepted from completed, funded contracts, which limits the attack surface considerably.
Abusive messages, sexual harassment, discriminatory requirements in a project posting, discriminatory rejection of a proposal, or targeted hostility in community discussions. It includes technical condescension used as a vehicle for hostility, which is a recognisable pattern in engineering settings.
Immediate protective measures for the person affected including blocking and contract suspension, investigation without requiring the affected person to argue their case repeatedly, and permanent removal for substantiated harassment. Discriminatory project requirements are removed and the client warned or restricted.
Punishing someone for raising a report, opening a dispute or leaving an honest review — through reviews, public statements, or coordinated action.
Treated as a violation independent of the underlying matter, and frequently more seriously, because a reporting system that permits retaliation does not function.
Genuine good-faith disagreements about who owns a deliverable, whether background IP was incorporated, or what a residual knowledge clause permits. These are distinct from theft and are treated as such.
We do not adjudicate IP ownership; that is a legal question beyond our competence and authority. We preserve and provide the complete record — the contract IP terms, transmittals, access logs and deliverables — to both parties, and hold escrowed funds until the parties or a competent forum resolve it.
Nine domains where the consequence of getting it wrong falls on people who never chose the risk. Legitimate projects in these areas proceed — with verification proportionate to the risk and responsibility boundaries stated at award.
| Domain | Typical scope | What the platform requires |
|---|---|---|
| Structural safety | Load-bearing structures, foundations, temporary works, façade support, retaining structures | Verified registration in the asset's jurisdiction for any certified scope; expert review on analysis-only scopes above defined scale |
| Pressure systems | Pressure vessels, boilers, piping systems, relief sizing, pipeline integrity | Verified registration plus documented code competence (ASME, PED, EN 13445 or local equivalent) |
| Electrical protection | Protection coordination, arc flash studies, earthing systems, HV switchgear, grid interface | Verified registration where the jurisdiction requires it; documented competence in the study type and software |
| Medical devices | Device design, biocompatibility, sterilisation, IEC 60601 compliance, regulatory submissions | Verified regulatory pathway experience; explicit statement that the platform is not a notified body or regulator |
| Nuclear | Safety case work, containment, criticality, decommissioning, radiological shielding | Verified registration and nuclear-specific quality assurance competence; enhanced identity and clearance checks |
| Flight-critical systems | Primary structures, flight control, propulsion, airworthiness compliance, DO-178C software | Verified registration or recognised airworthiness competence; export control screening |
| Life safety systems | Fire protection and detection, means of escape, smoke control, fire engineering strategy | Verified registration in the asset's jurisdiction; expert review of any performance-based approach |
| Hazardous process | Relief and blowdown, HAZOP, SIL determination, toxic and flammable inventory, COMAH-scope sites | Verified registration plus documented functional safety or process safety competence |
| Public infrastructure | Bridges, tunnels, dams, rail systems, water and wastewater, public buildings | Verified registration in the asset's jurisdiction; client confirmation of the approval route before award |
Six steps, with the timings we hold ourselves to.
Every profile, project, proposal, message thread, file and community post carries a report control. Reports can be made anonymously to the counterparty, though not to us — we need to be able to ask you questions.
A human reviews every report within the hour, at any time of day. Triage decides urgency, whether protective measures are needed immediately, and whether the matter needs discipline expertise to assess at all.
Before any investigation concludes, we can block contact, suspend a contract, freeze escrow, restrict file access or suspend an account. Protective measures are not findings, and they are applied where the cost of waiting exceeds the cost of being wrong.
Technical allegations are assessed by someone who can read the work — an independent discipline expert where required. Both parties are asked for their account and their evidence. We do not resolve a technical safety question by deciding who is more persuasive.
A written outcome stating what was found and what action follows: no action, warning, scope restriction, verification withdrawal, suspension, permanent removal, or referral to an external authority. Both parties are told the outcome.
One appeal is available on new evidence or a procedural error, reviewed by someone who was not involved in the original determination. Protective measures may remain in place during an appeal.
Every check, what it confirms, and the explicit statement of what no badge means.
Escrow, milestone funding, acceptance, revisions, resolution and what is not covered.
The full position on verification, licensure, scopes of work and jurisdiction.
Contractual obligations for both sides, including conduct and prohibited use.
