Engineering Ethics in Practice: a Guide for Engineers

When being an engineer problems present themself on a daily basis. Some are math problems which are to be expected, but some are ethical problems that can be even more difficult to solve. Fortunately for us we have the utilitarianism and respect for persons model which in most cases can either help or completely solve the ethical dilemma at hand.

Ethics are fundamental in all human interaction; they guide or beliefs and behaviors, therefore fundamentally affecting how we live life. As Christians, it is especially important to live a life of ethics in order to follow the standard to which God has called us with the words: “Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world” (NASB). This responsibility to live life in a way that is caring and beneficial to others is especially important for engineers. Engineers are often held to a higher standard than most other workers due to the nature of an engineer’s work to involve the safety of others. The National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) has a Code of Ethics for Engineers that highlights a few of the most important aspects of proper ethical consideration in the work of an engineer. In the ethics video produced by the NSPE we see Z-Corp—a company responsible for providing commercial fertilizer—break many of these ethical considerations. The three most considerable ethical issues seen in this video are: Z-Corp lying to the public about the state of their product, using outdate, less accurate tests in order to pass contamination laws, and firing the most competent staff that they had to authorize the contamination released by the plant.

The IEEE Code of Ethics first rule is that engineers must make decisions consistent with the safety, health, and welfare of the public. The definition of safety or health can be unclear, especially for engineers when it comes to the medical device industry. In the medical device industry, the rapid increase of technology decreases the ability for regulations to keep up. When looking at job requirements for medical device engineers, one of the major requirements is to know the FDA guidelines on medical devices. The FDA guidelines are what engineers follow when it comes to designing. The FDA has its own goal to put products on the market that are safe and effective. The FDA, though, must also satisfy congressional goals which is for the public to get quick access to better medical devices. There are some faults found in the FDA guidelines, such as loopholes that industries take advantage of. The FDA has allowed “innovative but potentially defective devices” [1] to enter the market which may make the engineer who decided to pass the product question their decisions. This brings up a dilemma for engineers. Engineers in this industry face a moral issue on whether a design they produce balances safety and innovation. Engineers themselves must decide whether it is morally permissible to pass a design knowing the consequences and benefits it can bring to a patient. For an engineer to know if their design is morally permissible, the FDA guidelines, faulty medical device cases that

Aristotle developed a type of ethics that many use throughout the world, virtue ethics. Virtue ethics can be defined as an act that is right if, and only if, a virtuous person performs it for the right reason. That begs the question, “What is a virtuous person?” A virtuous person is someone who conforms to moral and ethical principles. For the sake of argument, morality is the difference between right and wrong. I will discuss Aristotle’s virtue ethics, how they apply to engineering, and how Dr. Harris’s claims differ from those of Aristotle.

Regarding the code of ethics prescribed for the engineering profession, it can be said that the managers are likely to face an ethical dilemma in dealing with the clients across various countries. Different people have different choices and accordingly, their work culture also differs to a great extent. For instance, gender issue can be a major problem in engineering sector because of late; equal numbers of women are competing with the males in this profession (Fitzpatrick and Bronstein, 2006). This used to be a dominant profession for mostly males in the last

In a few months time, Searle Lawson went from an ambitious engineer to a helpless employee, trapped in a messy debacle that affected himself, his company, and those external to the company as well. The events surrounding the failure of the A7D brake design involved the moral compromises of engineers and managers alike, each motivated by their own morals and priorities. However, here we will examine Lawson’s experience personally, looking at the ethical approaches and consequences the young engineer may or may have not considered. Approaching this dilemma within the context of Immanuel Kant’s core philosophy helps reinforce what makes Lawson’s predicament so ethically dubious. To Kant, morality was simply “performing the actions intended to

What’s morally acceptable depends on where in the world one lives. Accepting a position can be very immoral. Balancing the general needs of an individual with the needs of the society at large that will provide the most benefit to the most people is very important as depicted clearly in the moral theories (Harris, Pritchard, Rabins, James & Englehardt, 2013). As it is said that humanity have a right to life, liberty and prosperity it’s very important for one to be very honest to respect individuals and protect the rights of others and making sure that in any way they do not make the to suffer with the choices we take. Since the best hope for saving the family’s farm would be for Gerald to find for employment as an

Rapid progress has been made in engineering domain over the last 10 years, with a great importance on ethical and social responsibilities. Engineering is not just about applying scientific theories or finding solutions. It also has to do with improving the social life, society overall by getting engineers into mainstream industry for business. Every engineers gets involved with circumstances that require the understanding of the ethical facts and rules. Engineering has a great dependencies on society. As a result of new technologies, new products and new risks developments. Many a decisions during this phase affects the risk and developments of products which are ethically relevant. We call a problem an ethical or moral when moral values are at stake. There are different source of moral values. Rights, utility, allegiances. The term ethical issue indicates an engineer’s work from

Abstract—The following paper addresses the importance of engineering ethics as it pertains to the health, safety, and well-being of not only individuals but society. By beginning with the root needs of engineering ethics by first discussing its history and then moving on to how unethical choices can and have had a deadly impact on communities. Once a basis is established the document states the core fundamentals, instructions, and responsibilities of engineering ethics.

In wake of natural disasters, the natural reaction is to find what went wrong, and who was at fault. The person at fault who failed to build and design structures that would have prevented catoptric damage. Additional questions are directed towards the engineer as to whether or not the job was done correctly. As an engineer, our main objective is to build and design safe structures that benefit society. All while making sure what we do is done in an ethically sound way. Engineering ethics is a field of applied ethics and system of moral principles that apply to the practice of engineering. The field examines and sets the obligations of engineers to society, to their clients, and to the profession. In dealing with engineering ethics natural disasters, engineer plays a role in designing structures to withstand natural disasters. The success of these structures is crucial because lives are at stake if these structures fail. Examples of this can be the failure in the levee system in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Furthermore, the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami in Japan also was another major event in the failure of engineering. The casting of the blame for the failures of structures takes a secondary concern, to providing the adequate amount of aid to the victims of the disaster. Making sure the victims have access to food, cleaning drinking water and sufficient shelter are top concerns. Engineers are bound by the first Fundamental Canon of the ASCE Code of Ethics, in which

Morality is concerned with (a) In a given situation what should be or not to be done, (b) what is the right or wrong way to handling any situation, (c) what is the good or bad decisions about the persons, policies and principles involved in any situation. If an act is said to be ethically correct or a rule is said to be ethically fine, then they are said to be had some moral reasons in supporting it.

Ethics is the study of the characteristics of morals which involves the moral selections created by individuals as they connect with other people. Engineers need to be mindful of ethics as they make selections during their professional practice of engineering. Engineering ethics is a system of moral principles and the field of applied ethics which applies to the practice of engineering and which can also be seen as the rules and standards governing the conduct of engineers in their positions as professionals. In engineering there are ethics that need to be upheld and respected.

The biggest learning from this course, as an Engineer, has been introduction to, and appreciation of, Philosophy’s applicability to engineering, which can be understood when engineering is seen as

As chemical engineers, we hold common values such as personal responsibility, creativity, and making a contribution to the world. We have organizations and a code of ethics that describe values of our engineering community and establishes ethical standards for us to follow. “A Code of Engineering Ethics identifies a specific precedence with respect to the engineers’

What is Engineering? Engineering is a profession in which knowledge of mathematical and natural sciences gained by study, experience and practices is applied with judgement to develop ways to utilize, economically, the materials and forces of natures for the benefits of Mankind – (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology-ABET)