The Ethics Of A Civil Engineer

​We live in a society where we must fit and understand social justice. Its justice in terms of how wealth is distributed and the different opportunities and privileges amongst the people. Viewing things in an ethical manner allows people to make decisions based on position of self and society. People all over transpire from many different ethnic backgrounds leaving the world very diverse. What people fail to realize is that not everyone can be the same. If that was the case it would be unusual to see different races, gender, and language. The things that make up our community is what makes us unique and stand out as a nation. People must not become blind to the things that make

Although many things about engineering are positive there is a dark side. We depend on them and while engineers are making innovations for us, and maintaining life as the way we know it they also struggle with ethical issues such as plagiarism, confidentiality, and whistleblowing. Just like the list of golden rules we learned as young children, engineers uphold a list of ethical rules to guide them to make the ethically correct decision when one of these situations arise. Bribery the act of receiving or giving a gift with something required in return is another example of an ethical issue that can entice engineers to break the code (“Gifts and Bribes”, 2006). Unfortunately this was the case for a former manager of the Army Corps of Engineers whose greed caused him to break the ethical canons to “avoid deceptive acts”, to “conduct themselves honorably, responsibly, and lawfully as to enhance the honor, reputation, and usefulness of the profession”, and finally to “hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public” (“Code of Ethics”). His misconduct is an example of the unethical decisions some engineers make.

First adopted in 1914, the code of ethics for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is the model for professional conduct for all ASCE members. The code of ethics is an excellent model as it is broken down into eight canons for further understanding. The purpose of each canon is to serve as a guide and reminder for professional engineers that they are to have the moral and ethical integrity the profession calls for at all times while holding safety paramount. The ASCE code of ethics is very informative and insightful because although each canon does not go into great depth, the canons leave room for interpretation under different situations.

The Hippocratic Oath and Engineering code of ethics have both been regarded as the standard for medical and engineering professionals to conduct themselves morally, and professionally to assure that the decisions and activities made are guided by certain principles and values. (Hendon and French, 2016) Both the Hippocratic Oath and Engineering code of ethics emphasize the importance of the duties and responsibilities of professionals in regards to the safety and health of humans, providing services within areas of expertise, being truthful, hold confidential information, and being accountable for professional services provided.

In Canada, individual regulating bodies are in place to licence and regulate practitioners in their respective professions. It is in the public’s best interest that these professionals are knowledgeable and driven to progress society in a responsible manner. This includes acting in an ethical manner that aligns with the personal and corporate standards expected of members in a particular profession. The Professional Engineers of Ontario (PEO) is in place to regulate such behavior among engineers and protect the common interest of the Ontario community. At the end of this paper it will be evident that public welfare is paramount. This will be shown by how it ought to be enforced under the PEO, and how failure of the Ford Pinto was fueled by

When engineers design a product many things go in to the decision making process when it comes to selecting materials, design, and the manufacturing processes. One concern that has always been in the decision making process is trying to make sure the outcome will always be ethically good, although this isn’t always the case. Try as they might, no person is perfect, and accidents do happen. When engineering disasters happen there are many factors that may be involved, such as human factors, design flaws, extreme conditions, and materials failures. When these things do happen it is important to look at the ethical aspect of each part of the failure and

"Our results indicate that the informal methods ("manager sets an example" or "social norms of the organization") are likely to yield greater commitment with respect to both employee attitudes than formal methods ("training courses on the subject of ethics") (Adam, et al, 2004).

Industrial Engineers often face the ethical dilemma of attempting to balance costs with quality and safety. Company management pressures Industrial systems engineers to design processes that are cost efficient, time constrained, and produce a high quality output. This puts the engineer in a tricky balancing act in which they are trying to make every stakeholder happy. Taking risks in order to create cost efficient solutions is not specific to only industrial engineers but applies to all disciplines of engineering, making this topic a relevant discussion. However, this conflict is especially true in a manufacturing setting where industrial engineers thrive, machine operators are often overworked, companies make products in high stakes, large batches, and the range of quality acceptance is growing ever smaller. A relevant example is the engineer who was designing a chemical plant in Mexico. In order to achieve the correct viscosity of the paint stripper, the engineer asked the plant operator to babysit the chemical mixture and manually release the valve when necessary. Engineering management’s decision puts the plant worker at a safety risk in order to achieve a tighter quality and standardization of the chemical stripper production process. Ultimately, this resulted in the catastrophic death of the plant worker and the destruction of the plant.

“And Hansel said to Gretel; let us drop these bread crumbs so that together we can find our way home, because losing our way would be the cruellest of things” (The Tide That Left and Never Came Back: One Tree Hill 2005). The construction industry lost its way, over the years the industry has faced many accusations for undertaking in unlawful practices and performing unethical behaviour. This is detrimental to our nation as a whole as Australia’s growth and development is dependent on the performance and wellbeing of the construction industry. The industry is responsible for satisfying the needs of our ever expanding society by contributing to the growth of our economy, the creation of our infrastructure and improving the standards our everyday lives. To live up to these responsibilities the industry must understand the importance of the work it does and do it in a way that is ethically right, the problem is how do we determine whether the decisions the industry makes justify as ethical? Ethical practice in the construction industry “is not definable, is not implementable, because it is not conscious; it involves not only our thinking, but also our feeling” (Valdemar W. Setzer, 2006). The industry operates in both the public and private sectors which employs many people who all have different morals and values which influences the decisions they make and how they perceive them. This creates a rift in the industry as what is deemed as acceptable varies between person to person

Engineers are trusted individuals which the public has set high standards for. The public relies on engineers to efficiently, and accurately determine the safety of all products they create. Engineers are required to follow safety procedures in order to ensure the quality of the products they create. However, are these procedures enough to ensure the safety of the public? Or can additional actions be taken in order to improve the safety of a product? If so, to what extent should engineers be required to take matters into their own hands and ensure the safety of products, in return reducing the number of injuries and fatal accidents?

There are many ethical dilemmas that an industrial engineer may face throughout their career. One major dilemma would be having to lay someone off because of a change you may have made to a process to make it more efficient. Industrial engineers are always trying to find a more efficient way of doing something, whether it’s in a factory, in an office, or the route of a delivery driver. Sometimes these things aren’t always as simple as they may seem. There are often consequences to these seemingly simple changes. People can and do get laid off because of a change to a process.

Ethics is the moral behavior that guides our actions; it motivates us in our personal behavior and is relevant in a business setting as well. Many organizations have set forth a set of guidelines known as a “Code of Ethics”. The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, being one of these organizations, has set forth their code as a requirement for students and engineer members to adhere to. Heading towards a career in electrical engineering I choose this organization to elaborate on for my ethics project.

© The Royal Academy of Engineering ISBN 1-903496-73-X August 2011 Published by The Royal Academy of Engineering 3 Carlton House Terrace London SW1Y 5DG Tel: 020 7766 0600 www.raeng.org.uk Registered Charity Number: 293074 This is an abridged version of a full guide available online at: www.raeng.org.uk/ethicsinpractice

Many times, risks faced by contractors exist at no fault of their own. That is, in some cases the contractor is bound by a design that places specific hazards on the construction site. Designers who are cognizant of and responsive to their effort on construction safety would aid in making jobsites safer for construction workers (Gambatese et al, 1997). Situations such as these led the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to create a safe design concept, prevention through design. Prevention

Ethics is a branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2017). In simple terms, ethics is the system of what is right and what is wrong. Usage of ethics on daily basis is important to a human being, a person is judged based on his/her behavior, whether it’s reasonable or aimless, ethics help people to have a purpose for their actions. Whether it’s during work or outside in open streets, it’s important to have basic ethical behavior. There are many types of ethical behavior that take place every single day. By being simply honest and kind, gives the other person an idea that you have ethics. This paper will cover