CHAPTER 1

Engineering Ethics
 Objective
• To understand the
philosophy of engineering
ethics and to use it in
solving the morals issues
encountered in
engineering practices.
2
 Topic Outcomes
• It is expected that
students will be able to:
Explain the scope of
engineering ethics.
Define the function of
engineering technologist in
society. 3
What is the
engineering ethics ?
Engineering Ethics

Why study the

engineering ethics ?
Introduction: some cases
Boeing 787 vs Airbus 380
Engineering?
Engineering is the practical application of
science and math to solve problems, and it is
everywhere in the world around you.

From the start to the end of each day,

engineering technologies improve the ways
that we work, communicate,
travel, stay healthy, and
entertain ourselves.
Ethics
Definitions:
the moral codes of practice,
 values
 system of moral principles

 by which we are expected to live or

practice a profession
rules of conduct and character
 the science of the morally right.
 Ethics
System
Moral values
Ethics To conduct
Principles judgments

Guideline
Ethics
Source:
 Primary sources
~ the family
~ friends
~ religion,….
 Secondary sources
~ formal education
~ training,…
 Important of ethics: Case Study
In an exam situation, Student A
noticed Student B is cheating.
 Student B, justify your cheating.
 Student A, what would you do?
 What response are you likely to get from the class
given your action in (2) above?
 If you were caught (Student B),
what do you RECOMMEND
to happen to you?
Engineering ethics
A set of
scientific discipline
that applies to the
profession of
engineering
Formal code Personal morality
Codes of Ethics
Accreditation Board For Engineering And
Technology
American Institute Of Chemical Engineers
American Society Of Civil Engineers
American Society Of Mechanical
Engineers
IEEE Code of Ethics
NCEES Model Rules of Professional
Conduct
NSPE Code of Ethics for Engineers
Software Engineering Code Of Ethics And
Professional Practice
Case 1 However, the
engineering codes
do not prohibit
engineers from
designing military
hardware

Personal
Engineer Jane refuses
Formal morality
to design the military
hardware because she code
believe war is immoral
 However,
Case 2 he may no
personally
believe
these code
are correct

Bob civil engineer refuses

to design a project that he
believes will damage the Formal
sustainable development Personal code
which are set out in the
morality
code of Malaysian Society
of Civil Engineers
 Two faces of ethics
Preventive
Negative ethics
faces
Rules in the form
of prohibitions, implicitly
and negative characters
e.g: Section 1 c (National Society of
Professional Engineers)
“Engineers shall not reveal facts, data
or information without the prior
consent of the client or employer
except as authorized by law or this
code”
Promote the
welfare to public
Positive
Aspects: faces
1- Global environmental
management
2-Sustainable development
3-Steps toward greater
economic justice
4-Awareness of culture
differences and skill
e.g: designing a new energy
saving device; install a water
purification system in the
undeveloped country
Scope of Engineering Ethics
7 Themes

1.Engineering projects are social

experiments that generate both new
possibilities and risks, and engineers
share responsibility for creating
benefits, preventing harm, and
pointing out dangerous.
Case study: DC-10
 McDonnell Douglas
subcontracted the
Convair to design and
build a cargo door latch
for the DC-10.

A pressure test caused the

cargo door to blow out, buckling
the passenger floor, and
severing critical hydraulic and
electrical lines. After
modifications, the design was
still faulty.
 Convair engineer, informed his
managers about the design flaws,
but they suppressed the
information to avoid financial
penalties and litigation

In Paris in 1974,
the cargo hatch
blew open killing
346 people.
 Honesty sometimes requires
public disclosure of problems
• DC-10 cargo hatch case: Convair
didn’t pass their concerns along (to
McDonnell-Douglas)
 Result:
~ loss of plane with
346 deaths.
 Question:
~ Who should take
responsibility?
Scope of Engineering Ethics

Themes #2

Moral values permeate all aspects

of technological development, so
ethics and excellence in engineering
go together.
 Case study: Chicken Coop
Design
• Mayan local workers
design a chicken coop
that would increase egg
and chicken production
 The end users were to be
the women of weaving
cooperative who wanted to
increase the protein in
their children’s diet
Goals:
To double current chicken
and egg production

 Toincrease community extra

income, in weaving
industry
 Task:
 To identify suitable building materials.
 To decide between cages or one open air.
 To design the structure for strength & endurance.
 To create safe access for the villagers
1. Ample head and shoulder room at entrance
2. A safe for the bare feet

 To improve cleaning procedure to minimize damage to

the environment while recycling chicken droppings as
fertilizers

 To ensure humane conditions for the chickens

1. Adequate space & ventilation
2. Comfort during climate changes
3. convenient delivery of food & water
4. Protection from local predators that could dig under fences
Moral Value:

 The basic standards of safety

and efficiency.
 The structure of technological corporations as
communities of people engaged in shared activities.
 The character of engineers who spearhead
technological progress.
 The very idea of engineering as a profession that
combines advanced skill with commitment to the
public good.
 Moral aspiration in structuring
the relationship with the
communities; communication
Scope of Engineering Ethics

Themes #3

Personal meaning and commitment matter

in engineering ethics, along with principles
of responsibility that are stated in codes of
ethics that must be follow by all engineers.
 Case study: Artificial Lung
• A team of engineers are
redesigning an artificial lung
marketed by their company. They
are working in a highly competitive
market, with long hours and high
stress.
• They are focused on technical, not
people and invited as speakers to
the recipients of artificial lungs and
their families about how their lives
were affected by the artificial lung.
 Moral Value:
 Scenario: “..when families began to bring in their
children who for the first time could breathe
freely, relax, learn and enjoy life because of the
firm’s product…”
 ..evidence that their efforts really did improve
people’s live.
 Motive excellence (commitment) in engineering:
1. The desire for meaningful work
2. Concern to make a living
3. Care for other human being
4. To maintain self-respect
Scope of Engineering Ethics

Themes #4

Promoting responsible conduct is

even more important than punishing
wrong doing (preventing wrong doing).
 Case study: Enron Case
• Year 2001, a wave of corporate
scandals shook Americans’ confidence in
corporations. Enron became the largest
bankruptcy in U.S history, erasing about $60
billion in share value. Arthur Andersen,
a large and respected
accounting firm charge
with complicity and was
forced to dissolve.
 Moral Value:
 Compliance issues are about making sure that
individuals comply to professional standard and
avoid wrong doing.
 Procedures are needed in all corporation:
1. To deter fraud
2. Theft
3. Bribery ..other form of outright immorality
 Engineering ethics is preventing WRONGDOING
in the first place.
 Reinforcing the connection between ethnics an
excellence, individuals and corporation
should primarily be “value-driven” rather than
“compliance-based” procedures.
Scope of Engineering Ethics

Themes #5

Ethical dilemmas arise in engineering,

as elsewhere, because moral values
are myriad* and can conflict.

*too many; a lot

Case study: Environment Issue
 The primary report showed that the
company should implement stronger pollution
controls but the manager insists the cost of
doing so is prohibitive and that technically
the company is in compliance with the law.
Moral Value:
 Ethical or moral dilemmas, are situations in which
moral reasons come into conflict.
 Moral reasons might be:
1. Obligation/responsibility
2. Right,
3. Good ideas ..other moral
4. Considerations.
 When come into conflict, requiring good judgment
about how to reconcile and integrate them.
Ethical dilemmas does not something has go
wrong but they indicate the presence of
moral complexity.
Scope of Engineering Ethics

Themes #6

Engineering ethics should explore

both micro and macro issues,
which are often connected.
Case study: Ford SUVs Case
• Late 1990s, it was reported about the tread on Ford
Explorer sport utility vehicles (SUVs) tires leading to
blowouts and rollovers. By 2002, estimates were 300
people had died and another thousand were injured and
more recent estimates the numbers much higher since
then.
 Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone blamed each other for
the problem, leading to the breakup of a century-old
business partnership.
Case study: Ford SUVs Case
• The hazard had multiple sources:
• Bridgestone/Firestone use a flawed tire design and
poor quality control at major manufacturing facility
• Ford chose tires with poor safety margin
• Ford relied on drivers to maintain proper inflation
within in very narrow range

 Finally, Ford admitting the problem and recalling

dangerous tires.
 Moral Value:
 Micro issues concern the decisions made by
individuals and the companies.
 Macro issues concern more global issues, such as:
1. The direction in technological development
2. The laws that should or should no be passed
3. Collective responsibilities of group such as
engineering professional societies and
consumer groups
 Macro issues claimed that the SUVs
are among the most harmful vehicles
on the road.
Scope of Engineering Ethics

Themes #7

Technologist development
warrants cautions optimism.
Moral Value:
 Optimists highlight how technology profoundly
improves all our lives?
 Pessimists view advanced technology as ominous
and often out of control, such as:
1. Pollution of environment
2. Depletion of natural resources
3. Mass death on highways
4. Mass death in high-tech wars
5. Fear of biological and chemical weapons
6. The lingering threat of nuclear war.
 Moral Value:
 Top 20 engineering achievement of the 20th century
identified by National Academic of Engineering, such as:
 Electrification; Electronics; Highways
 Automobiles; Airplanes; Spacecraft; Health technologies
 Radio and television; Air conditioning and refrigeration
 Water supply and distributions
 Agricultural mechanization; Household appliances
 Computers; Internet; Telephones. Hand phones
 Laser and fiber optics; Imaging technologies in medicine
 Nuclear technologies; Petrochemical technologies
 High-performance materials
• Ethics are an technologist most valuable
asset.
• Without ethics, an technologist has little
value in a technical community.
 Relationships
It is about people not things
• Suppliers
• Customers
• Competitors
• Colleagues
• Public
• Government
• Friends
• Neighbors
• Family