TOPIC TOPIC OUTCOME

1 Background of Engineering Explain the code of ethics for

Ethics engineers according to those
CHAPTER 3: ENGINEERING ETHICS

defined by IEM.
2 Codes of Engineering Ethics Problems identification in engineering
ethics and handling them systemically
and professionally.

3 Professional Engineering Solve the problems occurred in

Ethics engineering in ethical senses,
systemically and professionally.
Scope & Outlines
Background of Engineering Ethics

Codes of Ethics

Issues in Ethical Problems

Professional Ethics

Whistle blowing

To think critically and independently about moral

issues and to apply this moral thinking to situations
arise in the course of professional engineering practice
MORAL AUTONOMY
 FORD PINTO vs. ETHIC
The Case: On August 10, 1978, a Ford Pinto was hit
from behind on a highway in Indiana. The impact of
the collision caused the Pinto's fuel tank to rupture
and burst into flame, leading to the deaths of three
teenage girl riding in the car.
A case against Ford hinged on charges that it was
known that the gas-tank design was flawed and
was not in line with accepted engineering standard.
The dilemma faced by the design engineers who
worked on the Pinto was to balance the safety of
the people against the need to produce Pinto at a
competitive price!
Background of Engineering
Ethics
 Why Study Engineering Ethics?
o
The Pinto case is just one example of ethical problems faced by
professional engineers.
o
The work of engineers can affect public health and safety and also
can influence business practices and even politics.
o
So, the goal of Eng Ethics is to sensitize you to important ethical
issues before you have to confront them.
o
Why should a future engineer bother studying ethics at all?

The ethical problems encountered in engineering practice are very
complex.

So, the goal is to train you to analyze complex problems and learn
to resolve them in the most ethical manner.
Background of Engineering Ethics
 Ethics is defined by Oxford Dictionary as:
“The moral principles that govern a person’s or a group’s
behaviour”

Engineering ethics is
“Amalgam of complex concepts: Professionalism, standards,
risk management, liability, competence, truth, society
protection, trust, reliability, honesty, cost/benefit, attitude,
organisation, obligation, whistleblowing, regulation and law.

 Good engineering ethics could be described as:

“appropriate execution of an engineer’s professional
responsibility”
 Background of Engineering
Ethics
 Engineering is Managing The Unknown
➢
Engineers often encounter situations in which they don't have all of the
information that is needed.
➢
By its nature, engineering design is about creating new devices and
products, whereby many questions need to be answered:

1. How well does it work?

2. How will it affect people?
3. What changes will this lead to in society?
4. Is it safe?
5. What are the effects of doing nothing?
 Professional Engineering
Ethics
 Confidentiality and Proprietary Information

Confidentiality is mentioned in most engineering
codes of ethics.

Why must some engineering information be kept
confidential?

Most information about how a business is run, its products and
its suppliers, directly affects the company's ability to compete in
the marketplace.

Such information can be used by a competitor to gain advantage
or to catch up.

Types of information should be kept confidential: test
results data; upcoming products; and designs or
formulas of products.
 Professional Engineering
Ethics (cont.)
 Social-Contract Model

Engineering is service-oriented profession => to
further the public good (as described in the definition
of profession previously).
 Professional Societies As A Protector

Professional societies may use codes as a protector
rights of employees who are being pressured by their
employer to do something unethical or who are
accusing their employers of the government of
unethical conduct.
 COMPLEMENTARY FUNCTIONS OF IEM,
BEM & ACEM CODE OF ETHICS
The three major Professional Engineering bodies to which engineers may
be affiliated are:
1. The Board of Engineers (BEM), which is a statutory body governed by
the Engineer’s Act 1967 and with which an Engineer must registered before
he/she can be employed or practice as an Engineer.
2. The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM). which is a learned society
registered under the Society’s Act. Membership is voluntary but the
professional standards set by IEM for membership are accepted by BEM
as qualifications for registration as a Professional Engineer (PE). Most PE
are IEM members.
3. The Association of Consulting Engineers, Malaysia (ACEM), is a non-
profit organisation comprising of Consulting Engineers. Its objective is to
promote the interest of Consulting Engineering as a profession.
All the three bodies have their own Code of Ethics designed too suit their
specific requirement according to the objectives of each body constituted.
 CODE OF ETHICS
In today's specialised technologically based society there is a great dependence
on the sound judgment and integrity of the professional engineer. The further
development of civilisation, the conservation and management of natural
resources, and the improvement of the standards of living of mankind are greatly
affected by the work of the engineer. For that work to be fully effective it is
necessary not only that engineers strive constantly to widen their knowledge and
improve their skill but also that the community be willing to recognise the integrity
and trust the judgment of members of the profession of engineering. For this to
happen the profession must be recognised in the community for:
 its skill in using technical expertise for the enhancement of human welfare;
 its loyalty to the community, to employers and clients;
 its honesty and impartiality in professional practice.
Because of the importance on these matters the Institution has a Code of Ethics.
The preamble to the Code states:
... members are required to order their conduct in accordance with the
principle that, in any conflict between a member's personal interest and
fair and honest dealing with other members of the Community, his duty to
the Community must prevail.
 Codes of Engineering Ethics
 Primarily, a code of ethics provides a framework for
ethical judgement for a professional.
 No code can be totally comprehensive and cover all
possible ethical situations that a professional
engineer is likely encounter.
 Codes serve as a starting point for ethical decision
making.
 It is important to note that ethical codes do not
establish new ethical principles.
 A code also defines the roles and responsibilities of
professionals.
Engineering Ethics Principles
Engineers
 shall hold paramount the health, safety and welfare of the
public in the practice of their profession.

Engineers
 shall practice only in their areas of competence, in a careful
and diligent manner and in conformance with standards, laws, codes,
and rules and regulations applicable to engineering practice.

Engineers
 shall examine the societal and environmental impact of
their actions and projects, including the wise use and conservation of
resources and energy, in order to make informed recommendations
and decisions.

Engineers
 shall issue public statements only in an objective and
truthful manner. If representing a particular interest, the engineer
shall clearly identify that interest.
 Engineering Ethics Principles
(cont.)
Engineersshall sign and take responsibility for all
engineering work which they prepare or directly supervise.

Engineers shall act as faithful agents for their employers or

clients and maintain confidentiality; they shall avoid
conflicts of interest whenever possible, disclosing
unavoidable conflicts.

Engineers shall ensure that a client is aware of the

engineer's professional concerns regarding particular
actions or projects, and of the consequences of
engineering decisions or judgments that are overruled or
disregarded. An employee engineer shall initially express
those concerns to the employer.
 Engineering Ethics Principles
(cont.)
 Engineers shall appropriately report any public works, engineering
decisions, or practice that endanger the health, safety and welfare
of the public. When, in an engineer's judgment, a significant risk to
the public remains unresolved, that engineer may ethically make
the concerns known publicly.

 Engineersshall commit to life-long learning, strive to advance the

body of engineering knowledge and should encourage other
engineers to do likewise.

 Engineers shall promote responsibility, commitment, and ethics

both in the education and practice phases of engineering; they
should enhance society's awareness of engineers' responsibilities
to the public and encourage the communication of these principles
of ethical conduct among engineers
BEM Code of Professional Cond
uct
A registered engineer A registered engineer shall
shall at all times hold undertake assignments only
if he is qualified by
paramount the safety, education and experience in
health and welfare of the specific technical fields
the public in which he is involved

A registered engineer A registered engineer

shall issue public shall act for each
statements only in an employer or clients as
objective and truthful faithful agent or
manner trustee

A registered engineer shall

 IChemE
Code of Professional Conduct
 Prevent avoidable danger to health or safety
 Prevent avoidable adverse impact on the environment
 (i) Maintain their competence
(ii) Undertake only professional tasks for which they are competent
(iii) Disclose relevant limitations of competence
 (i) Accept appropriate responsibility for work carried out under their supervision
(ii) Treat subordinates fairly and without bias
(iii) Encourage others to advance their learning and competence
 (i) Avoid where possible real or perceived conflict of interest
(ii) Advise affected parties when such conflicts arise
 Observe the proper duties of confidentiality owed to appropriate parties
 Reject bribery and other corrupt practices
 Assess relevant risks and liability, and, if appropriate, hold professional indemnity
insurance
 Be mindful at all times of the dignity of the profession in their personal conduct
 AIChE
Code of Ethics
 Hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and protect the environment
in performance of their professional duties.
 Formally advise their employers or clients (and consider further disclosure, if warranted)

if they perceive that a consequence of their duties will adversely affect the present or
future health or safety of their colleagues or the public.
 Accept responsibility for their actions, seek and heed critical review of their work and

offer objective criticism of the work of others.

 Issue statements or present information only in an objective and truthful manner.
 Act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees,

avoiding conflicts of interest and never breaching confidentiality.

 Treat all colleagues and co-workers fairly and respectfully, recognizing their unique

contributions and capabilities by fostering an environment of equity, diversity and

inclusion.
 Perform professional services only in areas of their competence.
 Build their professional reputations on the merits of their services.
 Continue their professional development throughout their careers, and provide

opportunities for the professional development of those under their supervision.

 Never tolerate harassment.
 Conduct themselves in a fair, honorable and respectful manner.
Issues in Engineering Ethical
Problems
 In general, there are theories that help us to frame our
understanding of the problem, but there are no
formulas and no easy 'plug-in' methods for reaching a
solution.
 Therefore, the first step in solving any ethical problem
is to completely understand all of the issues involved.
 Once these issues are determined, frequently a
solution to the problem becomes apparent.
 The issues can be divided into three categories:
factual, conceptual and moral.
 Issues in Engineering Ethical
Problems (cont.)
 How can these controversies be resolved?

Factual issues can often be resolved through research
to establish the truth.

Conceptual issues are resolved by agreeing on the
meaning of terms and concepts.

Moral issues are resolved by agreement as to which
moral principles pertinent and how they should be
applied.
Issues in Chemical Engineering Ethical Problems

 The underlying causes of many serious incidents often

involve conflicts that arise in the execution of
engineering work; money and time are often at the root
of the conflict. It is the result of ignoring common
sence.
◦ You do what your boss tells you to do, even if it is against your
better engineering judgement
◦ You tell your boss about a condition that could be dangerous
under certain conditions, and when your boss says everything is
fine, you remain silent and do not revisit the subject
◦ You act contrary to a legal hold order and destroy evidence
related to pending litigation, because you are afraid that you will
lose your job, or worse yet be prosecuted for something you
have written
 Case Study
Well-known Incidents
Case Study: Well-Known Incidents
BPTexas City
Refinery
Explosion, 3-05
15 people dead
180 Injured

$1.6 Billion spent to

settle 1000 claims
BP oil spill in Alaska
 March 2006
◦ 6,4000 bbl oil over 1.9 acres
◦ Neglected
 Corrosion monitoring
 Cut team size
 pipeline service
 Neglected multiple cries from employees
◦ Guilty to negligent discharge of oil
 fined US$20 million
BP Oil Spill -2010

 11 Dead
BP Texas City refinery explosion
BP Texas City refinery explosion
On March 23, 2005, an explosion at the BP Texas City
refinery killed 15 people and injured more than 170. During
startup, flammable liquid hydrocarbons
 being pumped into a tower overflowed into an overhead
 pipe, which ran down the side of the tower to pressure
 relief valves. Three relief valves opened, discharging a
 large quantity of flammable liquid to a blowdown drum
 with a vent stack open to the atmosphere. The blowdown
 drum and stack overfilled and released a geyser-like plume
 of volatile liquid. The liquid evaporated as it fell to the
 ground, forming a flammable vapor cloud, which was
 ignited when an idling diesel pickup truck backfired.
Ethical Issues
BP Texas City refinery explosion
Causes:
Communications break down, specifically as related to shift handover, teamwork,
and startup procedures.

The shift handover between the night operations crew and the daytime operations
crew was essentially nonexistent, because the night operator left before his day-
shift counterpart arrived. About three hours before the explosion, the supervisor
had to leave the site to address a family medical emergency.

The startup was not stopped or put on hold. The push for production and to move
ahead took priority over everything else. The departing supervisor did not appoint
an acting supervisor to cover his decision-making authority; he just left the site.

What would have happened if the day operator refused to continue the startup
because the information in the log was unclear? What would have happened if the
departing night supervisor had asked someone to cover for him for the duration
of the startup?
Ethical Issues
BP Texas City refinery explosion
 This column had experienced startup issues in the past.
It had come close to overflowing numerous times
before, yet these instances were not effectively followed
up with any preventative actions. Additionally, the
startup procedures were written and accessible, but they
did not outline what was considered to be normal
practice. No one corrected this deviation, and the
operators continued to violate the procedures every time
this column was started.

 Was a safety review conducted prior to column startup?

Why did not someone insist that required work be done?
Ethical Issues
BP Texas City refinery explosion
 What would have happened if the trailers had
not been put near operating units? Why were
site procedures violated in placing those
units there, and why did someone sign the
temporary placement permit? Were the
engineers aware of the hazards being
introduced? Why was this not checked by one
of the supervisors?
BP Texas City refinery explosion:
Serious repercussions
 Within two years of the explosion, every
person in the chain of command, from the
operator to the supervisor, to the refinery
manager, to the senior executives, and
including the company CEO, was in a
different job or had left the company.
Finding yourself between a rock and a
hard place- Dilemma
 Have you ever felt that your job or position was
threatened because you disagreed with your supervisor?
 Have you ever been asked to revise the language of a

report to downplay unfavorable conclusions?

 Have you ever been forced to do something that you

knew was fundamentally wrong or even illegal?

 Have you cheated on an exam?
 Have you been tempted to invent data to strengthen

research results?
 Has your principal investigator inadequately defined the

requirements for authorship among your lab team

members?
Finding yourself between a rock and a
hard place- Dilemma
 Three basic options:
 take action quickly, take action later, or take

no action.
The 1st and 2nd options – raising any issues as they occur

 attempts to reach a good outcome while

circumstances are somewhat within your control.
 you may have to be ready to accept whatever
happens next, as the situation may become
bigger than you can easily influence.
 You may be labeled a troublemaker or
incompetent, and your reputation may suffer.
 You are willing to accept that, though, because
you believe that is better than being labeled a
conspirator later if you stay silent.
The 3rd option- to wait
 Hope nothing bad happens
 Experience teaches that difficult situations never get
better or go away by themselves. They continue to grow
and draw in more and more people.
 If you choose to claim you are innocent, other
investigations may prove you wrong or guilty of bad
assessments.
 Remember, too, that conspiracy to cover up certain
situations or information is considered obstruction of
justice, which is a crime.
 E.g.: An engineer involved in the Deepwater Horizon
incident was indicted for erasing text messages in
violation of a legal record-hold order (7).
To take action, either immediately or after a short period
of time, consider the following points.

◦ Realize the situation you are in and analyze it

calmly. Anticipate what may happen. Consider what
other people may do.
◦ Do you have any allies, or are you alone? Do others
share your situation? You may be able to act
together or support one another. There is usually
power in numbers.
◦ What is the source of the pressure you are feeling?
How high up in the organization is it coming from?
If your conscience is the source of your pressure,
have you verified that your understanding of the
situation is correct?
◦ Is there a legal implication to any action or
inaction?
◦ What is your personal situation
◦ How strong is your support network inside and
outside of work?
◦ Who can you trust? Why? Do they trust you
similarly?
◦ Are you clear about what motivates you?
◦ Do you have clear lines that you will not cross?
◦ How important is your reputation to you versus
your titled position?
◦ How marketable are your skills and experience?
◦ What are your organization’s mechanisms for
addressing these types of issues?
Six Pillars of Character
Josephson, M. "Making Ethical Decisions", The Josephson Institute of Ethics, 1993.

 Trustworthiness : quality of dependability and includes

honesty integrity, loyalty, and promise-keeping.
 Respect : treating others (superiors, subordinates, clients,
contractors) in a manner to enhance their dignity.
 Responsibility : comprises accountability, pursuit of
excellence and self-restraint.
 Justice and Fairness : be objective and impartial, do what is
right, pursuit of excellence
 Caring : when ethical decisions are made, the impact to all
concerned should be minimized.
 Civic Virtue (accepting appointments, give time and money
to social causes) and Citizenship : obligation to community
which extends beyond self interest.
 Whistle blowing

 Whistle blowing is the act by an employee of informing the public

of higher management of unethical or illegal behaviour by an
employer or supervisor.
 Types of whistle blowing:

Internal => when an employee goes over the head of an
immediate supervisor to report a problem to a higher level of
management.

External => when an employee goes outside the company and
reports wrong-doing to newspapers or law-enforcement
authorities.

Anonymous => when the employee who is blowing the whistle
refuses to divulge his name when making accusations.

Acknowledge => when the employee puts his name behind the
accusations and is willing to withstand the scrutiny brought on by
his accusations.
 Whistle blowing
 When should whistle blowing be attempted?

Need: There must be a clear and important harm that
can be avoided by blowing the whistle.

Proximity: The whistleblower must be in a very clear
position to report on the problem.

Capability: The whistleblower must have a reasonable
chance of success in stopping the harmful activity.

Last resort: Whistle blowing should be attempted only if
there is no one else more capable or more proximate to
blow the whistle and if you feel that all other lines of
action within the context of the organization have been
explored and shut off.
 It is important for the whistleblower to understand his
motives before undertaking this step.
 CONCLUSION

Engineering Ethics is the study of moral

decisions that must be made by engineers
in the course of engineering practise.

It is important for engineering students

to study ethics so that they will be
prepared to respond appropriately
to ethical challenges during their careers.
THANK YOU!!!
Group Case Study
Group Case Study 3
 Actions to the taken:
◦ Option 1- Daniel could report this situation to the
proper authorities. This will then stop the
possibility of people getting injured due to the
pollutants that would be released from this
process. This choice would be defying direct order
from my boss to keep my findings under wraps,
which may cause me to be fired from my job. It
would also likely cost ITM Power millions of dollars
in fines and lost money in the research of the solar
thermochemical water splitting process plants.
Actions to the taken:
 Option 2: Daniel could withhold this
information, as my boss asked. In this case I
would save my job and please my employer,
while also maintaining the reputation of ITM
Power as a green company.

Which of these options makes ethical sense??

Related Code of Ethics
 shall hold paramount the safety health and welfare
of the public and protect the environment in
performance of their professional duties
 formally advise their employers or clients (and
further disclosure, if warranted) if they perceive that
a consequence of their duties will adversely affect
the present or future health or safety of their
colleagues or the public
 act in professional matters for each employer or
client as faithful agents or trustees, avoiding
conflicts of interest and never breaching
confidentiality
Justification
 Daniel has decided to report this situation to the
proper authorities, going against his boss’s orders.
He believes that the health and safety of the many,
outweighs the need to keep confidentiality in the
workplace.
 He will alert his boss, and the boss’s superiors, that
he will be taking his findings to the authorities
before he does so, in order to let them prepare for
how they will responds. His boss may also be held
accountable for his actions so that any future
employee will not have to face a dilemma similar to.