GE6075 Professional Ethics in Engineering

1. GE6075 Professional Ethics in Engineering

2. UNIT III
ENGINEERING AS SOCIAL
EXPERIMENTATION

3. SYLLABUS
Engineering as Experimentation – Engineers as
responsible Experimenters – Codes of Ethics –
A Balanced Outlook on Law.

4. Course Objective:
To illustrate the usage of codes of Ethics
for engineers.
Course Outcome:
After completion of the course, it is
expected that the student will be able to
discuss the codes of ethics for engineers and
roles of engineers as experimenters.

5. To undertake a great work and especially a work of
novel type means, experimentation is mandatory.
Experimentation :
A test under controlled conditions that is made to
demonstrate a known truth, to examine the validity of
a hypothesis, or to determine the efficacy of something
previously untried. The process of conducting such a
test is called as a experimentation

6. What is Engineering?
 Engineering is the application of science
and math concerned with the design, building,
and use of engines, machines, and structures.
 Engineers figure out how things work and
find practical uses for scientific discoveries.
 To solve real world problems that improve
the world around us.

8. The following are some of the examples:
 The tragedy of ‘Titanic’ happened on April
15,1912.Because of the insufficient number
of life boats resulting in the death of 1522 out
of 2227 (life boat capacity available was only
825), The same disaster took place in the
steamship “the Arctic” in 1850, because of the
same problem.

10. Similarities between Engineering projects and
standard experiments
Partial ignorance.
Uncertainty.
Continuous monitoring.
Learning from the past.

11.  In June 1966, a section of the Milford Haven
Bridge in Wales collapsed during construction
due to improper matching of horizontal impact
forces.. A bridge of similar design, constructed by
the same bridge- builder (Freeman Fox Partners)
in Melbourne, Australia, also partially collapsed in
the month of October, same year. During this
incident 33 people were killed and many were
injured.

12.  The nuclear reactor accident at Three Mile Island
on March 1979, was due to malfunctioning of the
valves. Valves though minute items, are being among
the least reliable components of hydraulic systems.
 It was a pressure relief valve and lack of
information about its opening or closing state
contributed to a nuclear reactor accident at Three Mile
Island. This malfunction was already happened
because of the same reasons at other locations

13.  Complete lack of protection against impact
by shipping caused Sweden’s worst ever
bridge collapse on Friday as a result, 8 were
killed.
 On May 15 of the same year reported that,
“last Friday’s disaster at Tampa By, Florida,
was largest and most tragic one.

14. Contrast between Engineering and Standard
Experiments
 Engineering differs from standard
experimentation in many ways.
 Some of those differences help to highlight
the Engineer’s special responsibilities.
 Exploring those differences can aid our
thinking about moral responsibilities of all those
engaged in engineering.

15. Contrast between Engineering and Standard
Experiments
Experimental Control
Informed Consent
Knowledge gained.

16. Elements of Informed consent
Knowledge
People should be given not only the information
they request but all the information needed to
make a reasonable decision.
Voluntariness
The people must enter into the experiment
without being subjected to force, fraud or
deception.

17. Engineers as Social Experimenters
Engineer’s expertise places them in an unique
position to
monitor projects,
identify risks and
to provide client and public with the information
needed to make reasonable decisions.

18. 4 features that characterize a
responsible Engineer
Conscientiousness
Comprehensive perspective
Moral Autonomy
Accountability

19. Conscientiousness
Conscientiousness implies consciousness: open
eyes, open ears, and an open mind.
People act responsibly to the extent that they
conscientiously commit themselves to live
according to moral values, instead of a
consuming preoccupation with a narrowly
conceived self-interest.

20. Comprehensive Perspective
Conscientiousness is blind without factual
information.
Hence showing moral concern involves a
commitment to obtain and properly assess all
available information that is pertinent to meeting
moral obligations.

21. Comprehensive Perspective
This means, a person has to fully grasp the
context of one’s work, which makes it count as
an activity having a moral import.
One must be aware of the wider implications
of his/her work.

22. Moral Autonomy
 People are morally autonomous when their
moral conduct and principles are their own.
 According to Kant, moral beliefs and
attitudes must be held on the basis of critical
reflection rather than merely through passive
adoption of the particular convention of one’s
society, profession, religion etc.

23. Moral Autonomy
 New age conglomerate – near term
profitability is more important than consistent
quality and long term retention of satisfied
customers.
 Government sponsored projects – deadlines
becomes important along with foreign
competition.

24. Accountability
Being responsible, liable and answerable.
Being willing to submit one’s action to any
type of moral scrutiny and be responsive to
others.
Morally responsible people are expected to
accept moral responsibility for their actions.

25. WHAT ARE CODES OF ETHICS?
 Primary aspect is to provide basic frame work for the
ethical judgment for a professional.
 They are also referred as codes of conduct, express the
commitment to ethical conduct shared by members.
 Express the ethical principles.
 Define the roles and responsibilities of professions.
 Helps to apply the moral and ethical principles to
specific situation.

26.  Codes of ethics are based on five canons. i.e.
principles of ethics
1. Integrity
2. Competence
3. Individual responsibilities
4. Professional responsibilities
5. Human concern.
Thus the codes of ethics create an environment within
a profession where ethical behaviour is norm.

27. POSITIVE ROLES OF CODES OF ETHICS:
1. Inspiration
Ethical codes provides positive inspiration to
exercise their obligations effectively.
Inspires to apply moral principles.

28. 2. Guidance
Provide guidance for achieving the obligations
of professionals.
Provide guidelines, how to apply the code to
the unique solutions.

29. 3. Support
Offer positive and potential support to
engineers to perform their duties in ethical
manner.
Serve as a legal support when the engineers
are tangled in professional obligation and
conflicts.

30. 4. Deterrence and Discipline
Deter and discipline the unethical professional
conduct.
Formal basis for investigating unethical
conduct.

31. 5. Education and Mutual Understanding
Can be used for emphasizing importance of
moral issues and values.
Useful in encouraging the shared
understanding among the professionals, the
public and government organizations.

32. 6. Contributing to professional’s public image
The ethical codes can confer a positive image
to the public of an ethically committed
profession.
They enables the engineers to serve the public
more effectively.

33. 7. Protecting status quo
Codes institute ethical conventions.
They also suppress the dispute within the
profession.

34. 8. Promoting business interests
Promote interest through restraint of trade.
Help in facilitating morally feasible business
dealings to the professionals.

35. LIMITATIONS OF CODES
Codes of ethics are broad guidelines,
restricted to general and vague wordings. Due
to this limitation they cannot be applicable to
all situations directly.

36. It is also impossible to analyze fully and
predict the full range of moral problems that
arises in a complex profession.

37. Engineering codes often have internal
conflicts. So they can’t give a solution or
method for resolving the conflict.
i.e. several entries will be overlapping.

38. Cannot be treated as the final moral authority
for any professional conduct.
Codes represent a compromise between
differing judgments and also developed
among heated committee disagreements.

39. Only a few practicing engineers are the
members of Professional Societies and so they
cannot be compelled to abide by their codes.

40. Many engineers who are the members of
Professional Societies are not aware of the
existence of the codes of their societies and
they never go through it.

41. Codes can be reproduced in a very rapid
manner.
Codes are said to be coercive i.e.,
implemented by threat or force.

42. CODES AND THE EXPERIMENTAL NATURE OF
ENGINEERING
The perspective of engineering as social
experimentation provides some useful clues in
prioritizing and ranking various functions.

43. Supportive function of engineering codes
enables engineers to express their views
freely, especially about the safety to those
affected by engineering projects.

44. Disciplinary functions is considered as
secondary important function as these are
essential in engineering.

45. Guidance, inspirational and educational
functions are also important as they promote
mutual understanding among those affected
by them.

46. The functions of protecting status quo and
promoting only business interests in violation
of free competition should be avoided all
together.

47. A BALANCED OUTLOOK
Rules and Regulations that control Engineers
The country’s civil and criminal law
Codes of Ethics
Professional Society
Service rules and regulations as per contract
with the employer.

48. The country’s civil and criminal law

49. Codes of Ethics

50. Professional Society

51. Service rules as per contract with the employer

52. What are standards?
 Standards are framed by the companies for their in -
house use.
 Standards facilitate:
 Interchangeability
 Accuracy in measurement
 Ease of handling
 Prevention of harms
 Decreased production costs
 Quality products

53. TYPES OF STANDARDS

54. Benefits of standards
Standards helps manufacturers, clients and
public.
Maintains a steady and balanced competition
among industries.
Ensures the measure of quality and hence
facilitate more realistic trade off condition.

55. Negative aspects of standards
Reduces the choice for the customer due to
reduced variety.
Excessive standardization may reduce the
interest among the workers.
Sometimes manufacturers impose
unnecessarily changes in provision.

56. Problems with Law in engineering
Existence of minutely detailed rules may result in
minimal compliance, which may lead to find out
the loop holes in law. e.g. Titanic tragedy.
Laws lag behind technological development.
Many laws are non laws.
Another situation for frustration is apparent
immunity. (Influent persons can violate)

57. The proper role of law in engineering
Can establish reasonable minimum standards
of conduct.
Can provide a self interested motive.
Act as a protector of ethical engineers.

58. Responsibility of Engineers towards laws
Engineers should not treat laws as game,
should respect it.
Thus engineers should not only follow, but
they should go beyond it especially during
technological development.

59. Babylon’s building code (1758 B.C.)
The United States Steamboat Code: [1852
A.D]