Engineering ethics
Engineering ethics is the field of system of moral principles that apply to the practice of engineering. The field examines and sets the obligations by engineers to society, to their clients, and to the profession. As a scholarly discipline, it is closely related to subjects such as the philosophy of science, the philosophy of engineering, and the ethics of technology.
: "We, the members of the IEEE, … do hereby commit ourselves to the highest ethical and professional conduct and agree: 1. to accept responsibility in making decisions consistent with the safety, health and welfare of the public, and to disclose promptly factors that might endanger the public or the environment;"[26]
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
: "Members of the ICE should always be aware of their overriding responsibility to the public good. A member’s obligations to the client can never override this, and members of the ICE should not enter undertakings which compromise this responsibility. The ‘public good’ encompasses care and respect for the environment, and for humanity's cultural, historical and archaeological heritage, as well as the primary responsibility members have to protect the health and well-being of present and future generations."[27]
Institution of Civil Engineers
: "A practitioner shall, regard the practitioner's duty to public welfare as paramount."[20]
Professional Engineers Ontario
: "Engineers, in the fulfillment of their professional duties, shall: Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public."[19]
National Society of Professional Engineers
: "Engineers shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public in the performance of their professional duties."[28]
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
: "Engineers uphold and advance the integrity, honor and dignity of the engineering profession by: 2. Being honest and impartial, and serving with fidelity the public, their employers and clients."[29]
Institute of Industrial Engineers
: "To achieve these goals, members shall hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public and protect the environment in performance of their professional duties."[30]
American Institute of Chemical Engineers
: "ANS members uphold and advance the integrity and honor of their professions by using their knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare and the environment; being honest and impartial; serving with fidelity the public, their employers, and their clients; and striving to continuously improve the competence and prestige of their various professions."[31]
American Nuclear Society
: "In the practice of their profession, fire protection engineers must maintain and constantly improve their competence and perform under a standard of professional behavior which requires adherence to the highest principles of ethical conduct with balanced regard for the interests of the public, clients, employers, colleagues, and the profession."[32]
Society of Fire Protection Engineers
(2023)
Titan submersible implosion
(2014)
General Motors ignition switch recalls
(2010)
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
(2003)
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
(1986)
Space Shuttle Challenger disaster
accidents (1985 to 1987)
Therac-25
(1986)
Chernobyl disaster
(1984)
Bhopal disaster
Kansas City (1981)
Hyatt Regency walkway collapse
(1979)
Three Mile Island accident
(1978),
Citigroup Center
safety problems (1970s)
Ford Pinto
(1908–1973)
Minamata disease
(1966)
Aberfan disaster
(1919)
Boston molasses disaster
Petroski notes that most engineering failures are much more involved than simple technical mis-calculations and involve the failure of the design process or management culture.[38] However, not all engineering failures involve ethical issues. The infamous collapse of the first Tacoma Narrows Bridge, and the losses of the Mars Polar Lander and Mars Climate Orbiter were technical and design process failures. Nor are all engineering ethics issues necessary engineering failures per se - Northwestern University instructor Sheldon Epstein cited The Holocaust as an example of a breach in engineering ethics despite (and because of) the engineers' creations being successful at carrying out the Nazis' mission of genocide.[39] There is the ethics issue of whether engineers considered vulnerability to hostile intent, such as governmental buildings or industrial sites, in the same way weather is considered regardless of the project specifications.[40] Lysenkoism is a specific form of ethical failure, which when engineers (or scientists) allow political agendas take precedent over professional ethics.
These episodes of engineering failure include ethical as well as technical issues.
(2010) [1914]. Code of Ethics. Reston, Virginia, USA: ASCE Press. Archived from the original on 2011-02-14. Retrieved 2011-12-07.
American Society of Civil Engineers
(2000). Ethics Guidelines for Professional Conduct for Civil Engineers (PDF). Reston, Virginia, USA: ASCE Press. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-21. Retrieved 2013-11-30.
American Society of Civil Engineers
(2004). Royal Charter, By-laws, Regulations and Rules. Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2006-10-20.
Institution of Civil Engineers
Layton, Edwin (1986). The Revolt of the Engineers: Social Responsibility and the American Engineering Profession. Baltimore, Maryland, USA: The Johns Hopkins University Press. 0-8018-3287-X.
ISBN
(1985). To Engineer is Human: the Role of Failure in Successful Design. St Martins Press. ISBN 0-312-80680-9.
Petroski, Henry
(2007) [1964]. Code of Ethics (PDF). Alexandria, Virginia, USA: NSPE. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2006-10-20.
National Society of Professional Engineers
Alford, C.F. (2002). Whistleblowers: Broken Lives and Organizational Power, Cornell University Press. 978-0801487804, 192 pp.
ISBN
Fleddermann, C.B. (2011). Engineering Ethics, Prentice Hall, 4th edition. 978-0132145213, 192pp.
ISBN
Harris, C.E., M.S. Pritchard, and M.J. Rabins (2008).Engineering Ethics: Concept and Cases, Wadsworth Publishing, 4th edition. 978-0495502791, 332 pp.
ISBN
Huesemann, Michael H., and Joyce A. Huesemann (2011). , Chapter 14, “Critical Science and Social Responsibility”, New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, British Columbia, Canada, ISBN 0865717044, 464 pp.
Technofix: Why Technology Won’t Save Us or the Environment
Martin, M.W., and R. Schinzinger (2004). Ethics in Engineering, McGraw-Hill, 4th edition. 978-0072831153, 432 pp.
ISBN
Van de Poel, I., and L. Royakkers (2011). Ethics, Technology, and Engineering: An Introduction, Wiley-Blackwell. 978-1-444-33095-3, 376 pp.