The introduction
Nowadays, engineering ethics remains one of the most important vectors of specialist training. Lack of awareness in this topic can lead not only to minor injuries in the workplace but also to large-scale tragedies. Despite the significant number of deaths that occur daily in the workplace, people still neglect engineering ethics, which is closely related to safety at work. The purpose of the paper is to summarize the core issues of the article, analyze the findings, and define the problem.
Summary of the core issues
The presented article is about a new and relevant topic in our time, which is called engineering ethics. The author correctly selected the definitions that set out the essence of the topic. For example, according to Grubbe (2015), “ethics is sometimes clearly black and white and easy to understand; often, though, ethics comes in many shades of gray” (p. 21). The article raises the question of insufficient ethical training of specialists in the field of chemistry and technology in enterprises.
The purpose of the article is to analyze incidents that happened due to a lack of engineering ethics, as well as the reasons that influenced this. Finding a solution to the problems associated with the studying of engineering ethics of chemical technology specialists is also the main task. The author gives some examples of a code of ethics that can protect an employee from possible problems due to non-compliance with safety regulations.
The problem
To start with, along with professional knowledge and skills, graduates of technical universities should have formed professional and personal competencies. This skill is the need to understand the social context of engineering, to think systematically, taking into account current and delayed consequences for society and the ecosystem, being to work in a team, etc. This requirement is clearly expressed in the codes of professional ethics given by the author and, as a consequence, in the new educational standards of engineering education. Sociocultural competence, being one of the key professional and personal competencies, can be formed in the course of engineering ethics.
Studying engineering ethics is important, because most of the incidents do not occur at all due to technical reasons. Most often, the reason for this is the fear of losing a job or not getting approval from the authorities. For example, employee do what his boss tells him do, even if it is against his better engineering judgment (Grubbe, 2015). It often happens that money and privileges exceed common sense. Based on this, an individual can even go for the most severe deeds, not knowing what the consequences may be.
The second most important problem is the lack of clear boundaries and rules in the field of chemical technology. It turns out that in some emergencies, the specialist is left alone with his thoughts and decisions. Under this pressure, he must make the right decision, because further events depend only on his thoughts. Individual needs the skills of self-control and quick analysis of the situation to do this, which, alas, can only be obtained by living through such cases.
There are several situations that occurred in the chemical-technical industry years earlier. The author describes mainly large-scale incidents that managed to get publicity, for example, the collapse on July 17, 1981, in the Hyatt Regency Kansas City, resulting in the deaths of 116 people (Grubbe, 2015). There is the fault of the engineers who worked on the project and were responsible for the safety of the structure, but no one denies that they could avoid a tragedy.
Take into consideration the case with the space shuttle “Challenger,” which killed seven astronauts. Definitely, no one can ignore the physical properties of particular objects. According to Hess (2018), “the findings indicate that there is limited empirical work on ethics education within engineering across the United States” (p. 570). Undoubtedly, these examples are instructive; however, as a rule, future specialists focus more on emergency rather than ordinary situations of engineer work. However, if specialists were trained correctly in engineering ethics, then most of the tragedies cited by the author could have been avoided.
Solution
The foundation of the engineer’s professional culture is laid in a technical university. Its integral part is the personal responsibility of the specialist and adherence to his standards of professional ethics in the course of engineering activities. Besides, the author believes that it would be useful to invite lecturers who worked in this field of business to share their personal, professional experiences (Grubbe, 2015). Cases from real practice, which are considered in the context of the professional activity of an engineer, usually cover many of its aspects: development and testing of new technology, disposal of old equipment, recruitment, etc.
As one of the ways to improve programs in technical areas and specialties, the author recommends integrating topics related to the ethics of engineering decisions into professional disciplines. According to Hyun (2017), “there is neither a consensus throughout the engineering education community regarding which strategies are most effective towards which ends nor which ends are most important” (p. 720). The development of didactic material for organizing students’ independent work on mastering the principles of engineering ethics is an urgent task, facing teachers of technical universities. However, it is not recommended to raise issues of engineering ethics only for independent study due to the importance of the topic for the practical activities of future engineers.
Further, there are some advises to the reader about what to do in a given situation. The author believes that a specialist should be ready to bear full responsibility for their actions (Grubbe, 2015). That is why it is essential that the employee makes all his decisions himself, and also does not forget to think them over before doing anything. The author claims that in the chemical engineering industry, even the most insignificant deed has its effect, based on this it is important never doubt the actions even for a minute.
Besides, it is noted that it is crucial to be able to go against superiors if their opinion is contrary to the safety of the project and people. The author argues that there is nothing more important than security; even if to comply with it, an individual needs to violate the rules of the company (Grubbe, 2015). In the author’s opinion, also, if after that, the company decides to sue, an individual can be sure that he did the right thing.
Conclusion
To summarize, the main aspects of engineering ethics are highlighted, as well as examples of incidents that occurred as a result of negligence are given. The author puts forward his hypotheses about the causes of these problems, as well as formulates a possible solution. He notes that examples from the real work of an engineer are an effective way of familiarizing students of engineering universities with ethical difficulties, considering the shortcomings of the development of engineering ethics.
References
Grubbe, D. (2015). Ethics – Examining your engineering responsibility chemical engineering progress. ABI/INFORM Collection, 111(2), 21-29.
Hess, J. L., & Fore, G. (2018). A systematic literature review of US engineering ethics interventions. Science and Engineering Ethics, 24(2), 551-583.
Hyun, I. (2017). Engineering ethics and self-organizing models of human development opportunities and challenges. Cell Stem Cell, 21(6), 718-720.