In this increasingly AI-driven world, one aspect of the civil engineering profession that remains purely human is the question of ethics.
Civil engineers are duty-bound to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. First adopted in 1914, the ASCE Code of Ethics maps out specific guidelines to help civil engineers manage various ethical quandaries situations that will arise throughout their careers.
Certain situations are tougher to navigate than others, though. For nearly 20 years, ASCE has highlighted some of those situations – and considered the appropriate solutions to those ethical dilemmas – in a series of articles published in Civil Engineering magazine called A Question of Ethics.
ASCE Executive Director Tom Smith authored the articles at their outset in 2005 before handing off the duties to the Society’s General Counsel Tara Hoke. The entire series is now digitized and available online, providing for hours of engineering ethics consideration and consternation.
Here are some of what could be called “greatest hits” from almost two decades of the series:
Kinzua Dam and Pennsylvania’s last remaining Native American reservation
Known by some as the Allegheny Reservoir and by others as Lake Perfidy, the artificial water body created in the 1960s by construction of the Kinzua Dam provides power, recreation, and floodwater protection to surrounding areas, but it also stands as a symbol of the U.S. government’s broken promises to Native Americans and as a striking case study in engineering ethics.
Read more – “Engineering solution falls short of ethical expectations”
Harsh criticism of a project not rooted in facts, expertise
A university professor is commissioned by the state auditor general to help peer-review the design review and project management processes of the state department of transportation. After a five-month investigation that includes interviews with DOT staff members, onsite observation of processes, and a review of project documentation and correspondence, the professor and his team of reviewers issue a report that is harshly critical of the DOT’s quality control procedures.
The bridge design firm’s president notes that the peer review team made no attempt to communicate with the design firm before issuing the report, that the team did not review the firm’s design calculations or its final drawings, and that neither the professor nor the other members of his team had design experience for this type of bridge.
Read more – “Member Questions Bridge Design Without Thorough Knowledge of Facts”
Dubious dealings and suspicious design choices
The newly elected supervisor of a populous suburban township is approached by a local real estate developer, who complains that he is being “muscled” by the township’s public works director into offering real estate to the director at below-market value in exchange for favorable treatment by the public works department. The report is particularly credible to the official because it aligns with the official’s growing suspicions about the public works director’s conduct.
Read more – “Engineers Must Take Action in the Face of Corruption”
Sensationalist language
A civil engineer testified at a public hearing about what he labeled a “toxic sea of sludge” in the state’s coastal waters. Complainants alleged that he had exaggerated the condition of the waters, and that he did not have the necessary expertise to offer a professional opinion on the subject. While ASCE’s Committee on Professional Conduct did not feel that the member was guilty of an ethical lapse, its members expressed concern about his use of “sensationalist” language and his failure to clarify the limits of his professional expertise.
Read more – “Silence Is Not So Golden”
Tragedy strikes Cocoa Beach, Florida
On March 27, 1981, workers were placing concrete on the roof of the Harbour Cay Condominium, a five-story residential project under construction on the central Florida coastline, when at least one worker noted hearing a loud “pop” within the structure. Minutes later, the building gave a tremendous shudder, the upper floors fell beneath the workers’ feet, and the entire structure collapsed. Eleven workers were killed in the collapse, and more than 20 were wounded in what remains one of the worst construction accidents in U.S. history.
Read more – “Competence and Safety Go Hand in Hand”
Read the entire archive of A Question of Ethics articles.
Explore the ASCE Sara’s Story case study of engineering ethics.
