Engineering Ethics of Titanic Sinking Essay

The configuration of a segment or structure regularly solicits to minimize the possibility of failure. The failure of metals is a complex subject which must be managed crack or other significant sensation. Here I will discuss the designing error/material selection/inappropriate uses of the historical disaster of the “Titanic” . Design Faults: Alongside the material failures, poor design of the watertight compartments in the Titanic's lower area was a variable in the debacle.

If placed in the position of jurors who heard the arguments of 1978, personal consideration would have included benefit and harm, instead of relying on the cost/benefit analysis. Investigation conducted by the prosecution discovered that the engineers for Ford had knowledge of the defect during pre-production crash testing. Contrary to practicing ethically halting production to correct the defect, the automobile manufacturer indicated making changes to the tool design were not cost effective; essentially placing a dollar value on human existence. Ford motors appeared to be concerned with the cost and amount of time necessary to fix problem; rather than the lives lost or people permanently affected by the burning vehicle.

In Pinto Fires and Personal Ethics: A Script Analysis of Missed Opportunities, Dennis Gioia relives the case of the Ford Pinto. Throughout the article Gioia questions his involvement in this highly debated issue, consequently wondering where he fit in ethically. This piece brings together the ideas of technical, social, and political ethics, ultimately showing the importance of an engineer’s decision. Overall, I realize that the remorse or consequence of an ethical decision drives the examination of what is moral.

What caused the“unsinkable” R.M.S Titanic to capsize down to the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean and kill an abundant number of people? The “ R.M.S Titanic” sank due to an assortment of obstacles; however, it can be narrowed down to a few critical things. The survival of people was based on availability of lifeboats and wealth class. Mr Joseph Bruce Ismay was a wealthy businessman who built ships. Mr. Ismay made it away from this tragedy because of his wealth. An iceberg along with the crew’s ignorance and unreadiness caused the R.M.S Titanic to sink to the depths; however, Mr. Ismay along with other wealthy people along with some poor made it out alive.

Some engineers would have buried the design flaw. Instead, LeMessurier set out to confirm the student’s suspicions, confirmed the findings, and set-out to find a solution. Ethics in engineering signify are necessary to leadership since the consequences can be so high.

I believe the most responsible issue is engineers should always strive to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public. The ethical issue impacted the events in many different ways. The engineers got too focused on making money, and lost sight of making sure the welfare of the public was protected. They did not think about important safety considerations when working through the engineering process. If the engineers would have focused more on ensuring the health, safety, and welfare of the public was protected, this incident could have been

On April 14,1912 a great ship called the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage. That night there were many warnings of icebergs from other ships. There seems to be a conflict on whether or not the warnings reached the bridge. We may never know the answer to this question. The greatest tragedy of all may be that there were not

The Sinking of the Titanic was a tragedy that affected many. This event will forever be in the memories of the people who have suffered from losing loved ones and to the people that such a historical event affected. History was drastically changed after the Sinking of the Titanic, the so called “unsinkable” ship, occurred. A number of theories have been conducted about this event throughout the years after its occurrence. However, only one of these theories should be true. The workers who built the Titanic relied more on the aesthetic beauty and scenery of the ship, rather than the safety of the passengers.

The second moral dilemma that we encounter is what the two engineers chose to do with the information they were given. When they returned to the office a few days later the engineers reported what they had learned to the office manager and they began to form a plan for how to use their new information. They decided to do a preemptive strike and approach the client before they went public. The issue here is that they should not have had the information in the first place and they risked the reputation of the subcontractor from whom they got the information. They decided that the end justified the means and proceeded to contact the client. (Rosenstand 2013 p. 232)

In the early 1900s ocean liners were a lucrative business. Carrying passengers across the vast ocean was the most efficient way to travel. White Star Lines had to find a way to lure passengers away from their competitor, Cunard Lines (Encyclopedia Britannica). They decided to build bigger ocean liners, which focused on comfort, as opposed to speed. The Titanic’s hull was designed to withstand a breech in four of its watertight compartments; this made many believe that the ship was unsinkable. Sadly, for those on the ship, this couldn’t be further

William LeMessurier and the Citicorp Tower controversy provide examples of engineering ethics. He followed the NSPE Code of Ethics when dealing with the tower’s faults. The decision to tell his employers and ultimately fix the tower showed that he acknowledged his errors, acted as a faithful agent to his employers, and that he held paramount the safety of the public as seen in professional obligations 1 and the fundamental canons 4 and 1. Even when faced with the moral decision of risking his reputation by fixing the tower, he still thought that the safety of the public was more important than his own personal gain. He was willing to admit his errors and fix the tower.

Industrial Engineers often face the ethical dilemma of attempting to balance costs with quality and safety. Company management pressures Industrial systems engineers to design processes that are cost efficient, time constrained, and produce a high quality output. This puts the engineer in a tricky balancing act in which they are trying to make every stakeholder happy. Taking risks in order to create cost efficient solutions is not specific to only industrial engineers but applies to all disciplines of engineering, making this topic a relevant discussion. However, this conflict is especially true in a manufacturing setting where industrial engineers thrive, machine operators are often overworked, companies make products in high stakes, large batches, and the range of quality acceptance is growing ever smaller. A relevant example is the engineer who was designing a chemical plant in Mexico. In order to achieve the correct viscosity of the paint stripper, the engineer asked the plant operator to babysit the chemical mixture and manually release the valve when necessary. Engineering management’s decision puts the plant worker at a safety risk in order to achieve a tighter quality and standardization of the chemical stripper production process. Ultimately, this resulted in the catastrophic death of the plant worker and the destruction of the plant.

The series of ethical issues that took place leading to the disaster are complex, and other factors such as economic and political issues arose after the catastrophe happened. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the ethical issues that took place before the disaster happened, and investigate the moral obligations, social responsibility and justice at an individual and organizational level. The ethical dilemma is broken down into three categories, which include the company’s management priority to reduce costs and time, neglecting safety issues addressed by staff, human misjudgment and errors in neglecting pressure reading; and finally, overlooking the technical design flaws that were not tested by BP before installing to use. The

Although the accident was caused by a mechanical failure, it spiralled out of control because of an insufficient safety system. BP acted inefficiently and their carelessness cost the lives of people and damaged the environment, nevertheless this does not mean they acted in an unethical way as

Engineering is a pylon of human development and technology,having a significant impact on people’s daily lives. Engineering has improved humanity in every aspect (e.g. transportation, communication, medicine) and it has the potential to overcome the challenges that mankind still faces. However, engineers have responsibility for their actions and they must learn to follow a set of ethical principles relating to their work. All of which have to be followed to the letter otherwise there can be severe consequences.