Ethical Values of a Mechanical Design Engineer
As a mechanical design engineer, facing ethical dilemmas is part of the job. However, there are ethical responsibilities that must always be put first to dealing with these ethical dilemmas. Following ethical values are used to guide one as a professional to making the right decisions when problems arise.
A mechanical design engineer’s job is to design projects following specifications while ensuring a product is safe to use by the public. Taking this position, one must learn to follow through in learning to solve problems that arise in a design. Thus, leading to deciding on whether to make ethical decisions or ignore ethical values.
Safety
The most important ethical issue of a mechanical engineer is safety. When designing and manufacturing a project, all safety measures must be taken into consideration. This means no cutting corners because the lives of consumers can be at risk.
The incident with the Space shuttle Columbia disaster is an example of why safety concerns must be prioritized by bringing attention and resolution to these concerns. In this incident, the responsible party for the lives of the astronauts were board members who chose to ignore the problem with build up of foam on a wing [1]. The safety of the astronauts should have been the priority. The problem should not have been ignored; even if it meant postponing a launch.
Duty
As an engineer, one must keep their mind open and as objective as possible. Meaning emotions must not cloud judgement. As part of the Mechanical Engineering Code of Ethics states,“Engineers shall issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner. [2]” Remaining objective and truthful is in important in writing reports that express any problems, regardless of outcomes. Analyzing problems in an objective manner is needed in order to ensure things ruin professional and in a right path. For instance, by remaining subjective as an engineer, there runs the risk of ignoring problems that arise. Objectivity ensures that problems that breach product users safety is not ignored.
Part of being a mechanical engineer, is to be able to notify problems or defects in products from the company. If the employer refuses to take action in resolving problems or defects in a product, it is the engineer's responsibility to remain honest. Even if the engineer must whistle blow, it is the right action to take for cases like this.
References:
- https://www.space.com/19436-columbia-disaster.html
- https://www.asme.org/getmedia/9eb36017-fa98-477e-8a73-77b04b36d410/p157_ethics.aspx
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