What Does it Take to be a Responsible Engineer?

 

Being a responsible engineer might not be as simple as it sounds. As engineers we all want to help improve people's lives in some way or make some sort of positive impact with the projects we undertake and the technologies we develop, but many times these can get tangled up in various ethical issues and considerations. Thus, ethics in regards to engineering can be a sometimes complex subject, here we will analyze this topic a bit.  

Engineers are bound by special sets of norms and regulations depending on the field their in. These are usually various codes and standards set by a national board of engineers and the state/province or federal government for the safety and well being of the general public. Regardless of the field, engineers carry many responsibilities. The most important responsibility of an engineer is to make sure all the safety standards are reasonably met so that people who come into contact with your produced piece of technology will not be injured. With regards to this there are a few types of responsibilities. First, forward and backward looking responsibility. This means recognizing who is/was responsible before and after something goes sideways. Second, is the responsibility to think and act. This means when we think we are obliged to exercise proper personal judgement and carry out the proper actions we are supposed to carry out.       

This brings us to how the responsibilities of an engineer are different from other occupations and with it accompanies a different line of thinking. Thinking as an engineer is different from a whole lot of other occupations. Instead of the main priority being a deadline (as a manager) or external or political pressures and considerations, a responsible engineer needs to be focused about how his technology will affect the public and how safe it is to use. For example, a civil engineer constructing a bridge for a major interstate highway is going to have to focus on constructing the bridge as sturdy as possible and not as fast as possible or within the timeframe set by managers or even politicians. This judgement could mean life and death for thousands of people. Thus, engineers carry a different priorities, considerations, and responsibilities. 

END