Está en la página 1de 8

Case Analysis

By
Muhammad Shafay
&
Waqas Ahmad
Case Facts
There are certain facts mentioned in the respective case mentioned below
• Residences built near high voltage power line must include a steel mesh in the structure
to protect the residents against the low frequency EMF
• There are no widely accepted health & safety standards against exposure to low
frequency EMF
• Engineer A is trying to resist the building of residential subdivision near high voltage
power lines without steel mesh in the structure
• Exposure to low frequency EMF can be a cause of childhood leukemia
• To save construction cost, Developer & Contractor are willing to put public at health risk
Ethical Questions
What are Engineer A’s ethical obligations under above stated
circumstances?
What is the ethical responsibility of Developer & Contractor?
What should the engineer do if developer and contractor do not agree to
include the protective mesh even after being aware of the facts regarding
health hazards?
Does anyone have right to play with peoples health just to make a little
more money?
References
IEEE Code of Ethics ; Clause 1 states,
“to accept responsibility in making decisions consistent with the safety, health and welfare of
the public, and to disclose promptly the factors that might endanger the public or the
environment”
IEEE Code of Ethics ; Clause 3 states,
“to be honest and realistic in stating claims or estimates based on available data”
 IEEE Code of Ethics ; Clause 5 states,
“to improve the understanding of technology; it’s appropriate applications, and potential
consequences”
 IEEE Code of Ethics ; Clause 7 states,
“to seek, accept, and offer honest criticism of technical work, to acknowledge correct error,
and to credit properly the contribution of others”
 IEEE Code of Ethics ; Clause 9 states,
“to avoid injuring others, their properties, reputation, or employment by false or malicious
action”
Discussion &
Logical Reasoning
 Residences built near high voltage power line must include a steel mesh in the
structure to protect the residents against the low frequency EMF because steel being
a magnetic material absorbs magnetic flux.
 Public health is always given first priority and houses without proper magnetic
shielding would make many humans prone to childhood leukemia
 Engineer can at most try to persuade his superiors, which in this case are Contractor
& Developer, to take effective measures for protecting public health. However the
sole interest of the develop & contractor is to save cost
 If the superiors still do not take care of public wellbeing, the engineer shall adopt
different methods.
Conclusion
In the light of IEEE Code of Ethics, Engineer A should;
 Explain the hazards more clearly & try to persuade the superiors to install steel
mesh in order to safeguard public health
 Ethical responsibility of the superior is to validate the claims of the engineer and
then act effectively, keeping public safety first rather than cutting cost first
 And even if after knowing all rick factors, the superiors do not agree to install
proper safety the engineer should anonymously report to the government
authorities.
No one has right to play with public safety and compromise their health risk
And in the end, the engineer would be responsible for any health hazards as he
knowingly approved the faulty scheme and worked in building it
As it is said
“If a doctor makes a mistake, one person dies. But if an engineer makes a mistake, millions
die”

También podría gustarte