Code of Ethics for Engineers - Essay Example

Introduction The issues of ethics in the modern society are very important for the representatives of different fields. A special attention to ethics should be paid by managers and engineers, people, who are responsible for the lives of other people. It is evident that the issues of ethics determine important background of professional activities. Thus, an engineer should be responsible and a devoted professional. A neglectful attitude to the direct professional duties can result in deaths of people or numerous damages.

It is further discussed that engineers should develop and support their decisions, which are honest, factual and safe. Therefore, it is not difficult to comply with the ethical issues for the engineers. A personal contribution to work and work performance under supervision will lead to taking the number of steps in a responsible manner. The level of competence and experience are two basic factors, which determine the successful actions of the managers. Case Study Summary The responsibility of the modern managers and engineers exceeds the limits of their standard professional roles and functions.

On the basis of the case study about BAC1-11 (British Airways flight 5390) it is evident that ethical concerns and a proper attention to the most relevant features of human lives are of crucial importance for the safety of their lives and souls. There was a great accident happened to that plane: when BAC1-11 was flying through 17,330 feet en route from Birmingham to Malaga, Spain, June 10, 1990, the cabin pressure blew out the left windscreen. This case study illustrates drastic consequences of an engineer’s behavior in case of his neglectful attitude for his professional activities.

Moreover, ethical issues should create a strong and a reliable basis for a proper consideration about professional skills. There was a great personal tragedy happened to the commander of the crew, who was sucked halfway out of the windscreen aperture. There were no accidents of death and there was, supposedly, an oversight of the manufacturer. Actually, a specified 84 bolts securing the windscreen were of a wrong diameter. There was a wrong action made by the Shift Maintenance Manager, who decided to make an operation, which he has been doing for many times.

The Shift Maintenance Manager made a wrong decision, when he supposed to replace the bolts of the required diameter with 7Ds. Of course, it can be classified as a professional mistake and an evident oversight of the manager. Nevertheless, it is appropriate to correlate ethical issues of his behavior with the Code of Ethics. It outlines specific ways of behavior for the engineers and managers, because the lives of people depend on appropriateness of their actions and the necessity of professional measures taking.

Discussion of the Case Study: A lack of Ethical Concerns Therefore, the mistake of the manager can be explained as inability of an individual to carry out a total responsibility and a lack of appropriate testing. Moreover, the Shift Maintenance Manager was lacking of a proper potential to conduct a high-quality process of the windscreen fitting. Thus, it can be said that there were too poor practices of engineering, a lack of professionalism and inability to provide high-quality engineering services.

The direct work of the manager was not properly audited and Product Samples and Quality Audits can be