Applications and Case Studies
©2010 Dr. B. C. Paul
A Really Cool Problem
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Based on a case study by Wayne Helmer (SIUC) and
Robert Walker (Texas A+M)
You are a engineer at a HVAC/energy consulting
company in your area. Your responsibility is to design
and purchase equipment for projects that you work on.
The particular project under consideration involves a
cooling system to be installed on a mine intake shaft.
(Mines will sometimes air condition incoming air in the
summer time to de-humidify it since moisture can cause
shale degredation and roof falls in the shaft area. Now
you must design specifications for the cooling system
and contract the systems from equipment wholesalers
in the area.
The Plot Thickens
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Several suppliers have bid on your job. You notice that one
supplier has bid the equipment at about 20% below the
average price of all the other suppliers. This supplier's price
seems too good to be true.
This supplier visits you the following week to discuss his bid
on the cooling system. You inquire about his low bid on the
system and ask to see some performance data on his units.
He provides you with engineering data.
You do some thermodynamic checking and find that the work
and heat output from the cooling unit is twice the energy input.
You find the cooling units coefficient of performance is 6.2
while no other unit you have seen can beat 2.3. The unit
claims to have a DOE compliant EER of 21 while competitors
almost never break 13.
Back Peddle?
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You confront the salesman. He tells you that
he is sorry that he made a “mistake”. The
current draw on the compressor should be
higher. He says that he really wants to sell
this cooling equipment because they use
CFC 22 and the refrigerant will be phased
out soon. He says that he wants to make
you a "deal" and sell this equipment at not
just 20% off but now 50% lower than similar
units on the market.
Facts
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The performance data you were supplied contains
major errors
CFC22 is being phased out which could make
future servicing of the equipment an issue
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CFC22 is alleged to destroy the ozone layer (although there are
technical problems with this theory such as CFC being to heavy to rise to the stratosphere or the
fact that none of the ozone destroying compounds that are making holes in the ozone layer have
ever been found or detected there)
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The EER label on the equipment is an outright fraud
The Equipment being sold is much less expensive
than any other competing unit
Questions
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Is this an Economics Questions or an Ethics
Question?
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Suppose you believe your organization has
good stores of CFC22 on hand and that you
have qualified people to recycle it?
Suppose a preliminary economic analysis
appears to indicate that this vendor could save
the mine money even when long range
maintenance issues are considered?
What Does The Code of Ethics
Have to Say About This
Situation?
The NSPE Code of Ethics of
Engineers states:
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1.b. "Engineers shall approve only those
engineering documents which are safe for public
health, property and welfare in conformity with
accepted standards.“
Section 1 .d. says; "Engineers shall not permit the
use of their name or firm name nor associate in
business ventures with any person or firm which
they have reason to believe is engaging in
fraudulent or dishonest business or professional
practices."
Houston – Do We Have a Problem?
Would There Be Any Harm in
Taking This Deal if You Believe
that Your Mine Can Handle the
Economics, Maintenance, and
Environmental Responsibility?
Conveying Integrity
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Inspired by a case from Online Ethics.org
You are in sales and engineering for Convoluted
Conveyor company and deal with marketing of belt
and belt structure for coal mines.
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Your company has been retained to market and design the
belt network for Jerk Cheap Coal Company
Jerk Cheap has always squeezed your companies
margins and hurt your companies profitability and of
course the commissions of their sales people. In fact most
salespeople don’t want to have anything to do with the
jobs with Jerk Cheap. The only reason you are even on
this job is that you got stuck with it because you are the
junior engineer.
Interesting Clauses
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Your company (and your commission) will
get a percentage of the cost of the
equipment and system supplied. (Of course
because Jerk Cheap Coal is a stingy hard
nose in deals that’s not much and it’s a lot of
work on your part for a company that treats
you like dirt).
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The contract does contain a clause that you will
split savings on the system that do not impact
performance (sometimes called a values
engineering clause)
You’re a Good Engineer
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In laying out the conveyor system you
see opportunities to lay out a conveyor
system with standard and acceptable
practice
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Because you are smarter than the
average engineer you realize there are
also some tweeks you can put on the
system to save costs and improve
performance
Opportunity Knocks
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You can put together a standard conveyor
design for Jerk Cheap Coal.
After the design is accepted you can then
bring forward your system improvements
which will activate the Values Engineering
Clause
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The money you bring from getting to keep 50%
of the savings will give you and your company a
fat commission and almost certainly make you
salesman of the month
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This of course will get you noticed and probably help
you get better jobs to design and bid in the future.
Is It Ethical For You to Withold
Design Optimization Until the 2nd
Phase of the Project even though
you easily know how to put the
improvements into your initial
design?
The Devil Made Me Do It!
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Rationalization
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Jerk Cheap has squeezed your margins and your still
giving them a solid standard engineering design
Your colleagues are just using you to dump all the jobs no
one else wants
You have a family and a career too.
Most engineers would never be able to spot the
improvements that you could (its just that you are a
genius)
Why should Jerk Cheap think they will get genius when
they are just diving to scrape dirt off the bottom of the
barrel
The company works you extra hours, and treats you with
contempt – you don’t owe them a thing.
What Does the Code of Ethics
Say?
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The Engineers Creed
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To place service before profit, the honor
and standing of the profession before
personal advantage, and the public welfare
above all other considerations.
The Fundamental Cannons Say
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Act for each employer or client as faithful
agents or trustees.
This One Makes Your Hair
Stand on End
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Inspired by a case from Online Ethics.org
You are an Engineer for Geebuddy Coal Company. Geebuddy
is planning to open a new coal mine and get a consortium of
electric power companies to join with them in building the
Prairies Fate Power Plant. To deliver the power onto the grid
new power lines will have to be installed. The shortest and
most economical route for the power lines go right past the
town of Red Pudd. The Hoser Environmental Coalition has
got people in the town stirred up that the Electromagnetic
Fields from the power lines will cause their children to develop
brain cancer and will turn the brains of adults into Jello (they
may even start to believe in Al Gore’s movie “An inconvenient
Truth”).
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Gleebuddy has ask to go to a Town Meeting and present the
company’s perspective and calm the towns people.
The Facts as You Know Them
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Many common everyday objects (electric shavers, microwave
ovens, hair dryers, vacuum cleaners, electric can openers)
produce electromagnetic fields (EMFs). Concern arises from
larger projects such as electric power lines, sub-stations, and
radar facilities
In an Epidemiological Study groups of people that are
exposed to a suspect condition are compared to groups of
people that are not. One looks for a higher incidence of
problems with the exposed group. Epidemiological studies do
not establish a cause – they only suggest when a correlation
may exist.
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Epidemiological evidence exists showing slightly higher risks
associated with living next to these field-generating facilities.
But other epidemiological studies do not show significant risk
ratios.
Fact Continued
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Some have argued that there is a causal
mechanism to explain the cancers associated with
EMFs. For example, it is argued that EMFs interfere
directly with cellular activity. But EMFs are
pervasive (including the earth’s own field) and it has
not been demonstrated why the EMFs generated by
electric power lines or radar facilities are special.
Another series of studies have been carried out to
see if EMFs trigger (or activitate) a cancer-causing
gene that is directly responsible for the cancer. But
scientists have not been able to confirm this
hypothesis.
Facts Continued
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An extensive animal study conducted at the Illinois
Institute of Technology showed no positive results. It
involved a controlled experiment in which three
groups of rats were exposed to varying EMFs while
a control group of rats that included Al Gore had no
exposure. No significant difference between the
four groups was found.
No cases exist anywhere of peoples brains being
converted to jello from living near a power
transmission line. (There are, however, cases of
people believing Al Gores movie).
Facts You Where Involved
With Determining
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The Economics require that participating power
companies be able to get the Electricity from the
Prairies Fate Power Plant to the Grid at low cost.
The only alternate route is through the shaggy
possum bottoms. This relatively undisturbed area
would be very hard to service lines should they be
damaged by high winds or storms
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The route would involve potential ecosystem damage
The route would raise costs enough to threaten the power
project
The route would make keeping power lines open after
storms risky to the safety of lineman and could leave
communities without power for weeks at a time
More Facts You Were Involved
With
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Randolf the Red Nose Raindeer County has 17%
unemployments and a median household income of
$18,000 per year. Economic projections indicate
that building the power plant and opening the mine
will double average household income and cut the
unemployment rate in half – but loosing the power
line route past Red Pudd would put the entire
project at risk of never happening.
Your work on the Mine and Power Plant plans will
likely get you a $70,000 Christmas bonus and a
promotion with a $50,000 per year increase in base
pay if the Mine and Power Plant combination are
built.
Is It Ethical for You to Go to the
Town Meeting in Red Pudd and
make a presentation and answer
questions on behalf of Gleebuddy
Coal?
What Parts of the Engineers
Creed and Code of Engineering
Ethics Might Apply?