Engineering Failures
Introduction
Ethics is generally defined as the study of morals, which is the study of what is right and
wrong or beneficial or harmful to others. In the field of engineering and science, it is a very
important concept that is considered in the daily workings of engineers and scientists.
The codes of professional engineers and scientists vary widely within different professional
societies. Many professional societies maintain a set of codes, such as the American
Institute of Chemists, the American Mathematical Society, the Association of Computer
Machinery, and the American Council of Engineering Companies.
These codes of conductor ethical guidelines are used to govern the practices of the
engineers, engineering technicians, scientist, and mathematicians. Sometimes the codes are
extensive and may even result in a person losing his/her advanced degree if he/she is
found to plagiarize his/her work. You may be surprised to learn that there is also a set of
codes for student organizations that includes a Hippocratic Oath for scientists, engineers,
and executives.
This problem is designed to enable you to learn more about engineering design ethics and
how ethics should play a role in the work of engineers and scientists.
Problem Statement
Over the course of human history, there have been hundreds of thousands of engineering
blunders, large and small. A few that come to mind are the Titanic, the Challenger Shuttle,
and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
Outcomes
You will select a category of potential ethical issues. Within that category, you will research
a particular case and study the ethical issues encountered. You do not have to focus your
research on a particular situation, such as stem cell research, but you may research the
ethics surrounding such an issue. Make sure the project you choose is approved by Mr. Hill
before you start.
These are PLTW ideas. The paper must be related to
engineering design and ethics.
CATEGORY
Agricultural and Food Biotech
Business Ethics
Campaign Ethics
Character Education
Environmental Ethics
Ethical Theory
Ethics Centers and Institutes
Foundations
Global Leadership and Ethics
Government Ethics
Health Care Ethics
Legal Ethics
Media Ethics
Non-profits
Public Policy
Religious Perspectives on Ethics
Science and Research Ethics
Supranational Organizations
Technology and Biotechnology
United Nations Organizations
University-Affiliated Groups
SAMPLE ETHICAL TOPICS
Trench Failure
Anhydrous Ammonia Hose Failure
Conflict of interest
Whistle blowing
Good engineer vs. protecting the
environment
Three Mile Island Nuclear Disaster
Gift Giving or Receiving
General research regarding different
groups and opinions
Hyatt Regency Walkway Collapse
Encryption and national security
The Aberdeen Three and chemical
weapons
Designer medicines
What is plagiarism? What is cheating?
Equal justice under the Law.
TV Antenna Collapse
Research ethical issues with groups,
such as Greenpeace and CARE
Ultra-lightweight Vehicles, WIG’s or
other vehicles that present policy issues.
General research regarding different
points of view
Challenger Disaster
The World Bank or The World Health
Organization
Biopharma Issues
Research on third-world peasant farmers
in cultivating their small plots of land
General research regarding different
points of view, such as conflict of interest
What you must include:










Who made the failed design
What went wrong with the design
Why the blunder was made
A description of the event
What was changed after the disaster to make a successful design
The ethics behind what went wrong (who was in charge of the project, why they
thought they could get away with the project, etc).
The report must include images, and each student must use at least three sources, at
least one of which can NOT be a website.
Must be in APA format (and include an abstract!)
Between 1 and 2 pages (300-700 words)
It is critical that you and your partner keep detailed records of your research so that
you are able to include the information in the design brief. The research information
is critical in that it must be used by the team in order to successfully complete the
design brief.
Helpful Websites:
http://www.matscieng.sunysb.edu/disaster/
http://www.library.ubc.ca/scieng/engineeringfailure/EngFailures.htm
http://www.tech.plym.ac.uk/sme/failurecases/list_engineering_successes_failures.htm
http://listverse.com/2007/12/04/top-10-worst-engineering-disasters/
CATEGORY
Amount of
Information
4
All topics are addressed
and all questions
answered with at least
2 sentences about
each.
Quality of
Information
Information clearly
relates to the main
topic. It includes
several supporting
details and/or
examples.
Information is very
organized with wellconstructed paragraphs
and subheadings.
Organization
Sources
All sources
(information and
graphics) are accurately
documented in the
desired format.
Mechanics
No grammatical,
spelling or punctuation
errors.
Paragraph
Construction
All paragraphs include
introductory sentence,
explanations or details,
and concluding
sentence.
Diagrams &
Illustrations
Diagrams and
illustrations are neat,
accurate and add to the
reader's understanding
of the topic.
Format
The entire report
follows length
guidelines and APA
format
3
All topics are
addressed and most
questions answered
with at least 2
sentences about
each.
Information clearly
relates to the main
topic. It provides 12 supporting details
and/or examples.
2
All topics are
addressed, and most
questions answered
with 1 sentence about
each.
1
One or more topics
were not addressed.
Information clearly
relates to the main
topic. No details and/or
examples are given.
Information has little
or nothing to do with
the main topic.
Information is
organized with
well-constructed
paragraphs.
Information is
organized, but
paragraphs are not
well-constructed.
The information
appears to be
disorganized. 8)
All sources
(information and
graphics) are
accurately
documented, but a
few are not in the
desired format.
Almost no
grammatical,
spelling or
punctuation errors
All sources (information
and graphics) are
accurately documented,
but many are not in the
desired format.
Some sources are not
accurately
documented.
A few grammatical,
spelling, or punctuation
errors.
Many grammatical,
spelling, or
punctuation errors.
Most paragraphs
include
introductory
sentence,
explanations or
details, and
concluding
sentence.
Diagrams and
illustrations are
accurate and add to
the reader's
understanding of
the topic.
The report is a little
shorter or longer
than allotted
length. One or two
exceptions to
format guidelines
Paragraphs included
related information but
were typically not
constructed well.
Paragraphing
structure was not
clear and sentences
were not typically
related within the
paragraphs.
Diagrams and
illustrations are neat
and accurate and
sometimes add to the
reader's understanding
of the topic.
Allotted length is
ignored. Attempt at
following APA
Guidelines but there
are many mistakes. An
abstract is not included
Diagrams and
illustrations are not
accurate OR do not
add to the reader's
understanding of the
topic.
The report doesn’t
meet length
guidelines and isn’t in
APA format