Bursic 2:00pm
R04
Treading Water
Jack Krivitsky (Jsk60@pitt.edu)
MY STORY
It was a Thursday night when the cops showed up at my
doorstep. All I could do was accept my fate, take a seat in the
back of their cruiser, and try to come to terms with the amount
of time I would be incarcerated due to my own inactions. But
before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let me tell you how
I got to this point.
I just recently graduated from the University of Pittsburgh
with a degree in civil engineering. I was lucky enough to get
a low level position at WindStax Wind Power Systems. I
basically sit at my desk all day filtering through stacks of
projects until one with minimal job clearance comes to my
attention. About six months ago, our company was hired to
do a project in a small town called Fogelsville, Pennsylvania.
We were payed a very large sum of money to set up a farm
of wind turbines which consists of thirty turbines in very close
proximity to each other. The plot of land we were given had
the perfect dimensions for what was wanted but the only
problem was that it was too close to a residential
neighborhood. I thought it was very suspect that we were
permitted to go along with this so I gave my boss a call from
the site. My boss just went along with it and told me we had
the city councils approval. I was in a very low position to
argue or speak up against the system so I just went with that
felt like my most secure option; to stay quiet. WindStax has
very specific construction guidelines and regulations which I
recently have to memorize to get the position I was holding at
the company. Single turbines are permitted in a residential
neighborhood if, and only if, they are at a distance of greater
than or equal to 100 times the height of the turbines rotational
axis. Wind turbine farms, on the other hand, should not be
viewable by the public if they are generating a flash rate
exceeding three flashes per second [4].
Because I had the city council’s approval, I pushed on
ahead with the project and signed the document stating we
had surpassed the safety regulations necessary to move
forward. The company constructed the wind farm with every
a gold standard safety rating passed. That day I left the
construction site with just a gut feeling that something was off
but I didn’t know what to do about it. I eventually let it subside
and moved on.
Every day for the next month and a half, until the entire
project was complete, I returned to the site to check up on the
construction teams work and make sure everything was being
done properly and to assess for any irregularities or issues
with the turbines. At the end of every day, I met with the
construction manager and asked if any workers ever got hurt
in the process, any complaints from anywhere, and every
other concern that might possibly arise.
University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering 1
Date of Submission: 2015-11-03
When I was going through engineering school I was told,
over and over again, that if an engineer makes a mistake, lives
can be lost. I took this very seriously and didn’t want a
mistake to be on my hands. I believe that if you want
something done right, you need to do it yourself. I obviously
couldn’t do everything on my own so I made sure that
everything I could have a hand in was done properly. Over the
month and a half that the construction took place, there was
only one injury that took place where one of the workers was
knocked over by one of our cranes. We make sure to take
every safety precaution in our line of work so he was wearing
all of his safety equipment so we sent the man home on
medical leave to recover from his concussion.
The project construction process was concluded and we
received our compensation from the city. I proceeded with my
final evaluation and it seemed as though everything was
settled and everyone was happy. I was more than content with
how everything went. My job was complete and I returned to
our home base to await my next job commission.
A week after the wind farm was completed, my boss
started to get angry letters and emails about the project. The
people of Fogelsville were very angry because people were
starting to feel the effects of Wind Turbine Syndrome which
was when people in the vicinity of wind turbines start to feel
symptoms such as, sleep disturbance, headaches, ringing in
their ears, dizziness, and memory problems [3]. I felt
absolutely distraught about what was happening to the people
of Fogelsville, but I didn’t know what I could do or what I
could have done. Did I make a mistake and miss something
while we were constructing? Did one of the safety inspectors
miss something? I questioned myself for hours on end to no
avail, and then it hit me; I was the one that approved the
project. I am the reason for all of these peoples’ pain and
discomfort.
Committee of Professional Conduct vs. WindStax
Soon after the letters started coming in, WindStax was
called into court, being investigated for malpractice and
incompliance with the National Society of Professional
Engineers’ (NSPE) and the American Society of Civil
Engineers’ (ASCE) codes of conduct.
The investigation started with the company but quickly
diverted its attention towards me. I was innocent. All I did
was sign a document approving of the construction on this
specific plot of land, but my boss told me that I had the city
council’s approval. There was nothing in writing to support
my plea. The only thing in writing was my personal signature
on the approval of the project. I was in deep trouble.
WindStax could deny all association with me so as to keep the
investigation quiet and not allow me to get in the way of their
Jack Krivitsky
of the American Society of Civil Engineer’s code of ethics;
hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public
[2]. If I stopped for a moment to think about how permitting
the construction of this wind farm might affect the safety and
well-being of the nearby community, then I would have
stopped the project immediately.
One of the minimal requirements of my job was to
memorize the regulations that WindStax had put in place. One
of these regulations was to never construct wind turbine farms
anywhere where they are viewable by the public if they
generate a flash rate of three flashes per second [4]. These
regulations were obviously made for a good reason so what
possible motive would I have to break these deliberate
constructs?
future business endeavors. My boss could choose to stand up
for me and take the blame for my not wanting to blow the
whistle on the company that gave me a chance when no other
company would hire me at the time. After all, he was the one
who told me the city supported my actions. But why would he
take credit and potentially lose his credibility? An article on
the ethics of public health, equally applying to the ethics of
engineering, states, “Many public health initiatives involve
gains to some at the expense of losses to others [5].” By
having my signature on the document, my boss gained the
upper hand at the expense of my life. I’m not quite sure what
I would have done in his position. All I know is that I always
see the best in people. I don’t expect people to be malicious
for their own selfish intent, so why should I expect to be the
one thrown under the bus for the lies other people say? It was
now too late. I was going to lose and there was nothing left
for me to do to help myself.
What’s At Stake?
When making a decision like this, your entire future is at
stake. Blowing the whistle on my employer could have grave
consequences from something as small as me being fired to
something as serious as prosecution for disobeying my
contract with my employer. At the same time, the
consequences for keeping my mouth shut could result in the
construction of a project that clearly breaks multiple laws and
can endanger the very people I was hired to solve a problem
for. Another direction this scenario could go is if the project
does go through then even though I signed the document and
would be taking the downfall, WindStax would still be
publicly shamed for allowing such a project. It is in their own
best interest to keep that from happening. If I did decline
signing the document then there’s always a chance that I could
be fired and they would just have someone else sign the
document in my place. At the most basic level, I have to
decide what’s more important, my livelihood, or my clients.
WHAT I WOULD HAVE DONE
When my boss told me that we had the city council’s
approval, I should have trusted my gut and canceled the
project. Sure, the town of Fogelsville was paying WindStax a
significant sum of money to construct this wind farm but I
would have seen past that. Clearly the money was enough to
convince my boss to approve of the project, but he didn’t have
to sign his name as the project manager. In reality, he should
be the one getting investigated for breaking the sixth canon of
the American Society of Civil Engineers code of ethics which
states that engineers shall act in such a manner as to uphold
and enhance the honor, integrity, and dignity of the
engineering profession and shall act with zero tolerance for
bribery, fraud, and corruption [2]. In the end, money is just
money. I should have gone with my gut feeling and used my
ethics to make a much more well-informed decision, or to at
least try and consult another source to decide what to do.
If I was actually in this scenario, I would have contacted
my brother, Kyle, who might have had a similar experience to
what I was going through. He is a mechanical engineer who
graduated five years prior to me and has been working ever
since. Because he is also an engineer, he must work with the
same codes of ethics that I need to be applying to my work so
even if he hasn’t gone through a similar situation, he could
still empathize with how I was thinking and help me make the
right decision. He has never gotten into trouble due to an
ethical dilemma so he must know what is right and wrong in
his work.
Usually when I have a gut feeling that there’s something
wrong I go and consult my step-dad, Paul. He is a lawyer in
Connecticut and he always looks at everything objectively
and without being drawn by artificial things like money or a
personal attachment to the case. He would have told me right
away that if I feel like I am about to do something wrong then
I probably am doing something wrong. Paul would then tell
me to think about the outcome of my decisions. I would have
immediately realized that I was breaking the very first canon
My Role and Responsibility
My job is to be the managing engineer on a project. I am
not a doctor with a perfect understanding of how something
like rotating blades can cause seizures. I’m supposed to build
things to the best of my ability with the knowledge that I
acquired from my experiences in college. If someone told me
that by putting a turbine in a certain spot will conflict with
someone’s immediate health, then my job would be easy. But
it is solely my responsibility to determine where these safe
locations are. Along with observing the first canon of the
NSPE’s code of ethics, I also have a responsibility to both my
employer and client [1]. How can one possibly keep their
integrity if by making one decision I am deceiving my
employer but being honorable to my client, or vice versa if I
make the alternate choice?
MY PERSONAL VERDICT
2
Jack Krivitsky
Online Ethics Center. (2012). “Obligation to Client or
Employer?” National Academy of Engineering. (Online
Article).
http://www.onlineethics.org/Resources/Cases/Obligation.asp
x
Murdough Center for Engineering Professionalism. (2015).
“What’s the Angle?” Texas Tech University. (Online Article).
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/murdoughcenter/products/cases/cas
e-1010.doc
P. Kaplan. 28 October, 2015. (Telephone Conversation).
K. Krivitsky. 29 October, 2015. (Telephone Conversation).
Ethics are a very convoluted topic because there is often
no right answer, only a better answer. Additionally, when you
make a decision based entirely on your ethics, you often leave
the situation thinking about ‘what if’ and often feeling guilty
about the results which often end up hurting other people.
As the first canons of both the NSPE and ASCE state, the
most important aspect of my line of work is the safety of
everyone involved and everyone that can be affected.
WindStax does an immaculate job of securing the safety of its
workers and that effort for safety needs to be applied to
everything that the company does and not to stop fortifying
the people’s safety as soon as a large quantity of money is
coming its way. My safety is also supposed to be protected
just as equally. Although my safety isn’t jeopardized by
construction equipment constantly passing over my head, my
job security is in jeopardy if I have to make decisions that
impede in my integrity. If I feel as if I am in danger in any
aspect then I should have the right to ask my employer to
protect me just as they protect everyone else that works in
their name. What I am trying to say is that, when I was forced
to make a decision of ethics, my safety immediately came into
question. In order to keep myself safe it is in my own best
interest and my right to blow the whistle on those higher up
above me that forced me into a corner. I need to protect
myself, and by doing so, I will also be protecting those that
could be affected by the project.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Rip Rucker for looking over every
draft of my essay and catching every mistake I could make. I
would also like to thank my writing instructor, Janet
Zellmann, for always leading me in the right direction.
Whether it’s informing me of a brief conversation she had
with her peers about a certain aspect of the writing assignment
or helping me understand the writing assignment as a whole,
I know she will always be there to support my writing.
REFERENCES
[1] National Society of Professional Engineers. (2015). “Code
of
Ethics.”
(Website).
http://www.nspe.org/resources/ethics/code-ethics
[2] American Society of Civil Engineers. (2015). “Code of
Ethics.” (Website). http://www.asce.org/code-of-ethics/
[3] C. Lopazanski. (2012). “Wind Energy.” North Carolina
School of Science and Mathematics. (Online Article).
https://sites.google.com/site/enviroethenergysources/ethicalissues
[4] G. Harding., P. Harding., A. Wilkins. (2008). “Epilepsia.”
Wiley Online Library. (Online Article). pp. 1095-1098.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.15281167.2008.01563.x/full
[5] M. Shain. (2011). “Public Health Ethics, Legitimacy, and
the Challenges of Industrial Wind Turbines: The Case of
Ontario, Canada.” Sage Journals. (Online Article).
http://bst.sagepub.com/content/31/4/346.full.pdf+html
ADDITIONAL SOURCES
National Society of Professional Engineers. (2013). “Public
Health and Safety- Delay in Addressing Fire Code
Violations.”
(Online
Article).
http://www.nspe.org/sites/default/files/BER%20Case%20No
%2013-11-FINAL.pdf
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