engineering ethics

Lisa Simpson, P.Eng. is employed as a Junior Engineer in a company in Ontario. She has
worked on several large projects over the last three years, and has earned the notice of the VP
Engineering for her exceptional work. As a result of the very favourable impression her work
has made, she is assigned to be the Project Manager on a new large project. Ms. Simpson’s
first responsibility as Project Manager is to make a realistic estimate of the time the project
requires, and the associated costs that will ensue. Given the complex nature of the new
engineering required, her calculations result in very high cost estimates, so high, in fact, she
fears the project may be cancelled.
Ms Simpson meets with several older, more experienced engineers on her project team to seek
their opinions. They inform her that many earlier projects would have been cancelled if the
true extent of their final costs would have been disclosed to management at the same stage as
Lisa’s project. Moreover, they argue, “no one can ever be really sure of what something is
going to cost; after all, these are only estimates.” In the earlier projects, Ms. Simpson is told, a
very optimistic face was put on the cost of the estimates, and, even though the final costs
significantly exceeded the initial estimates, the projects were very successful and profitable.
The group of older engineers urge Ms. Simpson to reduce her estimates so the project will not
be cancelled. But, Ms. Simpson has put a lot of very careful and precise work into making the
estimates, and believes her numbers are as accurate as any estimate of the future can ever be.
Therefore, if she reduces the estimates she knows she will be lying. Furthermore, she believes
that the reputation she has worked so hard to earn will be damaged if it becomes apparent that
she has shaved her estimates. However, she also fears that some of the older engineers on her
project team may be laid off if the project is cancelled. She is caught in a dilemma, and as a
project manager, must decide one way or the other.
As a Professional Engineer, Ms. Simpson should respect the Professional Engineers Act and
its Code of Ethics. Should she not, she could be disciplined by PEO.

Discuss the ethical responsibilities and obligations of Ms. Simpson in this situation.

What actions, if any, should she take next? Explain your position.

Engineering Ethics

Paper details:
nstructions: Answer each question or address each prompt as thoroughly as possible. When applicable, try to incorporate the theoretical material from that we have discussed thus far. Also, consider the “meanings of responsibly” section on pages 16-17 in your book as past of your analysis.
1-2 pages
I
Ruskin Manufacturing has guaranteed Parker Products that it will deliver the complete order of small machines by the 10th of the month, a Friday. Parker had already extended its deadline once. This time, it insists, the date must be met. Tim Vinson, head of quality control, had been confident the deadline would be met. But on the 8th he learns that a new component of the machines is in short supply. He thinks of several options:
Approve breaking up and regrinding the remaining supply of the old component that was being replaced. This could probably be accomplished in time, but the speed at which it would have to be done raises concerns about impurities in the process.
Approve using the old component in place of the new one. The product would still function well, and it would be unlikely that Parker would ever detect the difference. Although Parker would not be getting exactly what it ordered, the product would meet minimal safety and durability standards.
Discuss the problem with the design engineer and see what he suggests. Which of these options would you recommend? Can you think of any other options that might be preferable?
II
Tim decides to consult with Chuck Davidson, the chief design engineer for this product. Chuck says, “I don’t have a good answer for you. There’s no time to come up with a completely satisfactory alternative. You could regrind, but given the time frame you might get a lot of impurities. Or you could just use the old components. But I’m not going to advise either of those. I don’t want this hanging over my head. Maybe you should call Arnold.” Arnold Peterson is Vice President of Product Engineering. Years ago, like Tim Vinson, Arnold served as head of quality control. Tim is somewhat uneasy about calling Arnold for two reasons. First, Tim feels responsible for not seeing the problem earlier, and he is reluctant to admit failure to the Vice President of Product Engineering. Second, he wonders if Arnold would really want to be bothered by something like this. He might simply tell Tim that the problem is his to solve — somehow. Still, Tim is not comfortable with the idea of just resolving the problem by himself. What should Tim do next?

III (Version 1)
Hesitant to take matters in his own hands, Tim calls Arnold. Consider three possible scenarios:
Arnold says, “You’re supposed to take care of these things yourself, Tim. I don’t want to hear about stuff like this. Just meet the deadline. I used to have to deal with this kind of problem all the time. Management made it very clear to me that it doesn’t want bad news-it wants results.” What should Tim do now?
Arnold says, “Look Tim, you haven’t been at this very long. Parker doesn’t want to hear about this. If something goes wrong with the product, they don’t want to have to tell their customers that they knew about the problem. They’ll want to point the finger at us. They also made it very clear that we’ve had it if we don’t meet the deadline this time. I don’t like this kind of situation, but we’ve got to take a little risk here. Just get the stuff over there somehow.” What should Tim do now?
Tim learns that Arnold is out of town until next week and cannot be reached. What should Tim do now?
III (Version 2)
Tim decides not to call Arnold. He thinks Arnold would not want to be bothered by this problem and would simply tell Tim that it is up to him to resolve it in such a way that a major customer is not disappointed. So, he approves substituting the old component in place of the new one. Several weeks later Arnold learns from an internal source that Tim substituted the old component. He calls Tim into his office and asks for an explanation. What should Tim say?
IV Following III (Version 1)
Tim approves substituting the old component, and the order is met on time. However, several months later Parker returns to Ruskin several of the machines from the order Tim completed. Parker complains that the machines in this part of the order are not functioning as efficiently as the others. When a Parker technician dissembled several of the less efficient machines and compared them with one that was working well, she discovered that each of the less efficient ones has a key component that differs from the well functioning machine. Parker asks for an explanation. Word now comes to Tim that he is expected to appear at a meeting with Arnold Peterson and a Parker representative. What should he be prepared to say at the meeting?
V
Suppose Tim substitutes the old component for the new one, and neither Parker nor anyone else outside of Ruskin ever finds out. All parties are satisfied. Does it follow that Tim acted appropriately?

Engineering Ethics

Paper details:
nstructions: Answer each question or address each prompt as thoroughly as possible. When applicable, try to incorporate the theoretical material from that we have discussed thus far. Also, consider the “meanings of responsibly” section on pages 16-17 in your book as past of your analysis.
1-2 pages
I
Ruskin Manufacturing has guaranteed Parker Products that it will deliver the complete order of small machines by the 10th of the month, a Friday. Parker had already extended its deadline once. This time, it insists, the date must be met. Tim Vinson, head of quality control, had been confident the deadline would be met. But on the 8th he learns that a new component of the machines is in short supply. He thinks of several options:
Approve breaking up and regrinding the remaining supply of the old component that was being replaced. This could probably be accomplished in time, but the speed at which it would have to be done raises concerns about impurities in the process.
Approve using the old component in place of the new one. The product would still function well, and it would be unlikely that Parker would ever detect the difference. Although Parker would not be getting exactly what it ordered, the product would meet minimal safety and durability standards.
Discuss the problem with the design engineer and see what he suggests. Which of these options would you recommend? Can you think of any other options that might be preferable?
II
Tim decides to consult with Chuck Davidson, the chief design engineer for this product. Chuck says, “I don’t have a good answer for you. There’s no time to come up with a completely satisfactory alternative. You could regrind, but given the time frame you might get a lot of impurities. Or you could just use the old components. But I’m not going to advise either of those. I don’t want this hanging over my head. Maybe you should call Arnold.” Arnold Peterson is Vice President of Product Engineering. Years ago, like Tim Vinson, Arnold served as head of quality control. Tim is somewhat uneasy about calling Arnold for two reasons. First, Tim feels responsible for not seeing the problem earlier, and he is reluctant to admit failure to the Vice President of Product Engineering. Second, he wonders if Arnold would really want to be bothered by something like this. He might simply tell Tim that the problem is his to solve — somehow. Still, Tim is not comfortable with the idea of just resolving the problem by himself. What should Tim do next?

III (Version 1)
Hesitant to take matters in his own hands, Tim calls Arnold. Consider three possible scenarios:
Arnold says, “You’re supposed to take care of these things yourself, Tim. I don’t want to hear about stuff like this. Just meet the deadline. I used to have to deal with this kind of problem all the time. Management made it very clear to me that it doesn’t want bad news-it wants results.” What should Tim do now?
Arnold says, “Look Tim, you haven’t been at this very long. Parker doesn’t want to hear about this. If something goes wrong with the product, they don’t want to have to tell their customers that they knew about the problem. They’ll want to point the finger at us. They also made it very clear that we’ve had it if we don’t meet the deadline this time. I don’t like this kind of situation, but we’ve got to take a little risk here. Just get the stuff over there somehow.” What should Tim do now?
Tim learns that Arnold is out of town until next week and cannot be reached. What should Tim do now?
III (Version 2)
Tim decides not to call Arnold. He thinks Arnold would not want to be bothered by this problem and would simply tell Tim that it is up to him to resolve it in such a way that a major customer is not disappointed. So, he approves substituting the old component in place of the new one. Several weeks later Arnold learns from an internal source that Tim substituted the old component. He calls Tim into his office and asks for an explanation. What should Tim say?
IV Following III (Version 1)
Tim approves substituting the old component, and the order is met on time. However, several months later Parker returns to Ruskin several of the machines from the order Tim completed. Parker complains that the machines in this part of the order are not functioning as efficiently as the others. When a Parker technician dissembled several of the less efficient machines and compared them with one that was working well, she discovered that each of the less efficient ones has a key component that differs from the well functioning machine. Parker asks for an explanation. Word now comes to Tim that he is expected to appear at a meeting with Arnold Peterson and a Parker representative. What should he be prepared to say at the meeting?
V
Suppose Tim substitutes the old component for the new one, and neither Parker nor anyone else outside of Ruskin ever finds out. All parties are satisfied. Does it follow that Tim acted appropriately?