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So,
what is the SHOCKING TRUTH about ethical choices faced by
engineers?
The shocking truth is that ethical choices are often VERY difficult
decisions and that even GOOD engineers sometimes make bad choices
because of external influences.
In this seminar, you’ll watch a compelling 39-minute video
presentation entitled Incident at Morales, which was
produced by the National Institute for Engineering Ethics. At
several points in the video, seminar participants will engage in
discussions about the difficult decisions faced by Fred, a young
professional engineer responsible for designing a new plant to
manufacture paint stripper.
It’s
evident from the video that Fred is a principled man. But, he struggles
with his conscience, as well as his obligations as a professional
engineer when faced with some very tough issues:
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Fred is
hired by Phaust Chemical to design a new paint stripper plant.
Phaust asks Fred to use knowledge gained from his previous employer,
Chemitoil (a competitor of Phaust), when designing the new Phaust
plant.
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The
plant must be designed and constructed in record time, otherwise
Phaust risks losing market share. Fred has to figure out how to take
shortcuts without compromising quality and safety.
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Phaust
chooses to locate the plant in Mexico because of less stringent
environmental rules. Fred must decide whether to line the
evaporation ponds to prevent seepage of hazardous substances into
the groundwater, although local regulations don’t require the
ponds to be lined.
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Fred
must find ways to cut construction costs when Phaust’s parent
company in France slashes the project budget by 20%.
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Fred
recognizes that the brand of controllers used by Phaust on previous
projects are very expensive. But, the VP of Engineering at Phaust
has a brother-in-law who is the U.S. distributor for that controller
brand. And Fred learns that cheaper controllers offered by competing
companies have a tendency to fail.
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Given
the mandate to reduce costs, Fred must choose between a high
pressure alloy for the piping and equipment and a lower grade alloy
which is marginal for the process conditions.
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When the
competitor’s new paint remover is released on the market, the
chemists at Phaust determine that a new formulation of its paint
remover will be needed. The plant will require higher operating
temperatures and pressures than originally designed for.
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The
automatic controllers fail during commissioning of the plant. And
leakage is observed at some of the pipe joints. Fred must decide
whether to allow the plant to startup using manual control of the
process combined with a maintenance program to address the leaky
pipe joints.
The
compelling story told in the video will hit home with many engineers. In
talking though the problems faced by Fred, you will begin to examine and
refine your own decision-making process and how that process becomes the
linchpin to the protection of the public.
Did Fred make the right decisions? Would you make the right decisions in
the same situation?
Call now to place your order and learn the answer to both of these
questions. The toll-free number is 877 500-7145.
Except
for New York, this seminar is guaranteed to be accepted by your state
board for PDH credit and will fulfill the ethics requirement for states
that require ethics hours.
ATTENTION
NEW YORK ENGINEERS: Click here
to take the NY board accepted version of this presentation.
In this
2-hour seminar, you’ll learn through discussion and self-evaluation:
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How
ethical choices can be influenced by pressures placed on the
professional engineer by those around him.
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How
to deal with issues concerning inside information, trade secrets and
non-disclosure agreements when a professional engineer changes
employment.
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How
your obligation to protect the safety and welfare of the public goes
beyond meeting the “minimum” regulatory requirements.
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How
project cost and schedule constraints can lead to very difficult
ethical choices for the professional engineer.
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How
the impact of a conflict of interest can extend far beyond the
participants who are directly involved.
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What
to do when significant changes to the project design basis are made
after the project design has matured.
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How
to respond when the demands of a project, employer, client or
coworker run counter to your obligations as a professional engineer.
The
DVD will be mailed to you by 2nd Day Air shipment. A preaddressed,
postage-prepaid envelope will be provided for return shipment. The
DVD must be shipped back to PDHengineer within 7 days after
your receipt of the DVD. A late fee of $20/day will apply for late
returns.
To
hold this seminar, you'll need
a conference room, overhead projector and a computer with DVD
player. You will also need to designate a
facilitator for the presentation.
You
may cancel this seminar at anytime prior to holding the seminar.
There is a $20 non-refundable, non-transferable cancellation fee.
The remainder of the price is not refundable, but credit will be applied
towards a future seminar rental.
You
must send in a sign-up sheet in order to receive a certificate of
completion for each seminar participant. In addition to the DVD
rental and shipping/handling fee, there is a fee of $19.90 per attendee
to attend the seminar. (Minimum charge is $99.50 for 5 participants.)
This
seminar earns PDH credits for engineers in all states, except New York,
and qualifies for ethics credit in states that mandate ethics
credits. PDHengineer.com is an approved provider of continuing education for
engineers. For more details, check out your state
requirements.
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ATTENTION
NEW YORK ENGINEERS: |
You
must take the webinar version of this presentation in order to
receive "live" course credits. The webinar is
available as an open enrollment webinar
for individuals and small groups/companies and as a private
webinar for groups or companies with 10 or more
attendees. |
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