Safety of the Public
By:
Sarah Finkle, George Berry,
Jon Castoro, Matt Parkhurst
Disaster in Kansas City
• 1991- Walkway of Kansas City Hyatt Regency Hotel
collapsed killing 114 people and injuring 186
• Two serious design flaws
– The use of two steel channels holding the nut without
having a bearing plate was against Kansas City
Building codes.
– The nuts were now carrying the weight of the fourthfloor and the second-story walkway
Who is to blame?
• The architect? Or the engineer?
• Engineers must outline “reasonable care
and competence”
• Donald Douncan career was ruined by
taking the responsibility of the tragedy.
• This is what engineers are paid to do.
Options
• To keep the problem in the dark or
sacrifice his career.
• Do nothing and hope for the best.
• Alternative is to blow the whistle on the
project.
• Inform the boss or an outside source.
Ethically Right for Me?
• What are the costs to be ethical?
• Ethics argue the limit in how much we
should sacrifice.
• He has a lot to sacrifice
– Most likely he will get fired and have a difficult
time finding a new job.
– This is his life work and have a heavy price to
pay.
Trusting the Experts
• Joe – Not an engineer but believes
everything that they tell him
• Receives conflicting advice
• Sarah disagrees with Chris and doesn’t
believe that the overhang is unsafe
• Joe has no reason to prefer Chris’ view to
Sarah’s
Deception II
• Design mistakes withheld from Timmo
• No risk/cost to Timmo…Obligation to
inform them?
• Withholding information is deception
• Ex: Helen’s Travel Agency advertisement
• Misleading is not deception
• Prevent deception by asking the right
questions, if possible
Confidentiality
• The firm wants to keep the Asmara Hotel flaws
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confidential within the firm.
Being a professional, though, confidentiality
must sometimes be taken out of account,
especially when there are lives at stake.
In engineering, clients are protected because
reporting threatening information supersedes
the confidentiality requirement.
6 Stages of Moral Development of
Engineers
• Pre-professional I- Concern only for the individual
• Pre-professional II- While the engineer is aware of loyalty to the
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firm, one is still for self-advancement
Professional I- Putting loyalty to the firm above any other
consideration
Professional II- Keeps loyalty to the firm but recognizes that the firm
is part of the engineering profession as a whole
Principled Professional I- One recognizes that service to human
welfare is paramount and that brings credit to the firm and
profession.
Principled Professional II- One follows rules of universal justice,
fairness, and caring for fellow humans. This can contradict social
order or professional code but is the most important.