Integrity in designIntegrity in engineering practice

Craig R. Forest

Kenneth A. Cunefare

Spring 2012

ME 4182

Revised 3/6/2012

"To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society."~President Theodore Roosevelt

Do you have an ethical obligation?

• Society (and what is that) expects such, and holds us accountable…

• …if not (and when not), the courts will

ASME Code of Ethics of EngineersFundamental Principles

• Engineers uphold and advance the integrity, honor and dignity of the engineering profession by:– Using their knowledge and skill for the

enhancement of human welfare;– Being honest and impartial, and serving with

fidelity the public, their employers and clients; and

– Striving to increase the competence and prestige of the engineering profession.

ASME Code of Ethics, Fundamental Canons: Engineers Shall….

• hold paramount the safety, health and welfare of the public in the performance of their professional duties.

• perform services only in the areas of their competence.

• continue their professional development throughout their careers and shall provide opportunities for the professional and ethical development of those engineers under their supervision.

ASME Code of Ethics, Fundamental Canons: Engineers Shall….

• act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees, and shall avoid conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts of interest.

• build their professional reputation on the merit of their services and shall not compete unfairly with others.

• associate only with reputable persons or organizations.

ASME Code of Ethics, Fundamental Canons: Engineers Shall….

• issue public statements only in an objective and truthful manner.

• consider environmental impact in the performance of their professional duties.

Not uncommon to encounter ethical challenges at work

• Selection of vendors (gifts? influence“?)

• Profit pressure (shortcuts?)

• Cost overruns (conceal? reveal?)

• Errors and omissions (conceal? reveal?)

• Unethical actions by others (whistleblower?)

• Regulatory/safety (whistleblower?)

• ….

Examples of ethical transgressions

Hwang Woo Suk

• South Korean biomedical scientist• Became world famous in 2004 when he

claimed a series of remarkable breakthroughs in the field of stem cell research

• Time magazine "People Who Mattered 2004," “has already proved that human cloning is no longer science fiction, but a fact of life."

Data falsification

• On May 12, 2006, Hwang was “indicted on embezzlement and bioethics law violations linked to faked stem cell research.”

• Korea Times reported on June 10, 2007 that “The university expelled him and the government rescinded its financial and legal support.”

Daniel Raichel

• Mechanical engineer, expert on acoustics who studied how sound travels in symphony halls and across industrial workplaces

• “The Science and Applications of Acoustics” (2000) – Remains in wide use, as “one of the best surveys of

acoustics, written by a master teacher and an ardent striver for improvements in noise control in an urban environment.” Ilene J. Busch-Vishniac, Johns Hopkins University

PlagiarismExtensive extraction of material…from at least 4 other texts…figures…structure of sections…

phrasing…

Ford and Chrysler

• Robert Kearns, Wayne State University professor– patents in 1967 for his design for intermittent

wipers that paused between swipes

• Kearns shopped his invention around to various automakers but did not reach a licensing deal with any of them. But carmakers eventually began offering intermittent wipers as standard or optional equipment.

• Sued Ford Motor Co. in 1978 and Chrysler in 1982 for patent infringement.

• Ford paid $10.2 million • Chrysler paid $18.7 million plus interest. The Supreme

Court rejected Chrysler's bid to overturn the award in 1995.

ASME C&S Training Module C2 16

SESSIONS TANK LINERS v. JOOR MANUFACTURERS

• Complaint– A manufacturer used his position as an NFPA

Code Committee member to defeat a proposed revision allowing a competitor’s process.

ASME C&S Training Module C2 17

SESSIONS TANK LINERS v. JOOR MANUFACTURERS

• Outcome: Findings of a member’s misconduct– Misrepresented data– Sent anonymous letters opposing the revision– Questioned the safety of the competitor’s process– Warned of legal implications– Called for a vote after the competitor had left the

meeting, even though vote not on agenda

And more…

• Double-dipping in research

• Falsified research

• Criminal charges for Upper Big Branch mine manager

• Bernie Madoff, R. Allen Stanford

• Some more case studies

18

Why did they do it?

Why did they do it?

• Ambition

• Fame

• Personal profit

• Greed

• Selfishness

• Fear of losing face, loss of honor

• Ultimately, who truly knows?

How does it happen?

How does it happen?

• Little transgression at first

• Builds on itself

• “Normalization of deviation”

• Eventually caught in a web of deception

Paths to Lost Integrity

• Falsifying data - Hwang Woo Suk• Stealing money – Madoff, Stanford• Bribery – Bill Campbell• Plagiarism - Daniel Raichel• Stealing intellectual property-Ford/Chrysler• Corporate leaders turning a blind eye to safety - Upper

Big Branch Mine disaster

• Lying• Using forbidden resources• ….

Ultimately

• The damage done to the transgressor may be worse than to the society (but society still suffers, and it can be staggering… Love Canal?)

• But even if you’re not caught, can you sleep at night?– Is this the kind of person you want to be?

– Can you truly celebrate your achievements if they are not won honestly?

– Moral struggle is not easy, but must be fought continuously to lead a virtuous life

What ethical challenges will you face

in your career?

in your personal life?

Resources• ASME code of ethics resources • ASME Codes & Standards, NFPA anti-trust

materials• Ken Cunefare, “Comments on ‘The Science and

Applications of Acoustics’”,• Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.• Wikipedia entries on Hwang Woo Suk

Do you really want to see your name in a headline…accused of some criminal or unethical act?

ASME C&S Training Module C2 29

IV. A BRIEF HISTORY OF ASME AND ANTITRUST CASES

ASME C&S Training Module C2 30

U.S. v. ASME (1972)

• Complaint– ASME accreditation available only to companies with

plants in the U.S. and Canada– Foreign companies effectively prohibited from

selling products in the U.S. and Canada

• Outcome– ASME B&PV accreditation extended to

manufacturers worldwide

ASME C&S Training Module C2 31

American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Inc. v. Hydrolevel Corporation, 456 U.S. 556 (1982)

• Facts– Hydrolevel was a manufacturer of low-water fuel cut-offs for boilers. – McDonnell and Miller, Inc. (“M&M”) manufactured a competing fuel cut-

off valve. The pertinent difference for purposes of the lawsuit was that the Hydrolevel fuel cut-off included a time delay.

– An M&M vice president was vice chairman of the BPV subcommittee that drafted, interpreted and revised the pertinent Code section.

– In early 1971 Hydrolevel secured an important customer of M&M, Brooklyn Union Gas.

– Hydrolevel alleged that the M&M vice president and other M&M officers met with the chairman of the BPV subcommittee and “planned a course of action”. The “plan” was to seek an interpretation of the Code asking whether a fuel cutoff with a time delay would satisfy code requirements. The chairman of the committee then authored an interpretation (under then applicable procedures the interpretation did not have to be approved by the committee) that “condemned fuel cut-offs that incorporated a time delay”.

ASME C&S Training Module C2 32

– Hydrolevel argued that M&M salesmen used the interpretation to discourage customers from buying Hydrolevel’s product.

– At issue in the Hydrolevel case was whether ASME could be held liable for the acts of volunteers who acted with “apparent authority”.

– Apparent authority is a legal doctrine which provides that if a principal holds out an agent as having certain authority to third persons, the principal will be responsible for the agent’s acts--whether or not the agent had actual authority to perform the act at issue.

– The Supreme Court held that ASME could be held liable under the anti-trust laws for the acts of volunteers committed within their apparent authority.

American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Inc. v. Hydrolevel Corporation, 456 U.S. 556 (1982)

ASME C&S Training Module C2 33

V. OTHER ANTITRUST CASES

ASME C&S Training Module C2 34

INDIAN HEAD v. ALLIED TUBE & CONDUIT CORP

• Complaint– Metal conduit manufacturers packed 1980 NFPA

conference and voted down proposal to revise Fire Code to allow plastic conduit for building wiring

– Proposal recommended by NFPA panel of experts

ASME C&S Training Module C2 35

INDIAN HEAD v. ALLIED TUBE & CONDUIT CORP

• Outcome—Findings were– No “balance” of interest groups was observed.– All members of the association were allowed to

vote on a proposal.– The recommendation of an unbiased panel of

experts was unjustifiably ignored.– A proposal was allowed to fail without valid and

objective criteria.– A manufacturer was precluded from selling its

product on the open market.

ASME C&S Training Module C2 36

SESSIONS TANK LINERS v. JOOR MANUFACTURERS

• Complaint– A manufacturer used his position as an NFPA

Code Committee member to defeat a proposed revision allowing a competitor’s process.

Boston Molasses Disaster

• January 15, 1919• North End neighborhood of

Boston, Massachusetts

• A large molasses tank burst and a wave of molasses rushed through the streets at an estimated 35 mph (56 km/h), killing 21 and injuring 150.

• Arthur Jell, who oversaw the construction, neglected basic safety tests, such as filling the tank with water to check for leaks. When filled with molasses, the tank leaked so badly that it was painted brown to hide the leaks. Local residents collected leaked molasses for their homes.

• Carbon dioxide production from fermentation and temperature change raised the internal pressure.

• The failure occurred from a manhole cover near the base of the tank, and it is possible that a fatigue crack grew here to criticality.

• The hoop stress is greatest near the base of a filled, cylindrical tank. The tank had only been filled to capacity eight times since it was built a few years previously, putting the walls under an intermittent cyclical load.

• 87,000 man hours to remove the molasses from the cobblestone streets, theaters, businesses, automobiles, and homes. The harbor was still brown with molasses until summer.