Ethical issues in engineering design - 3TU.Centre for Ethics and ...

Design of a lightweight trailer
use. The engineers indicated that they used the finite element calculations to
check the preliminary design but, because the load scenarios were not known,
checking the design was problematic. Trying to check a design without having
proper load scenarios raises ethical questions such as: how far can engineers go
in adapting load scenarios? In the end the trailer was designed to be at least as
stiff as the existing aluminium trailer. This choice implied that the stiffness of
the existing trailer was good enough, but the engineers were not sure about this.
The question remains: What can be concluded from finite element calculations
if the load scenarios are not known? The engineers did not really seem to have a
problem with this. They would have preferred to have the load scenarios but,
because these were not available, they used educated guesses.
The engineers and the customer did not include traffic safety in the
requirements. The customer thought that traffic safety measures should be added
once the structure of the trailer was already designed. The customer considered
side-covers to be part of the image and not the structure. The engineers did not
seem to have realised that when designing a structure they influenced traffic
safety. The engineers decided where structural parts should be located and how
stiff and strong they should be. Cars crashing into a trailer can be prevented from
sliding under a trailer if the stiff and strong structural parts are located in a low
position, preferably at the same height as a car safety cage. This is also related to
crash compatibility (see chapter 4). In the Netherlands, pedestrians and cyclists
die every year because they go under the wheels of trailers, especially if a trailer
driver turns right and overlooks a cyclists standing next to them. The structure of
the trailer can be designed to protect pedestrians and cyclists from going under
the wheels if the structure parts cover the sides. The engineers considered that
the government was responsible for ensuring traffic safety. This disregarding of
traffic safety is ethically relevant. Legally it is not a problem that traffic safety was
not an issue in the preliminary design process because in the end the trailer can
be adjusted to comply with current legislation.
Engineers ascribe responsibilities to themselves, the customer, the truck driver
and the government. This ascription of responsibilities is ethically relevant. The
engineers only wanted to take responsibility for performing the customer’s
assignment well. The customer was responsible for formulating the assignment
and the requirements. Governments should formulate regulations concerning
trucks and trailers and traffic safety. A truck driver should drive carefully. This
ascription of responsibilities resembles Florman’s model presented in section
2.2.2. One of the reasons that traffic safety was overlooked by the engineers was
that they saw their responsibility as making a design that meets the customer’s
requirements.
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