Overview
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 webinar, youll 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, webinar 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.
Its 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:
- 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
- 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
- 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 dont require the ponds to be lined
- Fred must find ways to cut construction costs when Phausts parent company in France slashes the project budget by 20%
- 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
- 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
- When the competitors 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
- 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?
Reserve your seat right now to learn the answer to both of these questions.
Learning Objectives
In this 2-hour webinar, you'll learn ...
- How ethical choices can be influenced by pressures placed on the professional engineer by those around him
- How to deal with issues concerning inside information, trade secrets and non-disclosure agreements when a professional engineer changes employment
- How your obligation to protect the safety and welfare of the public goes beyond meeting the minimum regulatory requirements
- How project cost and schedule constraints can lead to very difficult ethical choices for the professional engineer
- How the impact of a conflict of interest can extend far beyond the participants who are directly involved
- What to do when significant changes to the project design basis are made after the project design has matured
- How to respond when the demands of a project, employer, client or coworker run counter to your obligations as a professional engineer
This webinar is designed for both individual and group participation and would make an excellent company-sponsored in-house training event. If you have a group of five or more who would like to attend this seminar from one location, please contact us at 877-500-7145 for special pricing
This webinar is guaranteed to be accepted by your state board for PDH credit. For New York registered engineers, the webinar is considered a live, interactive seminar and will be accepted as a part of your live seminar requirement
This webinar will fulfill the ethics requirements in any state that requires ethics PDH.
How Webinars Work
It's easy ... and it doesn't take a computer guru to figure it out. At the time of the webinar, you connect to the internet and call in to a toll-free number. You see the presentation on your computer screen. You hear and talk through the telephone. It's just like being there without all the hassle. There's no travel expense and no wasted time in the car.
System Requirements
To attend this webinar, you'll need a computer with a high-speed internet connection (DSL or cable) and a phone line. For your comfort, it is recommended that you use a speaker phone or headset to connect to the webinar. Our system will support both PC and Apple computers using Internet Explorer or Firefox browsers.
Registration Deadline
Online registration ends 1 hour prior to the webinar; however phone registration can be accepted up to 10 minutes before webinar begins. Please call 877 500-7145 (toll free) for last-minute reservations or to enroll a group. Webinars fill up quickly. Register early to reserve your seat.
Accessing the Webinar
After paying for your webinar reservation, you will be given the opportunity to print a Webinar Receipt and Access Information page that contains instructions to access the webinar. This information can also be found by clicking the My Account tab at the top of any PDHengineer page, then select Print Receipts and Access Information for Webinars Purchased. About 10 minutes before the scheduled starting time, call the toll-free phone number listed in the instructions. When asked to do so, enter the access code shown on the instructions.
Then, using your computer, go to the website shown in the instructions and enter the access code as shown. You will be asked to enter your name and email address.
Of course, our Customer Service Team is available to help if you have any questions about accessing the webinar. Our toll free number is 877 500-7145.
Printing Your Certificate
After completion of the webinar, return to the PDHengineer.com main website and click the My Account tab in the top right corner of the screen. Select Webinars Attended Pending Survey Completion to take a short three or four question survey regarding how well we met our stated learning objectives. You will then be able to immediately print your Certificate of Completion. You can always print additional copies of this certificate by selecting My Account and then Webinars Attended.
Cancellation Policy
You may cancel your enrollment in this webinar up to 48 hours prior to the event and receive a full refund less a $10 registration service fee. Cancellations made less than 48 hours prior to the webinar, but at least 4 hours prior to the scheduled starting time will not be refunded, but can be credited to a future webinar. Cancellations made less than 4 hours before the webinar are not refundable.
PDH credits
Webinars earn PDH credits for engineers in all states, unless otherwise stated in the literature for a specific webinar. PDHengineer.com, a service mark of Decatur Professional Development, LLC, is an approved provider of continuing education for engineers. For more details, check your state requirements.
ATTENTION NEW YORK ENGINEERS: Webinars from PDHengineer.com have been accepted by the New York State Board and will fulfill the "live course" requirement. This webinar is guaranteed to be accepted by the New York State Board as live engineering PDH. In fact, all of our webinars are designed to be accepted in New York and all other states. Just look for the "New York Accepted" icon on this webinar overview page. It's your assurance that the PDHengineer.com Iron-Clad Money Back Guarantee protects you.
