CENG 291: Engineering in Society

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Course Details

• CENG 291 is Engineering in Society
• Lectures are held on Fridays from 13:00 to 15:00 at PB 020
• The course is worth 2 credits
• The instructor's office is located in Bamfo Kwakye Building (BKB) 018

Grading Breakdown

• The final grade consists of an exam worth 70% and continuous assessment (CA) worth 30%
• CA includes a Mid-Semester Exam, assignments, tests, and practical work
• Class tests may be unannounced

Engineering in Society

• Engineering addresses problems in society
• First, problems are identified and quantified
• Proper engineering principles are applied for problem resolution
• The identified problem links to a field of engineering
• Engineers should figure out the correct engineering fields to solve problems
• Communication of problems is essential
• Problem-solving requires critical thinking, professional judgment, and ethics

Engineering Training Components

• Acquisition and understanding of fundamental knowledge
• Application of knowledge to practical problems
• Development of skills required for professional practice
• Skill development is achieved through years of experience on real problems where creativity is needed to find the best solution

Engineering Practice

• Engineering is about problem-solving
• Employers specifically look for engineers with problem-solving skills
• There isn't one specific way to solve every problem

Engineers vs Scientists

• Engineers apply science to solve problems
• Scientists may be satisfied with understanding a concept, but engineers use the understanding to solve problems
• Engineers and scientists might gather similar data, but for different reasons
• Rainfall and flood data mean different things to a geographer versus a civil or geological engineer

Characteristics of Engineering Problems

• Problems are not always easily identified
• Solutions are open-ended with multiple possibilities
• Initial stages suffer from a lack of information, and engineers must gather data to understand the problem and propose solutions

Problem Solving Model

• Recognize the need for a solution
• Define the problem, objective, and constraints
• Objectives should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Reasonable, and Time-bound
• Problem definition requires thorough explanation to determine what question to answer and results to produce
• Apply relevant theoretical or experimental knowledge
• Determine required input information
• Collect information and data for better problem understanding and solution generation
• Verify the accuracy of collected data
• Generate multiple alternative solutions
• Develop a step-by-step plan (algorithm)
• Outline the solution using a logic diagram or flowchart
• Execute the plan and track what works/doesn't
• Evaluate the consequences of each solution
• Choose the best solution among the alternatives
• Document the solution in a report, gathering additional data as needed

Health and Safety - Responsibility

• Engineering projects offer opportunities but also dangers with the possibility of fatalities
• Accept and share responsibility for safety
• Exercise due care and imagine hazards, create a safe working environment
• Addressing problems to supervisors but always try to think of solutions to every problem
• It is important to be active in the workplace and in safety meetings

General Safety Rules

• Arrive on time, work safely and notify supervisors of concerns
• Learn from training; be an active participant
• Ask for help if training is unclear or uncomfortable
• Report unsafe acts and near misses immediately
• Always try to give solutions to every problem
• Be an active member in workplace safety and safety meetings when trained
• Maintain open communication and be aware that lack of communication is one of the biggest problems with safety
• Be aware that health and safety is important to workers by creating a safe environment for them and it is important to the daily functioning of projects
• By being safe, injuries can be prevented as well as pain and suffering and protects an individuals ability to work
• Stay alert, stay safe

Safe Attitudes

• A positive attitude is the best safety device
• Poor safety attitudes can lead to accidents
• Be focused during work
• Be cautious during emotional times
• Be aware of surroundings and notify others of hazards
• Set an example by working safely
• Encourage others to follow safety rules and regulations
• Take time to assess tasks, hazards, and take action
• Get proper tools. Ask for help
• It is important to wear personal protective equipment and have a positive attitude

Engineer Responsibilities on the Job

• Adhere to mines safety and health rules
• Take pride in the work and be a champion of safety in the workplace
• Alert co-workers of hazards and be proactive in preventing accidents
• Safety affects you and your daily functioning
• Benefits of safety include prevents injuries and helps protect ability to work and make workers feel valued

Five Steps to Safety

• Identify all hazards and risks and implement controls
• Ensure tools and equipment are in working order
• Ensure job procedures are followed correctly
• Ensure all conditions are safe
• Follow safe and proper procedures at all times

Seven Common Accidents

• Taking shortcuts can reduce safety and increase injury chance
• Overconfidence in work
• Not having complete information for the task being performed
• Poor housekeeping and not having pride in the workspace
• Failing to observe proper procedures can lead to casualities
• Mental distractions from work
• Failure to pre-plan the work

Preventing Hand Injuries

• Prevent hand injuries by recognizing dangerous conditions on equipment
• It is important to have working machinery that is always in good condition with proper tools
• You should always know where your hands and fingers are when working with tools and equipment
• Always wear your hand gloves and treat tools with care

Best practices to stopping accidents

• Take the time to work safely
• If following maintenance work, block machinery components against hazardous motion
• If working for maintenance, perform access to all places as well as safe inspection before commencing work
• Wear safety belts
• The goal is not to have safety as a goal but as a way of life

Hearing Protection

• Hearing loss is irreversible
• Wear appropriate hearing protection to reduce noise exposure
• Not every ear guard is right for every noise situation
• Wear the right guards
• Be aware if you are nearby people who are making noise and use the right ear guards
• Poorly maintained equipment may cause noise
• Don't risk hearing for the sake of enjoyment and try to have the music at a reasonable level

Importance of Hands

• Necessary hand protection prevents injuries:
• Sharp objects
• Hot objects
• Rough objects
• Important to wear hand gloves
• Lock out power when reaching into machinery
• Follow the commands of your own brain

Honesty in Engineering

• Providing clear information is a form of honesty
• Honesty means being truthful, showing academic integrity, and trustworthiness
• It is important to avoid deception and dishonesty and be honest in any field of engineering

Truthfulness and Engineering

• Engineers are expected to tell the truth without any deception

Trustworthiness in Engineering

• Untruthfulness distorts a corrupted viewpoint of what is the true intent in communication

Engineer's Responsibility

• All engineers should share the responsibilities to work
• They should exercise due care
• Foresee hazards
• Monitor projects but also inform others of potential harm

Ethics

• Ethics are moral duties that deal with right from wrong and morality
• Ethics is the study of human equality to values, health, and the environment

Engineering Ethics

• Engineering ethics consist of being personal but also having ideal commitments to engineering
• It is about the actions, goals, and principles to endorse in ethics
• Ethics has ideals and values in terms of doing good rather than bad

Importance of Studying Ethics

• Ethics studies are used for current business environments and business governance
• Important for fulfillment of ethical training

Benefits of Ethics and Ethical Engineering

• Well-funded judgement, serve competence, service, and fairness
• Fairness to all the engineering services of protecting the environment, health, and safety to the public

10 Moral issues related to ethics:

1. Moral Awareness
2. Cogent Reasoning
3. Moral Coherence
4. Moral Imagination
5. Moral Communication
6. Moral Reasonableness
7. Respect for Persons
8. Tolerance of Diversity
9. Moral Hope
10. Integrity

Rights of Engineers

• Engineers have rights that fall under categories like contracts and professional rights
• People are treated fairly without discrimination against age, sex, or race
• Engineers have the right to receive salary for work

Responsibility

• Responsibilities are the types of action that engineers should do that includes honesty and being nice
• Responsible people can be accountable for action or wrongdoing

Guidelines for Ethical Professional Conduct

• Strive to advance the integrity of engineering to be unbiased
• Help use the earth in skill for society to make a well rounded environment that is honest in your work

Ethical Conduct

• Conduct has guidelines of being responsible
• Help the geoscience through the public and environment as well as a scientific field

Ethics in the Workplace

• Must keep information labelled "confidential" away from unauthorized people

Engineers Responsibilities

• Protect legitimate work as well as act as if they have the ability to avoid conflict and always promote and protect the interests of employers
• Provide notice to employers before leaving
• Follow formal periods of employments
• Protect individuals to have control over private data

Conflicts of Interest

• Professionals have the right to exercise the duties to employees or clients with good judgement that avoid insider information
• Gifts, bribes, and insider information are forms of conflict
• In ethics, the desire or interest is often physically or economically right but can be morally problematic

Safety and Risk

• Some situations that have no risk is the safety in the power that can hurt someone like a child
• A safety thing is unwanted because it exposes everyone to harm

Safety Concept

• If there is no risk that means to be safe but there is no judgement or anything acceptable
• Lowrance says a thing is safe if its safe

Risk

• A risk is acceptable to William D. Rowe

Summary of code of ethics:

• Safety is number one
• Only do the things you qualify for
• Tell the truth
• Point out potential problems
• Promote the profession

Teamwork

• Working together for ethics in business, you have the right to use work in the same way for ethic, work and have a fair relationship for clients

Corporate climate

• Corporations have personal attitudes and policies that move into a vital corporate

Loyalty

• Working in the same environment needs to be open for fulfilling the employers duties
• You cant steal from one's employer or be grudgingly during the same time - being honest is fulfilling an obligation

Managing the Conflict

• To prevent the conflict and give support

I hope this helps with your studies!