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this page | What did the Challenger space shuttle explosion and the Bre-X stock market fraud have in common? Canadian Professional Engineering and Geoscience: Practice and Ethics by Gordon C. Andrews. Scarborough: Thomson Nelson, 2005. 398 pages plus interactive CD-ROM, $72.95 paperback. Reviewed by: Barry Collins, Q.C.(C), P.Geo.(Sask)* What did the Challenger space shuttle explosion and the Bre-X stock market fraud have in common? They were both shocking demonstrations of the importance of engineering and geoscience professional ethics. The days of ethics as an intuitive indefinable sense of right and wrong are passing into history. Canadian professional associations are coming to grips with the fact that the standards of conduct which govern our professional lives need to be plainly set out, universally understood and frequently reinforced. Professional ethics are now taught in law and ethics seminars across the nation. Some experienced practitioners who thought the professional practice exam would be a piece of cake have been rudely surprised. Before you start dusting off your copy of the Code of Ethics and scratching your head take a few moments to consider what might be gained by reading this book. The author is a professor emeritus of mechanical engineering at the University of Waterloo. Having co-edited two editions of a previous work on engineering practice and ethics he knows his stuff. This book is the first to address both engineering and geoscience in one volume. It will serve primarily as a textbook in the law and ethics seminars, but it may also earn a place in the libraries of practicing members. It is well written and well organized. The author intends "to acquaint engineers and geoscientists with the structure, practice and ethics of their profession, and to encourage them to apply ethical concepts in their professional lives". The Challenger and Bre-X tragedies are among the practical examples cited as study guides in each chapter. All the examples are interesting, but one is particularly memorable - the case of the famous structural engineer, William LeMessurier. After having served as a consultant in designing the 59 storey Citicorp Tower, built in New York City, LeMessurier discovered that his strength calculations were inadequate. The new building was at risk of being demolished if strong winds blew against two walls from a quartering direction. He decided to face his error directly and revealed his concerns to the building designers and the client. The building was reinforced in record time, before the onset of the hurricane season. Even though the repairs cost millions of dollars LeMessurier was shielded from most of the financial loss and was highly praised for his prompt, ethical actions. In fact, his liability insurance premiums were later reduced! It is "a tale of professional ethics at its best" and it is, like this book, well worth reading. *Crocodile Resources Inc., Saskatoon, President-elect of the Canadian Council of Professional Geoscientists. "Canadian Professional Engineering and Geoscience Practice and Ethics", Andrews, G.C., 3rd Edition, 2005. (Textbook available for on-line purchase directly from the publisher at http://www.andrew.nelson.com) |
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