Debate: “To Ship or not to Ship” Engineering Ethics Debate: “To Ship or not to Ship”

Case Study: To ship or not to ship Company makes ‘metal coil strips’ You are the Quality Engineer You do tensile tests to check strength of coil Snip off ends and pull apart Cross Sectional Area = 0.015 in2 Goal is to have at least a 60,000 psi Yield Strength

Test 5 coils Scenario 1 YS Sample A 938 Sample B 903 Sample C 899   Scenario 1 YS Sample A 938 62533 Sample B 903 60200 Sample C 899 59933 Sample D 890 59333 Sample E 843 56200 Based on this, would I ship all coils or only some of the coils?

Test 3 or 5 coils, in replicate   Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 4 Test 5 Mean Std Dev 95% CI Sample A 966 968 960 932 931 951 18 16 Sample B 877 907 917 926 918 909 19 17 Sample C 905 919 889 914 12 11 Sample D 884 885 893 888 880 886 5 4 Sample E 825 819 868 862 869 849 25 21 Basic ethical analysis method to use to analyze the problem. What math tools do you use? Use of Statistics helps make this decision process easier. Option to ship coils whose entire interval is above the minimum Ship only the coils who have some part of their interval above the minimum Ignore the issue of intervals and make the judgment on mean strength. What interval is better to use, mean or confidence interval?

To ship, or not to ship Production Control is put you under pressure to ship all coils, all produced from same batch and in the same manner, so all should have the same properties. Customer requires you to certify the coils meet the minimum YS levels. You sign a quality form stating all coils meet the above criteria. Do you ship the coils? Note: False certifications are a considered a violation of engineering codes, could cost you your engineering license.

To ship, or not to ship Production Control is put you under pressure to ship all coils, all produced from same batch and in the same manner, so all should have the same properties. Customer requires you to the coils meets the specification, but does not ask you to certify them. Customer has no way to test the coils. Do you ship the coils? Note: False certifications are a considered a violation of engineering codes, could cost you your engineering license.

To ship, or not to ship Production Control is put you under pressure to ship all coils, all produced from same batch and in the same manner, so all should have the same properties. Customer approached your company for advice on the steel properties required for this product. The 60k psi minimum was developed by a young engineer. You have not checked the work, but know the engineer’s estimates tend to be conservative. Do you ship the coils? Are you more willing to ship the coils in violation of an internal standard than a customer’s standard?

To ship, or not to ship Production Control is put you under pressure to ship all coils, all produced from same batch and in the same manner, so all should have the same properties. Steel was ordered by an aircraft manufacturer. Do you ship the coils? Are you more willing to ship the coils in violation of an internal standard than a customer’s standard?

To ship, or not to ship Production Control is put you under pressure to ship all coils, all produced from same batch and in the same manner, so all should have the same properties. Steel was to be used for non-critical equipment supports in restaurants. Do you ship the coils? Are you more willing to ship the coils in violation of an internal standard than a customer’s standard?

To ship, or not to ship Production Control is put you under pressure to ship all coils, all produced from same batch and in the same manner, so all should have the same properties. Steel was to be ordered by a subcontractor who was going to sell the steel to an unknown manufacturer. Do you ship the coils? Are you more willing to ship the coils in violation of an internal standard than a customer’s standard?

To ship, or not to ship Production Control is put you under pressure to ship all coils, all produced from same batch and in the same manner, so all should have the same properties. Steel was to be used in the outside door panels of automobiles. Do you ship the coils? If the application above is crtical to protecting human life, then you may wish to use some respect for persons test. Examines whether the advantages of using this particular coil outweigh a potential damage to human life, … Cost benefit approach requires placing a value on a human life – not straightforward – this utilitarian approach should be avoided.

To ship, or not to ship What are the different ethical issues in this problem? Who are the stakeholders? How are they motivated? Are there ethical codes to be considered? What are the consequences of your decisions? Is there a conflict between two different people or standards. Is there middle ground to satisfy both stakeholders? Are the samples representative of the entire sample – expensive to unroll the coil – is this still OK? You may be guilty of deception, knowing the inaccuracy of end of roll measurements.