A Word About Self Interest and Ethics From An Engineer

 By Elvin Aycock, PE, PLS, ACTAR, I-ENG-A Advisor

Integrity is a strict adherence to a set of core values; it is what a person does when no one is watching. Integrity comes from within and is closely associated with the character of a person. It is being honest with oneself and with others.

Ethics is defined as conformance to the principles of conduct as generally accepted by a specific profession. Ethics provides a framework of rules that govern right and wrong when applied to everyday practice on the job.

It is at this juncture that the nonprofessional misses the opportunity to be exposed to the ethics in the workplace. The professional is taught ethics through continuing education courses and publications offered by professional organizations such as NSPE and ASCE.

In the workplace, the main concepts relating to ethics include fairness, conflict of interest, honesty, and sometimes, morality. The players are owners, employees, supervisors, managers, customers, and suppliers.

How many times have you as a professional engineer had to tell a client that you cannot sign a drawing prepared by someone who was not under your supervision? Most engineers would say many times. How many times have you had a client come to you with a certification form given to them by the county/city with instructions to, “Just have your engineer sign it?” Oftentimes, county/city personnel conveniently forget to tell the client about the vast amount of work that must be completed by the engineer before the document can be signed. The client expects you “to just sign it.” It would be unethical to “just sign it” without verifying the information the form required.

Ethical problems often surface when conflicts arise between the interests of the parties involved. An example is a disgruntled employee walking away from a company and attempting to steal clients from his former employer. The employee may justify this by convincing himself that he deserves the client or has some special rights to the client. This employee is acting unethically.

A person without integrity cannot perform ethically in the workplace. Ethics and integrity are closely related concepts. You cannot have ethics without integrity. Integrity is deciding what is right in a given situation and then doing what is right.

When one’s focus on self-interest is paramount, that person may abandon his or her integrity and code of ethics. However, experience has proven that, in the long run, an individual’s personal interests are best served by doing the right thing despite misguided perceptions.

An individual who believes that unethical behavior is in his or her best interest will ultimately discover that his or her thinking is misguided.

The industry’s client community wants to work with honest and ethical people. As soon as a client discovers a professional’s dishonesty and unethical behavior, the client will begin to look over his or her shoulder whenever this person is involved in a common project. The client community in this industry is small, and word spreads quickly about a person’s character.

Misguided self-interests are driven by greed, impatience, seeking a shortcut, ego, fear, and selfish ambitions. Driven by greed, an individual may steal from the company. If a person will steal pencils, he or she will steal clients. If a person steals clients, he or she will steal from clients.

Many engineers provide expert witness services in their field of expertise. Expert witnesses are the only people that can express an opinion in a court of law. This is a special privilege and is one of many reasons why ethics are important for engineers.

Trust, respect, and credibility are essential elements in the life of a professional engineer. The business world is extremely competitive, and it is looking for people to lead in their professions. These business leaders must be trustworthy, respected, and credible in their business and in their community.

The road to unethical behavior is a slippery slope. Often a small unethical decision leads to a bigger unethical decision, and ultimately, to an even bigger unethical decision. The professional engineer should stay away from even the appearance of dishonesty and unethical behavior because an engineer’s reputation is critical.

The state boards for professional engineers take ethics very seriously and investigate all claims of unethical behavior.

I urge every professional engineer to read the Code of Ethics and take continuing education courses on ethics. Additionally, discuss ethics within your firm, especially with non-licensed individuals. This could be the best investment you will ever make to your profession.

Elvin Aycock, P.E., PLS, ACTAR, I-ENG-A Advisor.  Elvin is a a professional engineer, professional land surveyor, professional hydrologist and ACTAR certified. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Event Data Recorder, "Black Box"

By Elvin Aycock, PE, ACTAR, I-ENG-A Advisor

Many adjusters, new to automobile accidents claims, are surprised when we tell them that all cars have “Black Boxes.” The “Black Box” is usually stored under the driver seat or in the middle console between the seats. It is also known as an Event Data Recorder (EDR).

Most EDRs are built into a vehicle's airbag control module and record information about the deployment of airbags as well as pre-crash data from the engine control module, such as vehicle speed, throttle position and engine speed. This information is recorded immediately before (usually 5 seconds) and immediately after a vehicle impact. Most Event Data Recorders record the speed in one second increments beginning 5 seconds prior to impact. The report will show you the speed of the vehicle at 5 seconds, 4 seconds, 3 seconds, 2 seconds and at 1 second prior to the collision.

For example, if the report said the vehicle was going 62 mph at 5 seconds prior to impact and the posted speed on the roadway was 45 mph, then the driver was traveling 17 mph over the speed limit.

The report will also show if the brakes were engaged, what the throttle position was and if the seat belts were engaged. This information can be very useful to a claims adjuster as well as to the investigating reconstruction engineer.
Not all car manufacturers make Event Data Recorder data available for download. Your local traffic accident reconstruction engineer can determine if the data can be downloaded from the vehicle involved in an accident.

The Event Data Recorder is a very good reconstruction tool and its use grows each year. However, the data from the EDR report should not be used as a stand-alone measure of speed. A reconstruction of the accident should be performed to support the report.   The use of the EDR tool, along with the reconstruction report prepared by an experience and Certified Forensic Engineer provides great evidence that can be used to assist the Adjuster in claims review.

Elvin Aycock, P.E., PH, ACTAR, PLS, I-ENG-A Advisor

Atlanta Engineering Services, Inc.

Investigating Slip, Trip, and Fall Accidents

Lewis W. Ernest, PE, I-ENG-A Advisor

As winter approaches there will be a higher frequency of slip/trip and fall incidents, especially in areas of snow and ice accumulation on walking surfaces. We should all be mindful of walking conditions on slick surfaces and exercise extreme caution when we are walking in those areas.

In reality, however, slip/trip and fall incidents occur in many everyday situations. A trip over a rug in a commercial building, a fall on a stairs or irregular walking surface or a slip on a wet surface in the produce department of a grocery store are a few examples of common slip/trip and fall incidents. In many cases a slip/trip and fall incidents are purely an “accident” where no party is totally or partially at fault. In some cases, however, a fall incident can be attributed to an improper or unsafe conditions and there may be “fault” to be associated with the incident. Where potential fault is suspected with a slip/trip and fall incident, it would be prudent to investigate the factors surrounding the incident, especially if there is injury to the victim. I-ENG-A members are trained in the aspects of these type incidents and slip/trip and fall topics are covered at many of our annual conventions.

The study of slip/trip and fall incidents involves many common sense factors as well as scientific disciplines and engineering principles. An engineer can evaluate many factors involved in a fall incident to determine if it was a pure accident or if there were faults that could be attributed to the incident. Some of the common areas where an engineer could be helpful in analyzing a fall incident include

• Physical Conditions-Determining whether the victim’s health or physical condition was a factor in the incident (i.e. age, disability, ailments, impairments, gait, eyesight, normal human locomotion, unimpeded walking ability, etc.)
• Walkway Conditions-Evaluating walkway conditions (i.e. sidewalks, floor surfaces, stairs, ramps, etc.) to determine if they were built/maintained properly and in accordance with proper codes and if there were any flaws in the walkway surface that may have contributed to the incident
• Coefficient of Friction and Walking-Analyzing the cause(s) of a slip incident usually includes the measuring the tractive properties of the combination of the shoe sole material and the walkway. The coefficient of friction is a measure of how easily a surface will slide over another surface. Engineers have several methods to test friction conditions and to determine if an abnormal slip condition caused or contributed to the fall incident, and/or if improper foot ware was a factor.
• Lubricants and Contaminants-These substances that may come between a shoe sole and the walkway may alter tractive characteristics of the surface. An engineer can determine if this was a factor in a slip and fall incident.
• Transition between Surfaces-Abrupt changes in the tractive properties of a walkway are the cause of many slip/trip and fall incidents. An engineer can determine if an abnormal transition condition was a cause or factor in a fall incident.
• Stairways-Stairways are a major source of fall incidents. The Consumer Product and Safety Commission has reported that stairs rank second only to bicycles as the most hazardous consumer product. Engineers are well trained to evaluate whether an improperly built/maintained stairway or handrail system was a factor in a fall incident.
• Illumination-The illumination levels (especially on stairways), as well as walkway textures, shadows, traffic levels and walkway slopes are other variables that can influence fall incidents. Engineers are well equipped to determine if improper lighting or other factors caused or contributed to a slip/trip and fall incident.

In conclusion, we encourage our readers to be very mindful of unsafe walking conditions during the winter months, as well as during your normal waling activities. And if you are involved in or associated with a fall, feel free to contact one of our local I-ENG-A member firms to help in the investigation into the cause(s) of the incident.

If you would like an evaluation of a slip and fall or other incident resulting in injury or loss, please request a complementary consultation at www.ienga.com/assignment.

PEX Plumbing Failures

According to Cadell Calkings, BAE/MAE, Penn State, with the price of copper continuing to rise, there has been a need for more economical plumbing solutions.  Synthetic materials are being used to accomplish this with the most prevalent in recent years being PEX plumbing systems.  PEX is cross-linked Polyethylene.  It has gained popularity in the heating and potable water plumbing because of its ease of use and less fittings.  PEX can bend around corners, whereas copper or PVC would need an elbow fitting.  This makes for easier and quicker installation; however, it is currently involved in recent failures and lawsuits. 

Failures can be linked to two different areas; the pipe and the fitting.  The pipe can fail when it has been exposed to chlorine. It is common to have small levels of chlorine in the water supply. This can cause oxidation.  Another cause of failure is when the PEX has been exposed to sunlight.  Plastic when exposed to ultraviolet light or sunlight causes the molecules to break down making the pipe brittle and subject to rupture. PEX is also permeable to certain chemicals and oxygen causing further problems.  PEX piping also has chemical byproducts that are often left behind in the pipe; some of them have been reported by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to be carcinogens.  Dezincification is another problem that has caused fittings to leak.  Due to these many failures, there is a civil lawsuit as well as class action lawsuits. 

The Investigative Engineers Association (I-ENG-A) Convention 2014, slated for November 9-12, 2014,  may address this and other failure issues.  Look for the preliminary convention agenda coming soon.