PROFESSIONAL ETHICS FOR ENGINEERS

Professor JC González
Lesson six
Summary:
See how flow-charting can be used to solve ethical problems

DESCRIPTION
Introduction.
- Flow charts are very familiar to engineering students, most used in developing computer programs
- Are often used to describe business processes and procedures.
- In engineering ethic flow charting will be helpful for analyzing a variety cases, especially those in which
there is a sequence of events to be considered or a series of consequences that flow from each decision.
- An advantage of using flow chart is that gives a visual picture of a situation and allows people to readily see
consequences that flow from each decision.
- Different charts can be used to emphasize different aspect of the same problem. (Fleddermann, 2014)

Class Planning.
Contextualizing:
- Illustration of this technique is doing by applying a simple flow chart to a disaster that happened at Union
Carbide’s plant in Bhopal, India (Fleddermann, 2014) shown ahead in this lesson.
(Summary of the case: https://www.britannica.com/event/Bhopal-disaster (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1994))
- There were mixed MIC (Methyl isocyanate) 1, a toxic substance, with water, creating toxic fumes (Eckerman,
Chemical Industry and public Health - Bhopal as an example, 2001).
- Situation is called tragedy because there was a gas leak incident in India and is already considered the
world’s worst industrial disaster (Fleddermann, 2014) (Eckerman I. , 2004)

Activities:
1. Read summary about the case: https://www.britannica.com/event/Bhopal-disaster (Encyclopaedia
Britannica, 1994)
2. Watching a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsuUQzhP2Ds (Documentary The Bhopal
Disaster INDIA, 2015)
3. Check examples: Flow chart examples.
Like Fleddermann (2014) shows, there are two possible charts:

1
Methyl isocyanate (MIC) is an organic compound with the molecular formula CH 3NCO. Synonyms are isocyanatomethane,
methyl carbylamine and MIC. Methyl isocyanate is an intermediate chemical in the production of carbamate pesticides (such as
carbaryl; carbofuran, methomyl, aldicarb). It is also been used in the production of rubbers and adhesives. As a highly toxic and
irritating material, it is extremely hazardous to human health (Clayden & Greeves, 2012)
a. Deals with the decision-making process that might have gone on at Union Carbide as they decide
whether or not build a plant in Bhopal. Emphasizes safety issues for the surrounding community.
This chart help to visualize the consequences of each decision and indicates both ethical and unethical
choices. In a real ethic problem, of course, flow chart will be much larger and more complex than this
example in order to thoroughly cover the entire problem (Fleddermann, 2014).

Figure 1. Bhopal case flow chart. Taken from: (Fleddermann, 2014)

b. Second chart deals with the decision required during maintenance of the flare tower at the Bhopal plant,
an essential safety system. It considers issues of whether the MIC tank was filled at the time that flare
ñ2tower was taken off-line for maintenance, whether other safe systems were operating when the flare
tower was taken out of operation, and whether the remaining safety system were sufficient to eliminate
potential problems (Fleddermann, 2014).
Figure 2. Bhopal case, alternative flow chart. Taken from: (Fleddermann, 2014)

Summarizing:
- Using such flow chart, it is possible to decide whether the flare tower can be taken off-line for maintenance
or whether it should ream operating (Fleddermann, 2014).
- The key to effective use of flow charts for solving ethical problems is to be creative in determine possible
outcomes and scenarios and to not be shy about getting a negative answer and deciding to stop the project
(Fleddermann, 2014).

References
Broughton, E. (2005). The Bhopal disaster and its aftermath: a review. Envorin Health, 6(4). doi:10.1186/1476-069X-
4-6

Clayden, J., & Greeves, N. a. (2012). Organic Chemistry. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Documentary The Bhopal Disaster INDIA (2015). [Película]. Obtenido de https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=HsuUQzhP2Ds

Eckerman, I. (2001). Chemical Industry and public Health - Bhopal as an example. Master of Public Health, 1-57.
Obtenido de http://www.lakareformiljon.org/images/stories/dokument/2009/bhopal_gas_disaster.pdf

Eckerman, I. (2004). The Bhopal Saga - Causes and Consequences of the World's largest Industrial Disaster. New
York: The APEX Press.

Encyclopaedia Britannica. (1994). Bhopal disaster. London: Encyclopedia Britannica.

Fleddermann, C. (2014). Engineering Ethics. Harlow, United Kingdom: Pearson Education.