If I may continue. . . . .
By the very nature of our education and experience, civil engineers are to act as trusted public advisors regarding
unambiguous and timely outspoken advice regarding the public's right to know the state of their safety
regarding heath, safety and welfare.
As to the shameful back story of the Flint, MI., poisoned water supply that went initially undetected, and once known,
remained in place while well-educated professional men and woman did all they could to distance themselves from liability related to
that situations health/life threatening effects, I ask what public role did ASCE take in the interests of that publics right for straight-talk about their health, safety and welfare:
a. At the local level?
b. County/State Level?
c. National Level?
Have the lessons-learned from the horrific Flint, MI., experience resulted in any ASCE National initiative(s) to 'raise the bar' at the local level nationally?
If we intend to rewrite our 21st Century
"ASCE Code of Ethics" and expect it to be taken both professionally and seriously, then lets do so as we say in
a well-known card game, play with
"All cards face up!"Cheers,
Bill
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William M. Hayden Jr., Ph.D., P.E., CMQ/OE, F.ASCE
Buffalo, N.Y.
"It is never too late to be what you might have been." -- George Eliot 1819 - 1880
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-21-2019 14:57
From: Tino Bretschneider
Subject: Code of Ethics: How to Transform Failure into Success: Forensic Management
This is why it should be an idea, to extend ethics onto an organizational level. No matter what accident comes to my mind, Volkswagen Diesel, Boing max, the dam in South America,.... It seems a kind of organizational pressures played a role.
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Tino Bretschneider Ph.D., P.E., S.E., M.ASCE
Senior Engineer
Elmwood Park IL
Original Message:
Sent: 08-20-2019 16:28
From: William Hayden
Subject: Code of Ethics: How to Transform Failure into Success: Forensic Management
In the paper[1]"How to Transform Failure into Success: Forensic Management," perhaps the most unaddressed part of the system of management is the human side. Human Systems Engineering recognizes and includes, with the same attention to detail as applications dealing with the technical side, anticipatable people-driven issues at the project, organizational, and individual level. The role of each component of the system of management is not to optimize its part, but to focus on the intended outcome for that system. The specifics that follow are translatable, fundamental parts of the system of management derived from the application of Forensic Management."
It occurred to me that we would gain priceless insights going forward, by looking backwards at a very public failure of the current ASCE Code of Ethics. One example is in the case of the Flint, Michigan, Water Quality matter, as studied and reported by Dr. Marc Edwards, P.E.
The cast of public and private civil engineers involved from the very beginning and the paths they selected to state publically, compared to what they actually did privately offers an opportunity to move away from philosophy into the real world. @Brock Barry and @Dwayne Culp I would be interested to hear your thoughts.
Selected C-Span Video Clips [3]
"Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it."
--George Santayana
[1] Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities February 2007 Volume 21, Issue 1 (2 - 3)Online publication date: February 01, 2007
And the Flint, MI, piece is CRITICAL to this thread.
[2]https://www.c-span.org/video/?404989-3/washington-journal-marc-edwards-flint-michigan-water-contamination&start=2078&transcriptQuery=flint
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William M. Hayden Jr., Ph.D., P.E., CMQ/OE, F.ASCE
Buffalo, N.Y.
"It is never too late to be what you might have been." -- George Eliot 1819 - 1880
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