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Engineering Professionalism ENG101: Safety and Risk

This document discusses engineering professionalism and an engineer's concern for safety. It provides 3 key points: 1. Safety is a relative concept that is neither absolute nor affordable, and what is safe for one person may not be for others. Risk also depends on proximity and magnitude. 2. Definitions of safety relate to whether a reasonable person would deem risks acceptable given their values. Degree of safety also depends on context like prototypes vs. products or workplace standards. 3. Engineers must consider how risk perceptions change based on personal relationships and impacts. Lessons include being careful of small risks that could grow, and addressing unrealistic public views of familiar vs. catastrophic risks.

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Abdullah Masood
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67 views8 pages

Engineering Professionalism ENG101: Safety and Risk

This document discusses engineering professionalism and an engineer's concern for safety. It provides 3 key points: 1. Safety is a relative concept that is neither absolute nor affordable, and what is safe for one person may not be for others. Risk also depends on proximity and magnitude. 2. Definitions of safety relate to whether a reasonable person would deem risks acceptable given their values. Degree of safety also depends on context like prototypes vs. products or workplace standards. 3. Engineers must consider how risk perceptions change based on personal relationships and impacts. Lessons include being careful of small risks that could grow, and addressing unrealistic public views of familiar vs. catastrophic risks.

Uploaded by

Abdullah Masood
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Engineering Professionalism

ENG101

Safety and Risk


Engineer’s Concern for Safety

• We demand safe products


...but we have to pay for safety
(important for the public to know this)
• What may be safe enough for you, may not
be for others
• Absolute safety is neither attainable nor
affordable
• Example: San Francisco earthquake...
• What exactly do we mean by “safety”?
• How do we assess it? Earlier capabilities
approach of Amartya Sen
2
Safety…

• Safety, definitions:
• “A thing is safe if, were its risks fully known,
those risks would be judged acceptable by a
reasonable person in light of their settled value
principles” Safety is relative!
• “A thing is safe (to a certain degree) with respect
to a given person or group at a given time if,
were they fully aware of its risks they would
judge those risks to be acceptable (to a certain
degree).” What is “degree”?
• Relative safety, examples:
• Safety for an engineering prototype vs. a
released product
• Safety on a manufacturing line (traditions, laws,
standards, etc.). You may encounter this!
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Risk

• Definition: A risk is the potential that something


unwanted and harmful may occur
• “Experimental” risks associated with introducing
new technology (“social experimentation”)
• Example: Toyota Prius deaf/blind people
problem unforeseen?, exposes environment-
safety trade-off
• Risks with application of familiar technology
• Example: ABS rear-end collisions
• Remaining risk resulting from trying to make a
system more safe
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Acceptability of Risk

• Willingness to be subjected to risk:


• People don’t have as much of a problem with
subjecting themselves to risks
• Much less willing to involuntarily be subjected to
risks
• Are risks on-the-job voluntary? What about
in a manufacturing job?
• Could quit! But is this always possible?
• If piece-work-based, will workers behave less
safely?
• Safety complaints from on-the-job should
always be listened to.

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Magnitude and Proximity of Risk

• What if personal connections with victims?


• What if the person on the unsafe manufacturing line is your
mother?
• What if you definitely know that the “public” will
immediately include your spouse and children?
• A useful mental exercise to ensure that you are diligent!
• What creates such changed perceptions?
• Personal/family relationships, sense of “solidarity” with
workers
• Proximity/magnitude - direct impact on you!
• What about work on a design project?
• If risk appears small but there are hints that it may grow
with time, BE CAREFUL!!
• Example: *Challenger disaster
* https://youtu.be/j4JOjcDFtBE
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* https://www.britannica.com/event/Challenger-disaster
Lessons for the Engineer

• Problems with the public’s conception of


safety:
• Over-optimistic with regard to familiar products
that have not hurt them before and that they
have control over

• Over-pessimism when accidents kill or maim


large numbers or harm those we know (e.g.,
aircraft crashes)

• Statistically speaking, the real risk may be quite


small

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