Ethics And Codes Of Conduct

Ethics and Code of Conduct 1

ETHICS AND CODES OF CONDUCT REPORT

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Ethics and Code of Conduct 2

Table of Contents

1 Executive summary .............................................................................................................. 3

2 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 4

3 Case study I .......................................................................................................................... 4

4 Case study II ......................................................................................................................... 5

5 Comparison of the Two Cases ........................................................................................... 7

6 Causes of the Collapse of the Buildings ........................................................................... 9

7 Best Contact Practices ...................................................................................................... 10

8 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 11

9 References: ......................................................................................................................... 12

Ethics and Code of Conduct 3

1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Construction works require the constructors to possess the required expertise and

experience to deliver top results. There are strict rules and code of ethics by which they are

expected to abide and comply during the time they serve at different stations. The code of

conduct and the rules they are to abide by are to keep the professional ethical and ensure that

their behavior is not alarming to the profession. However, when they engage in some unethical

behaviors, it becomes difficult to construct standard structures. There are some rules and

punitive measures that are laid down by the professional bodies that oversee this profession.

The purpose of this report to show the importance of ethics as it relates to performance and

execution of duty by the professionals. The current report details two case studies involving the

collapse of two buildings under different circumstances. The first case study involves the

collapse of the building because of the renovation activities that were ongoing by the time it

collapsed. The report will be examining the issues that were neglected and what led to the

collapse of the building. The second case involves the collapse of a building because of the

construction work that was going on next to the building as well as the shaking of the building

before it collapsed. A comparison of the two case studies has been done in order to ascertain

the presence of unethical behaviors of the constructors. Engineering code of conduct has been

focused to shade light on the required conduct by the constructors and what they ought to have

been done to avoid the incidences.

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2 INTRODUCTION

Engineers are required to have values and principles that guide the decisions they make

in their engineering practices. This values and principles are the only hope that the profession

has in ensuring sanity and professionalism in the profession. There are men and women who

have committed themselves to this values and principles and have made the profession to be

better in many ways. Failure to observe these principles can lead to the destruction and loss of

many lives which could have been saved were the principles and values followed to the latter.

There are several ways through which engineers can engage in unethical behaviors in their line

of duties which is dangerous to them and the lives of many other innocent and unsuspecting

people. First, there is the deliberate and intentional use of substandard materials during

construction has been argued as one of the most dangerous acts by the constructors. Over the

years there have been cases of such ignorance and the consequences have been dire for many

people. Many engineers engage in this act because of corruption issues related to saving

money initially proposed for construction of a standard building. Some of the reasons why they

engage in the corruption and deliberate mismanagement of funds might somewhat sound

reasonable to someone but there are codes of ethics and standards that must be adhered to by

all. Instead of buying standard materials, some constructors buy substandard materials,

something that leads to a poorly built building (Kultgen, 2010). When the materials for

construction are not bought in the right proportion, then the construction will have anomalies

that will in future result to accidents and also the loss of innocent unsuspecting lives. In addition,

failure to follow the required guidelines can also lead to the construction of substandard

buildings. This report focuses on the two case studies that form the basis of ethics and code of

conduct by the engineers.

3 CASE STUDY I

The case involved Heritage-listed building that collapsed in Fremantle after renovation

activities were initiated. For many people who knew the building or have heard of it, the incident

was not something to smile about. However, no casualties were reported from the incident and

that was a good thing indeed. There were loud crashes heard before the building collapsed. The

members of the public called emergency services to the scene to come look at what was

happening perhaps with the hope of saving something in that horrible scene. The entire building

had shifted while the internal levels collapsed. In fact, it was reported that the collapse of the

building caused structural damage of the neighboring building (Sunday Times, 2018). During the

collapse time, there were some renovation works going on in the basement of the building.

Ethics and Code of Conduct 5

It is apparent that there was a problem with the renovation activities that led to the

collapse of the building. This is arguably true because the building was stable before the

renovation activities kicked off. There are different causes of the collapse of the building related

to the renovation activities. In this regard, the renovation engineers need to have prior

knowledge of the condition of the building before they commence the renovation work (Sunday

Times, 2018). In addition, apart from knowing the condition of the building, the engineers need

to have the right tools and material for the renovation work. For instance, if the renovation work

entails some drilling activities, the engineers have to understand that heavy machines that

cause trauma should not be used on the already built building to avoid cracks and collapse of

the building. In most construction activities, drilling has been the cause of the trauma that has

led to collapse of some buildings. Drilling causes trauma which can make the cracks in the

building to widen and eventually leading to a major damage that can cause a building or a

construction to come down crushing.

When conducting renovation and any other construction works, it is indispensable for the

engineers to have lighting equipment to avoid working in darkness. Any work done in darkness

is susceptive to damage as the workers will not be able to see what is happening (Chartered

Institute of Building, Flanagan and Jewell, 2018). For instance, in the course of demolishing

some walls during the renovation, there is a possibility of tampering with the columns and pillars

of the building, something that can cause cracks and collapse of the entire building. Such a fact

cannot be ruled out in the case of Heritage building. On the other hand, once the contract bid

has been worn and schematic design selected, the contractor has to be vetted to authenticate

his professionalism in the construction work. The past experience and successful constructions

have to be used as samples of the work they have done. Equally, it is advisable to also consider

checking the failed construction work by the constructor so that an evaluation can be done to

come up with an informed decision on whether to allow the constructor to continue with the

work. This fact can be another reason that caused the building to collapse. If no such vetting

was carried out, there is a possibility that the renovator did not have adequate experience in

renovating houses.

4 CASE STUDY II

The case involves a building that collapsed on Liverpool Road in Enfield in England. 40

people were evacuated from that building. Initial reports alleged that a car may have crashed

into the building and that there was some smell of a gas coming from the building. There was

some construction that was going on in an adjoining construction site (Levy, 2016). However,

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the police report later indicated that there were no signs of a car crash and that there appeared

to have been some earth slippage from the side of the construction site. The decision was

arrived at to demolish the whole building because it was not stable and leaving the building

standing would have been another disaster in the making waiting to happen. Occupants of the

building said that the building had been shaking for some time and that the upstairs cracking

just before the wall collapsed. The occupants lost all their property which in their time was their

livelihood.

This case is somehow complex because it involves two issues that are connected to the

collapse of the building. The first issue relates to the story told by the occupants of the same

building that the building had started shaking sometimes back before it collapsed. The other

issue involves the nearby construction site that could have caused the building to collapse

(Levy, 2016). The two cases are related in one way or the other, from the look of things, the

shaking that the occupants of the building heard and felt might have been caused by something

else or the construction that was ongoing nearby. There are many factors that can contribute to

the collapse of the building as a result of the activities going on in the construction site. For

instance, the construction site could have been involved in digging and excavating the site

which required the use of the heavy machinery and equipment that are capable of causing a lot

of shaking. The machines involved in such activities are heavy duty machines that can cause

trauma of the area and the surrounding. If the distance between the building that collapsed and

the place of excavation was short then, there is a likelihood that the excavation contributed

largely to the collapse.

On the other hand, the excavation can lead loosening of the soil that holds the building

causing it to collapse because the supports have become weaker. When the constructors

involved are not skilled enough, they tend to do simple things that cause large destruction (Al-

Turki, 2014). Also, when the constructing team wants to do something quickly they may

overlook the impact of their speed and the machines they are using on the buildings and

coinstructions that are closer. For instance, there were allegations that there was some earth

slippage on the side of construction. The constructors could have done the excessive digging,

making the building foundation to be loose. That will be a deliberate action by the constructors

or that would have been interpreted as incompetence on their side or both. In addition, pilling of

excavated materials adjacent to the building could have exerted excessive weight on the

building making it collapse since it did not have the support from the ground that was required

due to the weakening of the ground. Whether the cause of the collapse was caused or

originated from the construction site or from the building itself, it is apparent that someone was

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responsible for the misfortune. The issue of a code of conduct and ethics definitely applies to

this case because there might have been some people who did not do their job as required or

maybe someone applied unethical behavior that led to the collapse of the building. For both

alleged causes, none have been connected with a natural disaster like an earthquake that can

be argued to have caused the collapse of the building. Even in situations where natural

disasters are reported, engineers are advised to use innovations that can help buildings to

withstand them. In fact, places that are prone to be hit by natural disasters are often constructed

in a certain way to ensure that in the event a natural disaster occurs there will be no causalities

or further damage to the people and the building.

5 COMPARISON OF THE TWO CASES

In the case that involved the Heritage building, the building collapsed at the time when

renovation work was ongoing in the basement of that same building. The argument in this case

is that there must be some connection between the renovation work and the collapse of the

building. One of the analysis of the case is that the renovators did not follow the required

guideline when executing the renovation. Their negligence and incompetence may have been

the cause of the drastic and horrible collapse of the building. In the case of the second case

study, the building collapsed because of the activities ongoing at the construction site next to

the building. The analysis in this case is that the constructors could not have followed the

required guidelines that would have made the existing buildings remain stable even as the new

construction went on. They ignored the principles that were necessary to follow while using

heavy equipment in a place that is close to other buildings. Their incompetence and negligence

led to the shaking of the building and eventually the collapse that led to the occupants losing all

their property and escaping with their lives.

Constructors have the responsibility of following the laid down procedures and exercise

code of conduct as professional constructors. There is not excuse or reason that is far worthy

than the safety of the people. There are rules to be followed during excavations and when using

heavy equipment. Also, there are rules to be followed when carrying out renovations to a

building that must be followed. It is unethical for the constructors to execute the mandates

when they know that they have not followed the laid down procedures (Chow, 2009). For

instance, it is required that the constructors have to conduct a risk assessment for any project in

progress. The risk assessment helps in identifying any kind of risk that may exist in the project

and provide some remedies in case there is a risk identified. The findings of the risk assessment

must be evaluated again and the right decision made. However, many risk assessments tend to

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be well developed but fail to be implemented accordingly. People often look at the short term

consequences and forget that when the rules are made they are to protect those who

understand them and also those who do not understand them at all. However, the question that

comes to mind is what causes the assessments to be ignored or fail to be implemented.

One of the reasons for failure to implement the risk assessment reports is because of

ignorance by the constructors. In situations when the constructor anticipate that the project

might be canceled depending on the risks identified, some of them just go ahead and ignore the

report so that they can continue with the project. Regardless of the value of the project, the lives

of the people should matter and more so the commitment to the code of conduct and the ethics

of the profession. However, the consequences of such decisions lead to disasters like the

collapse of the structures as witnessed in the above two cases (Clements-Croome, 2004).

Conversely, some risk assessors lack the competence in assessing the risks involved in a

project construction. When this happens, there is a high probability of construction of the

substandard structure.

Some of the owners of the structures also contribute to disasters witnessed during

construction. For instance, when a project budget seems to be on the higher side, some owners

of the project may find it difficult to carry on with the project especially when they do not have

enough resources to fund the project (Clements-Croome, 2004). Therefore, in conjunction with

the constructors, they decide to continue with the project using the substandard material to cut

the cost of construction. Nevertheless, although the owners may not be well versed with the

consequences of such decisions, the constructors fail to advise them on the consequences of

such actions. In such a situation, the constructors could be argued to have conducted

themselves in an unethical manner by allowing going on with the construction even when they

clearly understand the risks involved in the project.

In the second case study, there were reports that the building had been shaking before it

collapsed. This is a clear indication that the building had not been built as required. Structures

raised appropriately are firm and would not experience such incidences of shaking and cracks.

This can be argued to be the same case as the first case study that collapsed as there were

some renovations going on in the basement. It means that the building had not been built with

the required standards and that is why it collapsed (Kister and Hawkins, 2006). A well-built

structure should be in a position to withstand any kind of renovations that may be carried out.

Besides, it is highly recommended that when carrying out renovations, the initial constructor of

the building be used to do the renovations because they clearly understand the status of the

building right from the initial stages of raising the building. Nevertheless, the second case study

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is a bit complex because there are two accounts of what might have gone wrong. The first one

involves allegations that the building had cracks that resulted from the shaking it experienced

before it collapsed. The second account involves the activities of the new construction site that

might have led to the collapse of the building. Whatever the source of the problem, the most

outstanding reason revolves around unethical behavior by the constructions or bad code of

conducts by the professionals.

6 CAUSES OF THE COLLAPSE OF THE BUILDINGS

There could be various causes of the collapse of the buildings in the two case studies.

The presumption is that the work done on the buildings could be as a result of a bad code of

conduct by the contractors. During constructions, substandard structures are as a result of

failure by the contractor to effectively supervise the crews (Santamouris, 2006). In fact, some

contractors have been accused of not even visiting the construction site as the work goes on.

This poses a great danger because the crews can decide to skip some critical steps in the

construction. Other can decide to steal construction material, something that can lead to the use

of inadequate materials which is dangerous to the stability of the building. When the contractor

fails to be committed to supervising the work, sometimes there is a delay in executing the

project. This is a good sign that the construction did not meet the requirements and that there is

a possibility that the building is of substandard quality and might experience some cracks or

collapse afterward.

In this regard, the owners of the projects are required to observe a careful analysis of the

contract terms made which are related to scheduling, operations, and expectations of the

quality. Failure to do so, there is a high probability that the terms were just fantasies. In fact, it is

recommended that after the completion of the construction, it is critical to have registered

inspectors conduct the inspection of the structure (Kultgen, 2010). In case it is found out that the

construction was substandard, the contract terms should include what is supposed to be done

and the person involved should take the responsibility. This way, the contractors will be more

attentive when executing their duties. Studies have documented that deficiency of such

measures make contractors attempt to work beyond their capacity and take shortcuts that lead

to disasters like the ones recorded in the two case studies. There must be a way to bring such

cases to the light and those who are found culpable punished for failing to follow the right

procedure during the process.

Some project owners tend to have unrealistic expectations that lead to changes to be

made to the original plan. More often than not, these changes are made too quickly without

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determining the risks involved in such actions. When risks are later identified and the attempt to

recover the anticipated changes is done, the probability of adverse risks increases (Al-Turki,

2014). In fact, such decisions are a sign of ineffective planning which translates to a lack of

adequate attention to logistics and addressing potential changes right in good time. Effective

planning ensures that constraints of the project are well understood before the projects kick off.

There have been cases of contractors subcontracting the project to other contractors.

Such activities are dangerous because the chain involved in the construction can have

disparities in regards to following the required procedure and adhering to the terms of contact.

The main contractor may decide to subcontract a project so that they can save some money out

of the deal. However, the subcontracted entity may decide to use the substandard material for

the construction so that they can make a huge income from the project. Such deeds amount to

a bad code of conduct to both the contractors (Clements-Croome, 2004). In case there are such

deals reached out, the owner of the project is supposed to be informed and the terms to be

included in the contract. Nevertheless, some contractors do this without the knowledge of the

owner of the project.

7 BEST CONTACT PRACTICES

Although it is the responsibility of the constructor to ensure that the construction is of the

required standards, it is also the responsibility of the owner of a project to ensure that they

conduct adequate research and interview of the contractor. Poor preconstruction practices by

the owner of a project have been found to be a major cause of project failures (Chow, 2009).

The owner of the project is supposed to ensure that the contractor is certified and that they have

the required knowledge and expertise in the project assigned. Some contractors proclaim to

have the relevant expertise even when they are not. All they care about is the money they get

from the contract. This is considered as unethical by the engineering practitioners and should be

dealt with.

On the side of contractors, it is always advisable to conduct preconstruction planning in

order to have a smooth project. The contractor should ensure that the budget is established

depending on the kind of project proposed. The budgeting should be done by including budget

experts in the decision-making process. Project risk assessment experts need to be

incorporated into the preconstruction preparations. Risk assessment details any potential risk

associated with the project and ways of overcoming them and people mandated to execute the

risk mitigation strategies (Kister and Hawkins, 2006). The contractors then need to select

construction staff depending on the expertise and experience. During the selection process, it is

Ethics and Code of Conduct 11

indispensable to lay down the qualifications needed and the objectives of the project. This way,

they will be in a position to select the required staff who will be able to execute the tasks

required professionally. Some contractors would consider selecting internal staff that they have

past working with. Others would consider selecting new staff externally because they feel that

they will bring in new skills and expertise to blend in with the existing staff.

8 CONCLUSION

There are several ways through which engineers can engage in unethical behaviors in

their line of duties. Instead of buying standard materials, some constructors buy substandard

materials, something that leads to a poorly built building. The first case study involved Heritage

building that collapsed as a result of renovation activities that were going on next to the building.

It is evident that there was a problem with the renovation activities that led to the collapse of the

building. In analyzing the contribution of the renovation activities in the basement, the

renovation engineers need to have prior knowledge of the condition of the building before they

commence the renovation work. In the second case study, the building collapsed because of

two issues highlighted: the shaking of the building before it collapsed and the effects of

construction work that went on in a nearby construction site. There are many factors that can

contribute to the collapse of the building as a result of the activities going on in the construction

site. The excavation can lead loosening of the soil that holds the building causing it to collapse.

In the two case studies, it is evident that the disasters are related to the bad code of

conduct by the contractors. If proper preconstruction measures are taken seriously, some of

these problems can be avoided. In fact, the owners of the buildings have also the responsibility

of seeing that the contractors meet the qualification for the construction of the building. They

should verify their expertise by conducting adequate research on their past constructions. All in

all, it is indispensable for the contractors to ensure that they adhere to the code of conduct of

professionalism as engineers.

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9 REFERENCES

Al-Turki, U. (2014) Integrated maintenance planning in manufacturing systems. Retrieved from:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-06290-7.

Chartered Institute of Building (Great Britain), Flanagan, R., & Jewell, C. (2018) New code of

estimating practice. London: Oxford University Press.

Chow, T. (2009) Development trends in building services engineering. Hong Kong City:

University of Hong Kong Press.

Clements-Croome, D. (2004) Intelligent buildings: design, management and operation. London:

Thomas Telford.

Kister, T. C., and Hawkins, B. (2006) Maintenance planning and scheduling streamline your

organization for a lean environment. Amsterdam: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.

Kultgen, J. H. (2010) Ethics and professionalism. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania

Press.

Levy, M. (2016) Residents evacuated as building collapses on Liverpool Road in Enfield.

Retrieved from: https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/residents-evacuated-as-building-

collapses-on-liverpool-road-in-enfield-20160301-gn6vcc.html

Santamouris, M. (2006) Environmental Design of Urban Buildings an Integrated Approach.

London: Thomas Telford.

Sunday Times. (2018) Heritage-listed building collapses in Fremantle after renovations.

Retrieved from: https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/fremantle/heritage-listed-building-collapses-

in-fremantle-after-renovations-ng-b88839370z

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