Thoughts on Engineering from the Editor

It’s been a tough 18 months for engineering, with headline-grabbing scandals involving Takata, Volkswagen and Mitsubishi, among others. These three episodes alone will fuel college-level ethics courses for years to come.

To be sure, engineering’s reputation has taken a hit. Think of the cachet behind branding “German engineering” as a world-class standard of excellence. Less an example of the hubris of engineers than the breathless excitement of marketers, methinks.

Engineers who I know are far more modest than such marketing hype would suggest. Those engineers who are really good at their profession understand the limits of their tools and technologies, not to mention the constraints placed on them by the laws of physics, mechanics, fluids and so on.

The string of bad news involving engineered products offers an opportunity, however. Engineers and their advocates within organizations both large and small can claw back a more commanding seat at the table as products are developed, tested and marketed. They also can demand a greater say in determining whether or not a product is safe, reliable and ethical.

That last point—ethical—can be tricky. It’s easy to say that all engineers need to perform their jobs in an ethical manner and be prepared to challenge problems, flaws and outright deceptions. In practice, however, living up to such an ideal can be tough.

For one thing, whistleblowers rarely thrive after speaking up. In January, we published an article on the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and the engineers who spoke up in an unsuccessful effort to stop the fatal 1986 launch. Those engineers were drummed out of their professions. And while they did noble work in defending and explaining their role in the launch, their engineering careers were stunted. “I stopped when it was apparent that I couldn't get anybody to listen,” one of the engineers said later.

For another, there are practical realities that can’t be ignored. Leaving one’s job over an ethical dispute can lead to economic hardship. How does the mortgage get paid? How do the kids get braces for their teeth? How does one explain her decision to a future employer? Go along to get along is endemic in every profession, engineering included.

But keeping quiet is expensive, too, as the recent news headlines attest. Details are only coming out, but Volkswagen could face paying at least $1 billion—if not much more—in restitution for its deceptions. The extent of Mitsubishi’s falsifications—for which its executives have apologized with a deep bow of contrition—is still being determined. Where were the ethical engineers who could have saved the reputations of their companies, not to mention shareholder value? A useful question to ponder is what sort of price can be placed on a willingness to stand up and say, “Stop.”

The challenge now will be for companies and their engineers to learn from these recent disasters and make changes. Rather than breathe a sigh of relief that the “other guy” took a hit, the real measure of corporate responsibility will be the moves by boards of directors and senior managers to examine their organization. For one thing, skeptical, cynical engineers need a seat at the table, and their cautions and warnings taken to heart.

Engineers have been given a tough role by marketing phrases such as “the pursuit of excellence” and the mystique of “German engineering.” Perhaps a more realistic take is this: During World War II, construction battalions (known as “Seabees” for the initials C and B, took on the most difficult engineering projects to support the allied war effort. Their efforts were instrumental in the war’s eventual outcome. Those engineers were modest, however, and worked under a motto that today’s engineering profession might do well to adopt: "With willing hearts and skillful hands, the difficult we do at once. The impossible takes a bit longer.”