It is more common for the public to hear of disasters rather disasters that were narrowly missed. In “The Fifty-Nine-Story Crisis”, Joe Morgenstern tells the tale of structural engineer William LeMessurier navigating complicated ethical decisions in order to salvage a flawed building. By doing this LeMessurier risked his entire career and could have harmed thousands of people had he not made the right decisions. When LeMessurier had a student question a building he helped design, the Citicorp Center, he decided to test whether quartering winds would increase the strain on the building. After making calculations, LeMessurier found that strain on the building’s joints were increased by 40% and then 160% after a strain multiplier was accounted
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In a statement he made to his students regarding this case, LeMessurier told them “You have a social obligation… you’re supposed to be self-sacrificing and look beyond the interests of yourself and your client to society as a whole”. This quote makes it clear that LeMessurier’s first priority was to ensure the safety of those who worked in the office and those that would be affected by the failure of the building. LeMessurier was willing to destroy his whole reputation to make sure no lives were lost, because at his core he believed himself to be a servant of the general …show more content…
First and foremost, LeMessurier adhered to obligation 2, which states “Engineers shall at all times strive to serve the public interest”. LeMessurier accomplishes this by admitting to his mistakes. After gaining a complete grasp of the problem, he swiftly relayed the information to Citicorp management. They were able to coordinate on plans to repair the building, to monitor the safety of the building, and to construct evacuation plans, all to confirm the safety of the public. By taking personal responsibility for his actions, LeMessurier also fulfils obligation 8 of the NSPE Code of ethics, which outlines this behavior. Lastly, LeMessurier conforms to obligation 1, which describes how engineers must act by the “highest standard of honesty and integrity”. For example, LeMessurier had an expert in the behavior of buildings while in high wind, Alan Davenport, quantify the scope of his issue. This allowed LeMessurier to present the issue to Citicorp at the highest level of detail and ensure Citicorp understood the severity of the
In a statement he made to his students regarding this case, LeMessurier told them “You have a social obligation… you’re supposed to be self-sacrificing and look beyond the interests of yourself and your client to society as a whole”. This quote makes it clear that LeMessurier’s first priority was to ensure the safety of those who worked in the office and those that would be affected by the failure of the building. LeMessurier was willing to destroy his whole reputation to make sure no lives were lost, because at his core he believed himself to be a servant of the general …show more content…
First and foremost, LeMessurier adhered to obligation 2, which states “Engineers shall at all times strive to serve the public interest”. LeMessurier accomplishes this by admitting to his mistakes. After gaining a complete grasp of the problem, he swiftly relayed the information to Citicorp management. They were able to coordinate on plans to repair the building, to monitor the safety of the building, and to construct evacuation plans, all to confirm the safety of the public. By taking personal responsibility for his actions, LeMessurier also fulfils obligation 8 of the NSPE Code of ethics, which outlines this behavior. Lastly, LeMessurier conforms to obligation 1, which describes how engineers must act by the “highest standard of honesty and integrity”. For example, LeMessurier had an expert in the behavior of buildings while in high wind, Alan Davenport, quantify the scope of his issue. This allowed LeMessurier to present the issue to Citicorp at the highest level of detail and ensure Citicorp understood the severity of the