Ethical Issues In The Citicorp Center Building Project

Decent Essays
Ethical questions and dilemmas are faced every day and in every industry. Similar to the Commercial Aviation industry, the Construction industry is directly responsible for the safety and welfare of every occupant that utilizes a specific structure as well as those in the direct vicinity of said structure. After reading the two given articles and the PowerPoint presentation over the Citicorp Center Building project, it was of no shock to see the following quotation delivered by the project’s Structural Engineer, William J. LeMessurier, while addressing his Harvard class;
“You have a social obligation…In return for getting a license and being regarded with respect, you’re supposed to be self-sacrificing and look beyond the interests of yourself
…show more content…
Acting swiftly, yet cautiously, I would have gathered all pertinent information regarding the task at hand. Meaning that before I commit to this responsibility, I need to know where every other party stands in terms of the situation’s remediation. After gathering that both Citicorp and the design firm wish to fix the situation while maintaining occupancy of the building, I would do two things; call and discuss the situation with the owner of HRH Construction, as well as the company’s legal firm. Regardless of what either parties say, I would have to personally question whether or not I could allow thousands of people to occupy a building while it is structurally insufficient. If I choose to tackle this problem, I would quickly demand stringent plans and specifications from the architect and structural engineer before moving forward. I would also demand that the city’s building/steel inspector not “quickly approve” any and all welded connections that are made by my crew; assuring that the quality of the repairs are sufficient in and of themselves. Lastly, I would require that all occupants vacate the premises until it can be verified that …show more content…
He understood that he held the key to the prevention of a major disaster, which is honorable. What isn’t honorable is the act of calling for legal advice before notifying the owners of a building that all their occupants have a 1 in 16 chance of dying in that year. According to a LiveScience.com article, this means that the occupants of the Citicorp Center Building were more likely to die in the building’s collapse than a car accident or a stroke (LiveScience.com, odds of dying). What is honorable and should be told to his Harvard class is all the hard work other people put in to save his name/career/life/project/etc... As a contractor, I would choose not to ever work with that structural engineer

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    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…

    • 722 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Teen Drunk Driving Eight teens die every day in drunk driving crashes. It has also been reported that one out of every ten high school students drink and drive. Teens are already at high risk when they're sober behind the wheel. Driving under the influence (DUI) is just asking for more trouble.…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Intentional Tort

    • 1275 Words
    • 6 Pages

    As the owner of a commercial enterprise, there are several aspects of operating a business organization that one ought to be mindful of. With the traditional routines of running a business, the owner should even be knowledgeable of laws that pertain to the business as well as the effects they may have. The incident that occurred at Springfield Arms Apartments brings about queries on where the accountability lies, with the owner or the trespasser. The responsibility is weighted legally as damages incurred. However this matter is handled by the owner reflects the kind of business ethics Springfield Arms Apartments is overseen by.…

    • 1275 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Colin’s decision to work for such company could very well imply the following: that any work he does, minor or major will eventually lead to a product whose prime goal is to cause some form of irreversible destruction. Ultimately this notion relies on the following concepts: how involved the person is in the product, how brutal it really is and where it will be used. I believe that with the company in question, all of these concepts are ethically bounded and cannot be ignored, if one is to assume to role of an engineer. This paper will explore the implications of this kind of work through theories and examples, and will ultimately attempt to show that undertaking a job as such, is immoral and unethical.…

    • 978 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Severance, John, B. (2000). Skyscrapers: How America Grew Up. New York, NY, Holiday House. Skyscrapers are in the heart of Chicago and New York City.…

    • 204 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Brunelleschi's Dome

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In architecture and civil engineering, sustainability plays a main role. All buildings and any construction could be potentially dangerous if they were built or designed in an inappropriate way. All structures and designs have to be safe and stable to prevent the fatal catastrophe of failing construction. The construction of any large objects, such as shopping centers, cathedrals, bridges, and other usually takes a lot of time.…

    • 1007 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I will be writing about some 911 conspiracy theories that explained what really happened on that day, some theories will be convincing but others won’t. I want to start off with how the buildings were not destroyed by the fire. Multiple Chemists and physicists have said that it would be impossible for two planes to bring Down one of the best structurally engineered building in the world. There is lot of Things to back this up. First, there is the jet fuel witch the media and the US Government Sayed that fire which was ighted by jet fuel brought down tower 1 and 2.…

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ethical Considerations Project The issue lies in barring the rape victims in taking the emergency contraceptives in many Catholic hospitals. This research advocated many important matters such as the debate whether these hospitals are doing rational proper care methods for the victims. The research was conducted through an unintentional and confidential phone interview with the different institutions. These rejections of Catholic hospitals to compromise standard lawful methods are destroying not only the victims but also the interest of all women.…

    • 314 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is an organization that was founded on the base of creating a set of standards and codes that should be able to deal with certain concepts on fire prevention along with protection in relations to the overall scope of safety in society realm. In society this organization came up with the solution that assure the safety of someone who is working or involved in the surrounding areas of a construction in a building along with using any type of equipment/.machinery there must be guidelines enforced that even though a worker/employee use or any kind of construction building they would be safe without creating a fire threats in their worksite. The boundaries of and the life- saving…

    • 862 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Asbestos is an insulation material, and has tensile strength. It was mainly used in the 1950s to the 1990s. It is a naturally occurring fibrous material, and it is resistant to chemical erosion. All types of asbestos cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, larynx and ovarian cancer. The fibres that asbestos gives off can get into the air and you can inhale it, that is pretty scary sounding.…

    • 226 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Engineers hold the responsibilities to not only innovate new ideas but to do them safely to reduce the chance of error to a small percentage and them some. Engineers must keep in mind the well being of the workers and public who may reside nearby the engineer must be ethical and must follow the laws and use his skills to do things both efficiently and safely. Many of these factors were disregarded in the design, construction and operation of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The engineers who designed the RMBK-1000 were more concerned with cost and the production of more energy and they neglected safety. They violated Ontario’s code of ethics of a professional engineer and in doings so endangered many lives.…

    • 1643 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Even if he did not sign a non-disclosure agreement, it was still morally and ethically questionable for Fred to accept the position in the first place. But Fred did except the position, even though he perhaps needed more industrial experience before accepting a plant design and build position. The team meeting in regards for the new plant was met with tension. It was obvious that the team at Phuast was dysfunctional. There were poor communication issues and each member of the subsystem was out for themselves.…

    • 2165 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Building Codes Essay

    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The process of erecting a structure has always been an immense responsibility as the lives of the public are at stake. Therefore when a building of any size loses…

    • 1194 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    1. INTRODUCTION In this report, it will be explain the authority and limitations of the Society of Construction Law Delay and Disruption Protocol, and an analysis of impact on programming techniques. 2. SOCIETY OF CONSTRUCTION LAW DELAY AND DISRUPTION PROTOCOL…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The guidelines to adhere to these moral rules are outlined in the Engineering Code of Conduct or Ethics (which the details are subjected to repealing by any registered professional engineer) (Aarne, 2010), (ECSA Council, 2013), (Fleddermann, 2008). This case will be…

    • 1399 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays