Engineering in Society: Sustainability, Ethics and Safety
Engineering decisions have social, environmental, and ethical consequences. Candidates must understand sustainability frameworks: triple bottom line (people, planet, profit), lifecycle assessment (cradle-to-grave), renewable vs non-renewable resources, and circular economy (design out waste, keep materials in use).
Ethics: professional codes (e.g., Engineers Australia Code of Ethics) emphasise honesty, competence, public safety, and sustainability. Know whistleblowing, conflict of interest, and informed consent. Safety: hierarchy of controls (eliminate, substitute, engineer, administrate, PPE - most to least effective), risk assessment (likelihood × consequence), and duty of care. Understand WHS legislation, safe design, and the role of standards.
Traps
PPE is the least effective control, not the first. Sustainability is not just environmental - social and economic dimensions matter. Ethics questions often test competing duties (employer vs public safety) - public safety generally prevails. Risk matrices are qualitative guides, not precise calculations. Confusing hazard (source of harm) with risk (likelihood × severity).
Worked rule of thumb
Risk score = likelihood (1–5) × consequence (1–5). Example: likelihood 4, consequence 5 → score 20 (high) → apply engineering controls before administrative or PPE. Always attempt to eliminate the hazard at the source first.