Engineers – Time we Speak up for Quality Construction

Buildings and bridges have collapsed. During construction and after. Engineers must look to their work and profession to look for systemic errors in our work and profession. What is going wrong, how do we identify the root causes. Is it an inability to follow best practice, inadequate design, repetition of previous design, clients placing too much pressure on time, inadequate training (on site and at university) and capability in young engineers, skillset, a focus on profit not integrity, political interventions or an inability to tell clients they are wrong (due to the fact that others always will replace you).

Whatever the root(s) of the problem the creation of quality and long-lasting infrastructure is critical for any growing economy. If we allow that to be comprised our future will not be that we plan. 

Our ethics as engineers should be driven by:

1. Lives cannot be replaced
2. Rebuilding is much more costly than new build
3. Disruption and loss of use magnify the losses
4. Failure to build right reduce infrastructure life and it crumbles.

As engineers, we need a professional code, one we stick to ensure practical timeframes and technical quality. We need to develop integrity. This can be done, but not in a ruthless competitive cash is king enlivenment. 

As PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS’ we need the equivalent of the DOCTORS’ hypocritic oath:

1. Timelines shall be reasonable and achievable not set to what the client wants
2. Checks and balances are always incorporated in timelines and technical work
3. People do what they have proven (and are certified) to be capable of doing
4. Technical officials in authority will not succumb to political pressure.

These oaths must be enforced, harshly by our technical institutions and the law.