Engineering Ethics

All engineers must abide to a code of ethics.  This code of ethics is a system of moral principles that apply to engineering practices.  ASCE or more commonly known as the American Society of Engineers sets these principles.  It is crucial that all engineers follow these ethics to maintain a safe and profitable curriculum even if the right thing is not the ethical practice.

http://www.clemson.edu

Just because something is ethical does not mean that it is legal and just because something is legal does not mean it is ethical.  An example of something that would be ethical but illegal would be working off the clock to help a coworker with a project.  This would be illegal since it is free labor but at the same time your coworker needs help and you can’t just let them struggle.  For the most part ethics are the bare minimum laws that must be followed.  Sometimes actions such as blowing the whistle upon oneself must be done to ensure that ethical behavior is displayed.  Blowing the whistle upon oneself refers to reporting yourself to the designated personnel for an unethical behavior.  Bribing may be common overseas.  However, here in the United States bribing is considered to be very unethical.  Ethics can be complicated but they must be understood to complete engineering projects.

An engineer must not lie.  Engineers may only make statements about information that they are familiar with and must do it in a truthful and objective manner.  Engineers must also continue to learn to ensure that they are producing the highest quality work and shall do so by retaking the professional engineering exam every few years.  The professional engineering exam is a test that must be taken after five years of experience in the field if the engineer wishes to be able to sign off on projects.  This is a way to make sure that only highly qualified engineers are in charge of any large projects. 

http://www.childrenscolorado.org

Safety must not be compromised in the field of engineering.  The math and all other corrections must be correct and accurate to ensure that the project is safe to release to the public.  If a project were to be released into the public that did not meet the specifications of the requirements there could be catastrophic consequences.  It is the professional engineer’s duty to make sure that the project is properly designed and approving anything less would be unethical.  The professional engineer that had signed off on a project that was not safe or inaccurate would be at fault and would be in serious legal trouble.  Using these ethics will help the engineering firms stay out of legal trouble as well as provide them with a satisfied customer.

So as you could probably tell engineering ethics are crucial to building a safe project.  Even if all the ethics are followed it does not mean that the project is indestructible.  There are still accidents that happen, but if the engineers do all they can then it is not their fault.  Engineers will continue to make new projects and with these new projects will come difficult decisions but only ethical choices must be made to make sure that we will continue to have a safe world.

If you would like to see the engineering code of ethics please see this link.
http://www.nspe.org/Ethics/CodeofEthics/index.html

The Oil Boom

http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Throughout the last few years there has been an increase in the amount of work in western North Dakota and Montana.  A large portion of this work is directly related to the oil boom.  This provides jobs and work for all sorts of people including civil engineers.  Due the fact that the roads will be more frequently used the roads will need to be maintained, replaced, and built.  The oil boom is still going strong and the work is just beginning. 

The roads in western North Dakota and Montana were not designed for the large quantity of heavy traffic that is now using them.  With the heavy amount of traffic that is using the roads of western North Dakota and Montana the roads will need to be maintained frequently.  A good portion of the vehicles that are traveling these roads are large tankers that weigh significantly more than the average vehicle.  These heavy trucks do significantly more damage to the road.  For example, a single truck that weighs 80,000lbs causes more damage than 5,000-10,000 cars.  If the trucks were overloaded past 80,000lbs then the damage becomes exponentially worse causing an increase in damage to the road.  This could significantly shorten the life of a road that was designed for multiple years.

http://www.ihopnetwork.com

With all the new building and jobsites that are developing, there needs to be more roads and better intersections.  This would help everyone get to and from work faster.  It will also help take off some of the strain that would be on the original road.  On highway 22, the Department of Transportation changed the road from two lanes to four lanes to meet the demands of the increased traffic flow.  What was once a four way stop can no longer meet the demands of the traffic and needed to be converted to a roundabout.  The purpose of the roundabout was to provide an efficient way of travel by keeping the traffic moving while eliminating a high speed collision that could be the result of a four way stop.

As a civil engineering intern, I was able to work on highway 22 in Dickinson.  I sampled the soil and asphalt and returned it to the lab so we could test it and see how the road was holding up.  Later in the summer, when the road was repaved with asphalt, we had to take some tests of the new asphalt to ensure that it was meeting the proper specifications.  We also worked on the Killdeer roundabout.  This roundabout gave us plenty of work, such as testing the concrete as well as the compaction level of the soil.

With all the demands of the oil boom there will be plenty of work for the Department of Transportation. Since civil engineers work directly with the Department of Transportation, there will be plenty of work for years to come.  However, roads are not the only thing that civil engineers work on out in the oil fields.  They also work on buildings and the foundations of the buildings.  As long as there is oil in the towns, they will continue to grow and as long as the towns grow there will be work for civil engineers.  So, as you can see, there will be work for civil engineers as long as this oil boom is still going strong.

If you would like to see some more pictures please see the following link.
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/03/north-dakotas-oil-boom/100473/

The Nuclear Density Gauge

When building structures and roads the soil must be compacted to an appropriate level.  One tool that is commonly used to determine how well the soil has been compacted is the nuclear density gage.  The nuclear density gauge is one of the top picks for many of the firms that do geotechnical work because it is a machine that can deliver fast and accurate results.

Aside from the nuclear density gauge, there are a few other methods of measuring the soil’s level of compaction, some of which would be a balloon test as well as a sand cone test.  On most job sites the nuclear density gauge is used because of its simplicity and speed at which results may be obtain.  While using a nuclear density gauge results can be recorded in minutes and reported to the contractor at the job site.   In comparison, the sand cone and balloon tests can take up to a day to calculate the results.

http://www.naturalbuildingblog.com/proctor-soil-compaction-test/

 Before any of these tests may be used, one must first sample the soil and conduct a proctor test on it.  A proctor test is hitting the soil with a hammer multiple times at different water contents.  The varying soils at different water contents are then dried and weighed.  From this data a curve is constructed to find the maximum compaction of the soil.  The maximum compaction found in the lab is then compared to the compaction results that the nuclear density gauge found in the field to determine the relative compaction percentage.  This comparison informs the contractor if they need to add more water or if they need to take the water out of the soil to compact the soil to the required compaction percentage. 

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/engineering/geotech/pubs/05037/08.cfm

The nuclear gauge is a very simple machine to use.  However, it does use radiation to obtain its results and should be handled with extreme care.  Due to the radiation that is used in this machine, one must go through a training to become certified to use the nuclear density gauge.  The two main sources of radiation that the nuclear density gauge uses are cesium-137 and americium-241.  Before using the nuclear density gauge one must calibrate it daily to the correct setting to ensure that it is working properly before going out to the job site.  The first step of using the nuclear density gauge to measure the compaction of the soil is to prepare a hole by using a hammer and a spike or just simply a slide hammer.  After the hole has been made, you can simply slide the rod on the nuclear density gauge into the hole exposing the cesium-137 into the soil.  After the machine is started the cesium-137 sends out waves of gamma radiation that are then collected by the detectors on the bottom of the gauge.  The americium-241 is used to find the moisture by calculating the dry density and wet density.  The gauge then calculates and displays relevant values such as the dry density of the soil, wet density of the soil, compaction of the soil, and the amount of water in the soil.

https://rmcmed.com/2012/08/31/radiation/

To get an idea of how much radiation a gauge produces, individuals operating the gauge are required to wear a badge that detects the radiation.  The maximum radiation that one person can have in a given year is 5000mREM.  Upon completion of my job, I submitted badge and testing showed that I had less than 50mREM in 6 months.  This shows that if the nuclear density gauge is used properly it is a very safe machine.

Like any machine there are good and bad things about the nuclear density gauge.  The best thing about the nuclear density gauge is the speed at which it works.  If the proctor has already been finished back in the lab the soil compaction results can be calculated in under a minute.  It is also very easy to use once trained properly on the dangers of the radiation.  However, it is rather heavy, being around 40lbs, and the extensive training that is required to handle this device may turn some people away.  Also, this machine will not work during the rain do to the americium-241.  Another downside of this gauge is the overall cost.  The machine is expensive and all the paperwork that is required for it is also quite expensive.    Overall, I would highly recommend this machine to anyone in the field since its pros outweigh its cons.  On a scale of one to five I would give the nuclear density gauge a four.

For more information please look at the following link.
http://www.apnga.com/i_gauge_basics.html

Civil Engineering Explanation

Civil engineering is everywhere in the world around us.  It exists in the roads that we drive on, the bridges we take to work, to the building we work in and have class in, and much more.  As you could probably guess my major is civil engineering.  For one to succeed in civil engineering they should have a strong background with math and science.  One must also have a good work ethic and be willing to put in long hours to be successful in civil engineering.  One reason I really enjoy the civil engineering field is that there are so many subcategories in which one could specialize.  The subcategories of civil engineering include environmental, structural, water resources, transportation, geotechnical, and advanced materials.  Personally, I prefer the geotechnical side of civil engineering.  Geotechnical engineering deals with the soil and gives me a better understanding of the foundation work of all the other subcategories.  Before a project may begin, it is common practice to have a civil engineer test the soil to ensure that it is compacted to the proper specification.  The civil engineer will also do some surveying work to make sure that the land is to the correct level and that it is flat, so when the building or project is made that it stands up strait.

NDDOT Webpage Killdeer Roundabout
http://www.nddotdickinson.com

While being an intern for a civil engineering firm that tests construction materials such as soil and concrete, I was given the opportunity to work on some of the projects myself.  It was always exciting because we were going out to the job sites and conducting our tests in the field.  There is paperwork and office work but most of what I experienced was field work which was fun.  We were even given the opportunity to move out to Dickinson and work in a totally different environment.  Personally, I did the testing of the soil to ensure that the ground was compacted enough to place the concrete on.  I also did some tests on the concrete that was placed to make sure that there was the correct amount of fine aggregate to coarse aggregate in the concrete mixture, water to cement ratio, slump, temperature, air, and cylinders for strength.

Civil engineers will always be used on the construction site.  Often, there will be more than just one engineer on the site.  Engineers work as a team often reporting their finding to other engineers that will then determine how to proceed and how to handle the data.  For example, one structural engineer may determine that the steel used in the building is not up to code and then will have to discuss an alternative solution with an advanced materials engineer. 

There is a certain code, the code of ethics, that all engineers must follow.  This code of ethics basically talks about what is allowed and what is not allowed.  This allows the projects to be properly completed.  For an engineer to be able to give the word to start a project and say that it is safe for people to work on requires extensive training.  The civil engineer would have to obtain their professional engineering license.  The professional engineering license is obtained after passing the fundamental engineering exam and completing five years of on the job training.  As you could imagine, this is not an easy task and not many people complete it.  However, those that do are greatly rewarded by given the opportunity to advance in their carriers and actually design the projects.

These are just a few of the things that civil engineers do.  Most of what I talked about was from the geotechnical side of civil engineering but there is still much more that the environmental, water resources, transportation, and advanced materials subdivisions specialize in.  All of these subdivisions are important.  However, I prefer the geotechnical since that is the basis to all the others.  You can’t build a bridge or road without the proper soil qualifications.  Civil engineers will always be an important part in the construction world by solving and fixing problems in all of these subcategories to make the world a better and safer place for us all to live.

A few links to civil engineering webpages.
http://www.civilengineeringcareers.org/
http://www.collegegrad.com/careers/proft11.shtml