Ethics should form part of the maintenance toolbox

The mission of the Institution of Plant Engineers’ (IPlantE), a professional sector of the Society of Operations Engineers (SOE), is the continuing improvement and elevation of the knowledge, skills and competences of all those involved with plant engineering. Also, the continual advancement of the technologies and practices of plant engineering. We do this through promoting standards for plant engineering that benefit the community at large; in particular, but not being limited to, safety, efficiency, sustainability and ethical standards. 

Establishing an ethical basis for maintenance 

The foundations for well managed maintenance and all the other management activities, which together result in good plant and equipment operation, are probably best captured in the four fundamental principles of the Engineering Council and Royal Academy of Engineering jointly created Statement of Ethical Principles for all engineering professionals. These being:

1. Honesty and integrity - the upholding of the highest standards of professional conduct including openness, fairness, honesty and integrity.  
2. Respect for life, law, the environment and public good – the obeying of all applicable laws and regulations and giving due weight to facts, published standards and guidance and the wider public interest.
3. Accuracy and rigour - the acquiring of and using wisely the understanding, knowledge and skills needed to perform our roles.
4. Leadership and communication – the abiding by and promoting of high standards in leadership and communication. 

The full statement of Ethical Principles can be accessed at www.engc.org.uk/media/2334/ethical-statement-2017.pdf.  

The four fundamental principles are widely reflected in the Professional Engineering Institutions’ own Codes of Professional Conduct. Each code requires the institution’s members to conduct themselves in a lawful and respectful manner, uphold the profession of the institution and act in a way which supports the institution’s reputation. 

Understanding and adhering to the four fundamental principles is not a substitute for attaining and continuing to acquire theoretical and practical knowledge and experience. Rather, it is an essential competence alongside our engineering knowledge and experience.

Addressing unintended consequences 

An example of failure to fully embrace the four fundamental principles behind the Statement of Ethical Principles is, arguably, the reason why we are currently on an inefficient and unsustainable route for addressing the global warming arising from higher than natural amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide. This because too many of the actions, presented as addressing global warming and directly impacting on plant and equipment operation, are currently not contributing to reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and often actually increasing it.

Also, that some of these actions’ outcomes appear to have the unintended consequence of making it unnecessarily harder for today’s and future generations to efficiently meet their needs and wishes that are dependent on the operation of plant and equipment. Two examples of promoted actions to address global warming that are currently working against reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are the greater use of hydrogen and 'renewable energy'. Both of which directly affect managing the operation of plant and equipment.

Increasing hydrogen usage 

There are many good reasons for greater use of hydrogen. It provides a solution for cutting emissions of carbon dioxide local to the point of use, whilst enabling the operation of plant and equipment to meet the needs and wishes of today’s and future generations. It also potentially gives access to new financial incentives for plant operators. However, because currently increasing hydrogen production results in greater use of carbon-based fuels, to make the extra hydrogen and electricity, emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere increase. Until all electricity and hydrogen production is free of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere, increasing production of hydrogen and electricity risks greater emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.  

Increasing the use of renewable energy facilitates a reduced demand for energy from fossil fuels, it increases the diversity of energy sources and also potentially provides access to new financial incentives for plant operators. It delivers these benefits whilst also enabling the continued operation of equipment to meet the needs and wishes of today’s and future generations. Using carbon dioxide emission free renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar and hydro, does help to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. However, using carbon based renewable fuels, such as biomass and biofuels, generally does not. It may be renewable, but it is adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. To lower the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide, rather than increasing the use of renewable energy sources, we need to increase the use of carbon dioxide emission free energy sources.  

Ethical decision-making in a maintenance context 

Applying the four fundamental principles for ethical behaviour and decision making to plant maintenance in the context of tackling global warming, we need to act with honesty, integrity and respect for the public good when setting out why we are carrying out a plant modification. We also need to ensure we are basing our decisions on information that we are confident carries high levels of accuracy and rigour.

This means being honest and rigorous in our decisions and communications. For example, when considering making changes, such as converting from fossil fuels to hydrogen or carbon-based renewable fuels, being clear and honest both in what the expected benefits are and the real overall expected changes in emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. 

Ultimately, we are only going to safely and efficiently reduce emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from plant and equipment, whilst also continuing to meet the needs and wishes of today’s and future generations, if we are all proactively adhering to and promoting the four fundamental principles for ethical behaviour and decision-making for all engineering professionals. 

Society of Operations Engineers

Tel: 020 7630 1111

Email: [email protected]

Web: soe.org.uk