ENEG20001 Term 2, 2017: Engineering Roles, Sustainability, and Ethics

This report, prepared by a student at Central Queensland University for the Australian Engineering Practice unit (ENEG20001), explores the multifaceted roles and responsibilities of engineers in society, emphasizing the importance of sustainable development. The report delves into the various functions of engineers, including research, design, construction, and management, while highlighting the need for ethical values like trustworthiness and fairness. It examines the concept of sustainability in engineering, advocating for the use of renewable energy sources and responsible resource management. Furthermore, the report analyzes effective communication strategies, including oral and written communication, and provides examples of professional and unprofessional email communications. The student also discusses the importance of managing information and documentation within engineering teams. The report references several academic sources to support its claims, providing a comprehensive overview of key issues in contemporary engineering practice.

Australian Engineering Practice
Unit code: ENEG20001
Term 2, 2017
Student Name: Tejaswini Munipala
Student ID: 12059555
Week of submission: 6
Date of submission: 25/8/2017
School of Engineering and Technology
Central Queensland University

Engineers roles, responsibilities and the need to employ principles of sustainable
development:
There is absolutely no doubt that engineering forms the basic part of the day to day life in
a society. From the research, I realized that engineering as a profession has an intrinsic influence
on the society. The space that exists between engineering and the society involves many parties
such as other engineers, clients, employers, and the public at large thus there is a great role and
responsibility that exists for the purposes of ensuring smooth execution of design projects.
Besides, an engineer has an incentive to the effective development of the codes as well as the
application of codes (Rogers, 2012, p. 633).This I was able to justify by some roles that
engineers play including
Research-from the research I was able to find that an engineer has the responsibility of
conducting a variety of research purposefully to seek innovative principles and processes. This
they do to identify the various loopholes that exist in the human life so as to provide a suitable
solution to them. There are a variety of ways that they partake this including inductive reasoning,
conducting experiments and also employing mathematical and scientific concepts (American
Society of Civil Engineers, 2011, p. 858).Besides, I learnt that an engineer has the role of
applying the results obtained from the research done to useful purposes. By doing this, new
technologies are realized for instance fresh industrial machines, gadgets and other electronic
circuits (Vallero, 2008, p. 487).
An engineer is greatly involved in the designing of a product by selecting appropriate
methodologies and materials guided by the various engineering principles and requirements to
meet performance specification and Construction. An engineer has the role of preparing the site
and formulating the procedures which will yield the desired quality in an economical manner.

Besides the engineer is responsible for assembling and placement of both the required materials,
equipment and personnel (Johnston, 2009, p. 844).Also, I did realize that is responsible for
providing the selection of equipment’s and plant layout while putting into consideration the
human and economic factors .furthermore, the engineer provides integrates the selected tools,
materials and process for testing and inspection. To add on that I did realize that an engineer is
responsible for the provision of safe operation and control of machines, plants, power,
transportation, and communication. The engineer regulates the system procedures and oversees
workforces to achieve consistent and cost-effective operation of multi-faceted equipment
(Nottingham, 2009, p. 765).
I also discovered some responsibilities that engineers are tasked with including Management and
other functions in that they are responsible for analyzing the customer needs recommending the
best economical solution to them. For instance In U.S.A and Japan. They also determine how
assets are to be utilized and help in Problem solving process by providing a solution to the
society. The problems may be of various nature, such as physical or economic and it's the work
of the engineer to analyse the overall matter. The engineer should then categorically simplify the
situation and come up with a design solution that will be of success (Unesco, 2010, p. 834).
There is also the aspect of Decision-making involved with engineers where I came to understand
that Besides making technological advances, an engineer is also tasked with the responsibility of
ensuring such progress improve the welfare of humans. By employing knowledge, skill, and the
distinctive role in society, an engineer must be concerned with the outcomes of technological
developments including its impacts both socially, economically and environmentally. Thus he is
keen on the creativity and decision-making that will be of overall benefit and not negative
impacts.

After doing the research on the roles played by engineers in the society, I later came to an
interesting part concerning sustainability in engineering and the various ethical values needed in
an engineering field. I realized that Sustainability in engineering refers to the process of
designing technological systems in a manner that they consume resources and energy in a more
sustainable or ecological manner and at a rate which does not compromise the natural
environment and possibility of future generations to satisfy their requirements (Pearson, 2007, p.
552).
Currently, a larger percentage of the world depends on non-renewable sources of energy
generation which in the sustainability aspects are environmentally hazardous. For example the
burning of coal. With the increase in demand for energy, sustainable solutions should be
provided which is geared towards protecting the environment. One way is by investing more in
the solar energy using the solar modules. It is estimated that solar energy has a greater potential
when fully tapped such that an area of 250000 square miles could meet the worlds energy needs.
Besides, converting households waste into energy is also another way of promoting engineering
sustainability (Harding, 2011, p. 330).
I realized that exhibiting ethical values and practising them is one of the key aspects towards
the development of any organization. Some two key values I found having a direct impact on the
way one lives and work are;
 Trustworthiness – a trustworthy person is one that is reliable, keeps promises and has the
integrity that will be best desired by any organization

 Fairness –a person who is fair will always be ready to listen to others and doesn’t lay
blames therefore in situations of ethical conflict they will always look for a solution
rather than being rigid in opinion.
Managing information and documentation
During the research, I realized that Information sharing is key when it comes to
teamwork. Since the internet has become an integral part of life, it is more appropriate to
consistently use social media platforms such as Skype, electronic mails or even What Sapp
groups to share information to each member so that one does not lag behind.
While doing documentation, I critically analyzed the various measures which could help
enhancing information documentation and management and some of the best measures I came
across are creating of files by collecting and naming data in an organized manner i.e. by creating
folders, separating completed and ongoing tasks, reviewing records and also naming folders
appropriately in a manner meaningful to every team member (Crawley, 2014, p. 212).
Additionally, I realized that to ensure that all members work on the recent version of a document
can be managed by some means including
 Using a revision numbering system – for instance, minor changes in a folder can be
specified by use of decimals i.e. v02-01 shows minor changes done on the first version,
v06-01 shows a minor change is done on the sixth version.

 The inclusion of version control table to any significant document by noting the dates or
changes alongside the version number.
 Members can also decide on who to do the finals and mart them as final (Kramer, 2017,
p. 542).
Effective communication:
Finally, as I concluded my engineering research, I appreciated the value of effective
communication. I realized that the success of any teamwork depends on the way information is
shared. Hence, I was able to note down some of the effective communication approaches which
are essential for any organization. These approaches include oral communication, written
communication, presentation skills and professional communication. I came to appreciate that
when one provides an audible and simple oral presentation, the team members will be able to
comprehend the message being passed across, besides the kind of presentation skills and a bit of
professionalism in the presentations are also key. I realized that keeping information professional
and in a sound manner that respects the privacy and appreciates the team members is very
significant in the development of an organization.
I thus considered two examples of case study emails, one being an example of appropriate email
shared to group member while the other is one which is unprofessional (Ludden, 2008, p. 732).
Example 1: Professional email.
To; [e-mail]
Dear Dennis,

I sincerely take this moment to express my gratitude to the effort you have placed in leading the
current project. It is evident you have sacrificed a lot and it is no doubt you are an inspiration to
the members by getting the best out of their skills and talents. Most of them have conveyed their
indebtedness to me as well for the supervision and guidance you have provided them. From my
evaluation on your project’s benchmarks, I must agree that your great effort is being rewarded in
concrete results. I am so delighted to see your governance yielding such success!
You have indeed demonstrated your determination as a self-same brilliant team leader, and it is
my anticipation to witnessing the course in which you will take your forthcoming tasks.
Regards,
XYZ, overall team leader.
Example 2: Unprofessional email.
To; [e-mail]
Dear members,
This is the last time I am reminding you to submit the reports on the project, the deadline has
elapsed and most of you are still not cooperating. If you will not submit the reports by today let
none of you blames me.
Regards,

XYZ, team leader.
References
American Society of Civil Engineers, E., 2011. Engineering Solutions for Sustainability:
Materials and Resources. 3rd ed. London: John Wiley & Sons.
Daniel, B., 2008. Sustainable Design: The Science of Sustainability and Green Engineering. 1st
ed. New York John Wiley & Sons.
Edward, E., 2014. Rethinking Engineering Education: The CDIO Approach. 1st ed. New York:
Springer Science & Business Media.
Harding, R., 2011. Environmental Decision-making: The Role of Scientists, Engineers, and the
Public. 2nd ed. Chicago: Federation Press.
Kramer, 2017. Effective Communication at Work: Say what you mean and get what you want. 1st
ed. Chicago: 50Minutes.com.
Ludden, M., 2008. Effective Communication Skills: Essential Skills for Success in Work and
Life. 2nd ed. Westminister: JIST Publishing,
Nottingham, U., 2009. Sustainability & Engineering. 1st ed. Nottingham: University of
Nottingham.

Pearson, N., 2007. FCS Professional Engineering Practice L4. 2nd ed. Pretoria: Pearson South
Africa.
Peter B., 2012. An Introduction to Sustainable Development. 2nd ed. Chicago: Earthscan.
Stephen, K., 2009. Engineering and Society: Challenges of Professional Practice. 2nd ed.
Carlisle: Prentice Hall,
Unesco, 2010. Engineering: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities for Development. 1st ed. new
york UNESCO,