AEE 1201 Ethics Paper
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Apr 3, 2024
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AEE 1201
Individual Writing Assignment Ethics and the Engineer By: Isaro Nicole Gatsinzi Nicole
Part 1: Engineering Disaster and Ethical Principles The Hyatt Regency Hotel Walkway
The Hyatt Regency Hotel Walkway disaster is an essential warning from history to future
engineers. On July 17
th
, 1981, in Kansas City, 114 people were killed, and 216 people were
injured when two walkways collapsed within the Hyatt Regency Hotel. This was the deadliest
unintentional structural collapse in U.S history and the deadliest collapse during that time.
The Hyatt Regency Hotel began construction on the walkway in May 1978. The forty-story
building opened its doors to the public in July 1980 despite some setbacks. The most significant
setback during the walkway construction was the collapse of the atrium roof when connections
failed on the northern end of the building. Most of the steel and concrete construction walkways
were connected to the second, third, and fourth floors. Each walkway on the second and third
floor was around 37 meters long and weighed approximately 29,000 kgs. During the disaster,
around 1,600 people gathered for a tea dance in the lobby. The third and fourth floors held about
16 people each. A distinct design flaw was identified during construction. The steel manufacturing objected to
the original design since it requires rods to be screw-threaded to hold the fourth-floor walkway.
The initial plan was ultimately used for construction since the second-floor walkway was
connected to the fourth. In summary, the tie rods connect the walkways, and because of changes
in the rod design, it carried more weight than it was supposed to. Both rods experienced heavy
load, thus leading to the collapse of the hotel walkway. 1
Figure 1: Image of the unsupported tie rods
This image illustrates a before and after of a structural design that ultimately led to the collapse of the walkway.
Source: DTR/Wikimedia Commons
There are two main ethical principles in the NSPE rules of practice that have been violated
during the collapse of the Hyatt Regency Hotel Walkway. These include: (1) “Engineers shall
hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public” and (2) “Engineers shall avoid
deceptive acts.” There was a significant change in structural design during the walkway
construction whereby the rods had to be screw-threaded. This design was not implemented;
therefore, the tie rods could not support the night’s event’s load. Ultimately, the failure of the
walkways was attributed to the construction team not meeting the Kansas City building code
requirements.
Additionally, the miscommunication between designers and constructors also led to the walkway
collapse. The statement “If engineers’ judgment is overruled under circumstances that endanger
life or property, they shall notify their employer or client and such other authority as may be
appropriate” takes precedence here since the engineers did not take responsibility for their
mistakes while constructing, and this has severe consequences. Furthermore, the unclear
communication between the design and construction teams led to a significant change in the tie
rods. The original design that met the building code requirements was ignored and not stated for
convenience of construction. This is entirely unethical since the updated design could not support
a load of people in attendance that evening. Furthermore, the main reason for the change in
structure was that the initial plan was too time-consuming and challenging to execute.
The second ethical principle, “Engineers shall avoid deceptive acts,” was violated in
fundamental ways. The main moral problem that led to the Hyatt Regency Hotel Walkway
disaster was maximizing profit more than being safely designed. The engineers did not review
the design as thoroughly as possible since they did not notice the changes. If the creation of the
walkways had been accessed more critically, the engineers would have deemed it unsafe and
found a more efficient method of fixing the problem. The most paramount ethical issues
involved within this disaster directly correlate to the moral framework of utilitarianism. This
moral theory is based on a measure of individual happiness. This goes hand in hand with the
engineers not reviewing the adjusted drawings and only doing so out of convenience for
construction. If they used 1
utilitarianism, they would have concluded that the design did not meet
building code standards, and the entire disaster could have been avoided. 1
Utilitarianism: The doctrine that actions are right if they are useful or for the benefit of a majority.
2
An equivalent ethical failure an engineering student can see would take place during any group
projects or assignments. Once tasks are split between team members, there is always a case
where someone will not do their part and cheat off those who do. This is a severe unethical
practice that usually takes place. There are also cases where a student makes errors in calculation
or measurement however does not acknowledge their mistakes and distorts their data or alters
their facts. This is unethical since the trials and data collected are not honest and lack integrity;
thus cannot be used as a reliable source.
Part 2: Resolving Difficult Ethical Issues
The first step to making an ethical engineering decision is to “Stop and Think.” One of the main
reasons the walkways collapsed is that the engineers did not carefully review the design or assess
how they had to change construction elements. The disaster would not have occurred if they had
stopped, examined each minor detail, and ensured their strategies and implementation met the
building code requirements. The second step in making ethical decisions is to “Clarify goals.”
The situation was neither honest nor legal since the design team and constructors did not take
responsibility for the casualties and kept the case to themselves. The main moral problem
identified would be that cutting costs were prioritized over the safety of the citizens or anyone
present at the hotel. Thirdly, another ethical decision would be to “Determine facts known and unknown.” Since
there was an apparent miscommunication between the designers and constructors, neither team
determined a severe issue with the tie rods and how much weight they could carry. Furthermore,
the team should have been able to develop options. If the situation had been confronted more
critically, they could have created other opportunities to solve their problems conveniently and
rapidly. Furthermore, a step to making ethical engineering decisions is to “Refer to the NSPE
Ethics Resources.” The engineers in charge of the walkway project should have referred to the
NSPE Ethics more about their designs and team building. Since a load of people on the second
and third floors was massive compared to the standard load from the building code requirements,
this is highly unethical and illegal. Moreover, another step to making ethical decisions is to “Consult with respected staff or outside
professionals.” The walkway collapse could have been avoided if the trusted team engineers and
constructors could have received more guidance and a second opinion. This would eliminate the
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possibility of bias and misconduct of any kind. Lastly, a step to making ethical engineering
decisions is to “Decide the course of action and take it.” The team could have significantly
benefited from professionally acting on decisions and taking immediate action. This could have
prevented the lack of communication and disorganization between different parties. The
walkway collapse had several ethical issues, namely profit prioritization, misconduct of
utilitarianism, and miscommunication. These could have been avoided if the steps mentioned
above had been followed.
References
1.
Bick, Stephanie. “When This Hotel Skywalk Collapsed, It Was One Of The Deadliest Structural Failures In U.S. History.”
Medium
, 2017, https://timeline.com/hyatt-regency-skywalk-failure-
8240bff34fa6
.
2.
“Code Of Ethics | National Society of Professional Engineers.”
Nspe.Org
, 2019, https://www.nspe.org/resources/ethics/code-ethics
.
3.
“Ethical Analysis Of Hyatt Regency Hotel Walkway Collapse Example | Graduateway.”
Graduateway
, 2016, https://graduateway.com/ethical-analysis-of-hyatt-
regency-hotel-walkway-collapse/
.
4.
McFadden, Christopher et al. “Countdown To Disaster: The Hyatt Regency Walkway Collapse.”
Interestingengineering.Com
, 2021, https://interestingengineering.com/understanding-hyatt-regency-walkway-collapse
.
5.
“NSPE Ethics Reference Guide.”
Nspe.Org
, 2018, https://www.nspe.org/sites/default/files/resources/pdfs/Ethics/EthicsReferenceGuide.pdf
.
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