The rise of defensive engineering: how personal liability considerations impact decision-making

Abstract

Based on a survey of Australian engineers (n = 275) this paper examines the impact of personal liability considerations on engineering decision-making. Almost all respondents who make high-stakes decisions saw questions of liability as having both positive (90%) and negative (87%) impacts. Our analysis shows that awareness of personal liability acts to focus the attention of many engineers on the moral dimension of their work. However, it also encourages more expensive decision-making, inhibition of innovation and professional paralysis. We argue that while personal legal liability is a legitimate way to focus engineers’ attention on the potential impact of their work, a problem arises when decision-makers are held responsible for disasters over which they had little control. The focus then shifts to ‘defensive engineering’ practices that are aimed at limiting individual liability rather than disaster prevention. Legal processes that are seen to unfairly allocate blame do not encourage practices that support future disaster prevention.     

The future of India's obsolete dams: Time to review their safety and structural integrity

India has built over 5000 large dams till date to boost electric power and to enhance irrigated agriculture. In spite of this big dam building venture, India lacks expertise in decommissioning old dams. As a matter of fact, India has more than 500 large dams that were built 50 years ago, and 100 of them have passed over a century. This article analyses the existing facts on India's outdated dams, their safety matters and recommends future strategies to safeguard the large dams from potential future threats.     

工程优化设计

加强工程设计方案优化已成为现代工程建设开展的重要工作,是控制工程成本、提高工程造价管理的关键。基于此,论述工程优化设计的影响因素与不足,提出搞好优化设计的几点建议。     

Investigating the effects of job demands and job resources on cabin crew safety behaviors

Cabin crews are crucial to the cabin safety performance of airlines, and may enhance air travel safety and alleviate passenger concerns. Within the limited literature devoted to cabin crew related research, this study aims to examine the causal relationships among “job demands”, “job resources” and cabin crew safety behaviors. Data from a survey of 339 flight attendants working for Taiwanese international airlines were analyzed using structural equation modeling. A variety of fit indices confirmed the overall model fit, and all the paths in the model were statistically significant. Framed in the context of the job demands-resources model, the results reveal negative causality between “job demands” and “cabin crew safety behaviors”, whereas “job resources” are positively related to “upward safety communication”, “in-role” and “extra-role” safety behaviors. The implications of the results for practitioners and future research are discussed.     

食品机械安全卫生设计

本文在对食品机械安全卫生设计问题研究过程中,立足于实际工作情况,从自身工作经验角度出发,分析食品机械安全卫生设计的相关内容,重点从食品加工和机械安全方面出发,探讨其设计的基本内容。     

Risk analysis of the EASA minimum fuel requirements considering the ACARE-defined safety target

We present the results of flight simulator experiments (60 runs) with randomly selected airline pilots under realistic operational conditions and discuss them in light of current fuel regulations and potential fuel starvation. The experiments were conducted to assess flight crew performance in handling complex technical malfunctions including decision-making in fourth-generation jet aircraft. Our analysis shows that the current fuel requirements of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) are not sufficient to guarantee the safety target of the Advisory Council for Aviation Research and Innovation in Europe (ACARE), which is less than one accident in 10 million flights. To comply with this safety target, we recommend increasing the Final Reserve Fuel from 30 min to 45 min for jet aircraft. The minimum dispatched fuel upon landing should be at least 1 h.     

Dose safety motivation mediate the effect of psychological contract of safety on flight attendants' safety performance outcomes?: A social exchange perspective

This study proposes and tests a conceptual model that investigates the mediating effect of safety motivation linking psychological contract of safety (PCS) as manifested by employer obligations of safety and employee obligations of safety to safety violations and safety creative performance (SCP). Data were collected from a sample of flight attendants with two weeks time lag in Iran. Underpinned by social exchange theory, the results of structural equation modeling revealed that safety motivation fully mediates the simultaneous effects of PCS indicators on safety violations and SCP. Specifically, indicators of PCS jointly enhance safety motivation. In turn, safety motivation reduces safety violations, while enhancing SCP. Theoretical and practical implications evoked from the results advance existing knowledge of organizationally social interactions in promoting safety and the motivational mechanism through which PCS predicts employees' safety performance outcomes.     

粮食移动式输送及装仓设备安全性评价方法

本文建立粮食移动式输送及装仓设备安全性评价方法,量化此类设备安全等级,以期对生产厂家在设计、制造上有一定的指导意义,对使用单位的选择上有借鉴意义。     

房地产企业工程造价的管理与控制

随着国家的宏观调控,房地产市场的暴利时代已经逝去。而以定位准确、服务至上、提高品质、品牌等为核心的"价值回归"的理念,正在得到业界越来越多的关注和认同。因此,房地产行业在未来的发展过程中,如何通过工程造价的管理与控制,来提高自己的核心竞争力已是重中之重。笔者现结合实际工作的一些体会,就房地产企业在开发过程中工程造价的管理与控制谈一些个人的观点。希望能为工程造价合理、有效的管理和控制提供一定参考。     

能力导向的工程素养培养模式研究--高等工科院校教师需要“双师素质”

从我国高等工科院校“重理论、轻实践”的现状出发，提出了高等工科院校迫切需要“双师素质”教师。在明确“双师素质”内涵的前提下，提出了“双师素质”教师培养的途径和措施，即改变工科教育的教育观念与教育模式，加强工科院校教师的工程教育，引进科研院所、企业的高级工程技术人才，减轻教师的理论教学工作量加强科研实践，制定职务聘任等方面相应的配套政策。