Prepare a case study by researching and analysing a significant Engineering Failure which happened recently or in history.
Assessment Description
Assessment 1a is a short report in which you are to summarise the results of your research into a case of engineering failure. Further details are provided below in the Assessment Instructions.
Assessment Criteria
1. Analyses and summarises a case study in-depth by identifying the importance of the project.
2. Identifies the reasons for the failure referring to a variety of literature sources.
3. Demonstrates a good understanding of applicable ethical theories and breach of ethics.
4. Uses quality, relevant and reliable literature for finding information and cite them according to prescribed referencing style
5. Demonstrates high level of academic writing with proper paraphrasing, clear and concise writing.
Assessment Instructions
Prepare a case study, by researching and analysing a significant Engineering Failure which happened recently or in history. A few popular engineering failures are listed below, yet you can select any engineering failure of your choice for this task.
- The collapse of the Quebec Bridge
- The disaster of The Space Shuttle Challenger
- The Nuclear Plant Explosion in Chernobyl
- The Collapse of the Tacoma Bridge
- Any other engineering failure of your choice
The suggested approach to organising your report is as follows:
1. Briefly describe the Case study you have chosen and discuss its (real or potential) significance for the community, economy, or engineering advancement.
2. Briefly describe the engineering failure – what happened?
3. Explain why it failed. What were the reasons for the failure as being identified in the literature considering socio-cultural, safety, ethical and sustainable aspects related to engineering design? Try to identify ‘who is responsible’ for the failure and ‘what could have been done differently’ to avoid the failure.
4. Discuss any breach of Engineering Ethics in the selected Engineering failure with reference to ‘Engineering ethics’ course content as well as the Engineers Australia Code of Ethics. Clearly identify which elements of the EA Code of Ethics-Ethical Conduct elements have been breached. Also, discuss ethical theories that are applicable to this case study.
Your report should contain the following sections:
- Abstract: Provide a brief overview of the full case study analysis here. Write this section once you have completed the rest of the report.
- Introduction: In the introduction you need to introduce the topic to your reader. Introductions move from general to more specific information to introduce your topic. Provide a general background to successful and failed engineering projects, significant engineering failures in the history, common causes for these failures and importance of engineering ethics and ethical conduct of engineering professionals for project success.
- Body: Use headings and sub-headings appropriately in the body of the report. In this section you are to discuss the case study you have chosen using the suggested approach outlined in the previous section of this document. Read, analyse and examine the case study thoroughly. This case study assignment requires you to identify the problems and issues in the selected scenarios and to demonstrate your developing knowledge of theories and professional policies and provide your suggestions on how this kind of failures could be avoided.
- Conclusion: Provide a brief conclusion. Your conclusion needs to draw together all the main points you have discussed in the body section without adding any new ideas that has not been discussed prior.
- Reference list: Use at least 5 scholarly articles for the review. List the sources you have used in the main text here using the UniSA Harvard Referencing Style
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