How Can Engineers Resolve Conflicts Between Their Obligation and the Clients Needs - Assignment Example

How can engineers resolve conflicts between their obligation to meet client’s needs and their obligation to sustainable development? The development of technology worldwide has offered chances for the improvement of the practices used in a variety of industrial sectors; however, technological changes are often related with environmental damages – especially when the relevant projects are not carefully developed. Under these terms, firms worldwide often come to the dilemma regarding their strategic options, especially when the latter are opposite with the environment’s needs. The satisfaction of customers’ needs – which is the priority for firms operating in all industrial sectors – cannot lead to the justification of initiatives that harm the environment. Civil engineers have to face such a controversy: meeting the requirements of their customers is often difficult as these ones are opposite with the principles of sustainability – a science that sets the terms under which the protection of the environment is promoted. Current paper focuses on the conflicts developed in civil engineering because of the opposition of customer needs with the principles of sustainability. Through the views of the literature but also the examination of relevant case studies it is concluded that a balance between the above two needs (of the customers and of the environment) can be achieved only by appropriate planning the relevant efforts – the availability of the sources required has been proved to be of critical importance for the success of these projects. In the literature, many efforts have been made in order to understand the incentives of professionals in the civil engineering sector. At a first level, it has been proved that the development of trust between the professional and the client is necessary in order for the suggested plans to be effective. The specific issue is highlighted in the study of Luzio (2006) where it is noticed that ‘client trust is impersonal trust given on the basis of general notions generated by such intermediaries as professions and allied institutions’ (Luzio, 2006, 549). The development of trust – as explained above – could help civil engineers to respond more effectively to the clients’ needs; furthermore, this trust could help civil engineers to promote the principles of sustainability through their work – clients would trust the appropriateness of the suggestions made and they would accept the relevant proposals without doubting its necessity. On the other hand, trust - even if existed – with clients could not help the professionals in the civil engineering sector to respond to their responsibilities – development of plans that are in accordance with the principles of sustainable development – unless these professionals would be able to understand and effectively process the knowledge involved. The specific issue is examined in the study of Fosstenløkken et al. (2003). In this study ‘a series of similarities have been identified in terms of how professionals perceive knowledge development at work’ (Fosstenløkken et al., 2003, 859). In other words, the ability of civil engineers to identify and appropriately process knowledge is similar with the relevant ability of professionals in other industrial sectors – similar practices would be then proposed to civil engineers in order to improve their ability to capture, process and transfer knowledge. This ability is expected to influence the appropriateness of the plans developed by civil engineers – referring also to the level of alignment of these plans with the principles of sustainability. In order for civil engineers to respond successfully to the above target – development of sustainable plans that also meet the customers’ needs – it is necessary that they are sufficiently supported by the state – possibly with the partial funding of these plans where the effects of these plans are expected to have a major impact on the environment (referring not only to the construction of houses where mechanisms for the production of alternative energy have been implemented – but also to extensive civil projects related with the so-called public goods (water etc.). Under these terms, it is stated that ‘nation-states undertake environmental action in order to maintain legitimacy in the face of political pressure’ (Frickel et al., 2004, 89). In other words, even if the role of state is significant in the alignment of urban design with sustainability often this relationship does not progress mostly because the financial participation of the state in the relevant project cannot be provided – instead funding through the private sector is commonly used for the financial support of these projects. In order to understand the importance of sustainability for the civil engineering, it would be necessary to refer primarily to the context of sustainability as part of daily human activities. In accordance with Jones et al. (2007, 255) ‘sustainability is deeply rooted in the built environment and is inherently holistic reaching across environmental, social and economic issues at local and global scales; there is therefore a need for cross disciplinary working to ensure a sustainable approach’. In other words, sustainability should be promoted in all countries around the world as it is related with the development of many aspects of social life affecting the level of influence of industrial activities on the environment. In this context, the development of sustainable urban plans would positively affect all aspects of life of people in a specific region – even in the long term. However, in order for such a target to be achieved, it would be necessary that civil engineers have the ability to understand the needs of the clients within a specific area and to make the appropriate alignment between these needs and the geographical characteristics of the area – these characteristics would be the base for the development of sustainable urban plans of various forms (e.g. construction of sustainable buildings, improvement of water supply system, update/ reconstruction of the drainage system and so on). The effort of civil engineers to align their plans with the principles of sustainability can be supported by appropriately structured theoretical models. These models include a series of factors/ criteria that if appropriately addressed can help towards the increase of the effectiveness of urban plans – in terms of sustainability. A relevant model is the one suggested by Ballard (2005) which is based on ‘three conditions, ‘awareness’, ‘agency’ (the identification of meaningful ways of responding) and ‘association’ with other people’ (Ballard, 2005, 135). It should be noticed that the development of different theoretical models for the effective promotion of sustainability in urban areas cannot lead to the assumption that the causes of environmental damages in these areas are different; it seems that the energy (like oil and gas) used for the various human activities is responsible for the severe damages in environment internationally. The specific assumption is supported by the study of Droege (2006) where it is made clear that ‘the fossil-fuel economy poses not only a massive security risk, it also lies at the root of the vast majority of urban sustainability problems; fresh water depletion, air pollution, widespread human fatalities can be directly traced to the excessive use of these dirty energy sources’ (Droege, 2006, 141). However, no many chances seem to exist regarding the replacement of these sources of energy the next decades – even if efforts are made for the development of alternative sources of energy the relevant plans are often abandoned – due to the lack of resources required for their realization or the lack of sufficient support by governments around the world. Oil and gas are related with higher profits for the countries involved in the production/ selling and for this reason their promotion globally is continuous and intensive. The value of the alignment of civil engineering with the principles of sustainability can be identified through the presentation of relevant case studies. An indicative example is the Nagoya City (Japan) where the promotion of sustainability across the town has been achieved through the following measures: ‘a) the cross-sector partnerships, (2) the voluntary participation of more than 20,000 citizens and (3) the implementation of classroom-based learning, surveys, field studies and social experiments’ (Chikami et al., 2008, 127). However, the financial support of the relevant program was rather weak, a problem that was partially faced by promoting the scheme in the private sector – seeking to attract investments by investors of the specific sector. From a different point of view, in the case of Cape Town (Africa) the extensive use of traditional sources of energy (especially the oil) has led to severe environmental pollution (Swilling, 2006, 23) – while there are no signs of potential limitation of the energy consumed. Different priorities to the promotion of urban planning in these two areas (Nagoya City and Cape Town) have led to different civil engineering processes. On the other hand, it has been proved that civil engineers could be based in traditional methods of civil engineering in order to respond to the needs of sustainability in urban areas internationally. An indicative example is the case of Sri Lanka; regarding this area it is noticed that ‘the ancient irrigation system of Sri Lanka as an amazing system of irrigated agriculture, which developed over a millennium; it now offers a useful counterpoint of one that has been sustained and had many favourable attributes; (Zubair, 2005, 161). It could be stated that in ancient systems the technology used was not of current levels – which is required in order to respond to current needs of people as developed within modern urban areas – block of flats, limited green areas, increased irrigation needs due to the high number of people living in these areas and so on (Stenekes et al., 2006, 107). However, ancient – and traditional – civil engineering systems could be used as patterns of civil engineering systems that would be potentially less complicated and less demanded – in terms of technology/ funds and staff required for their development. In accordance with the issues developed above, it is clear that the development of sustainable urban plans is related with a series of factors. The ability of the civil engineers to identify the needs of the specific area (in terms of sustainability) and to align these needs with the clients’ (local authorities, firms or individuals) demands is one of the most important factors for the success of the relevant effort. From a different point of view, the success of the sustainable projects requires the active support of the local population – or the people that are directly affected by the specific projects. The specific issue is analyzed in the study of Lee (2006) where it is noticed that ‘the search for sustainable development may require practical models of social change that have yet to be invented or imagined’ (Lee, 2006, 9). Regarding the potential participation of the public in the promotion of sustainable urban planning, it is noticed by Tonn (2000, 171) that ‘broad social trends indicate that people want more control over their lives and will apply pressure through democratic institutions to achieve a more sustainable, reenvironmentalized society’. Referring specifically to the potential reasons of the success/ failure of plans referring to the administration of water systems, Stenekes et al. (2006) state that ‘public acceptance is often seen as a key reason why water-recycling technology is (accepted or) rejected; projects fail because the general public is unable to comprehend specialist information about risk; if the public were better informed, they would accept change more readily’ (Stenekes et al., 2006, 107). Public acceptance is therefore an important factor influencing the success/ failure of civil engineering projects; for this reason it should be taken into consideration by civil engineers that try to promote such plans. On the other hand, because the various urban plans have different demands, the measures taken by civil engineers are likely to be different – see indicatively the case of urban planning priorities in the construction of buildings (Figure 1) as well as the urban energy indicators presented in Figure 4. However, the application of the principles of sustainability in urban planning can be achieved only if the necessary resources (staff, technology, funds) are available (Jones et al., 2007, 255). Otherwise, the relevant efforts are likely to be led to a failure either in the short or the long term. On the other hand, the case studies presented in this paper prove that different approaches are used by urban planners in countries around the world. Others focus on the promotion of sustainability in transport systems (see Figure 3, Appendix) others in the development of sustainable urban energy systems or the promotion of sustainability through the construction of sustainable buildings. It is for this reason, that differences are identified in the level of development of urban sustainability around the world – in Figure 2 cities in countries globally are ranked in accordance with the level of their sustainability (reflects the alignment of urban planning and civil engineering with the principles of sustainability). Civil engineers have the responsibility to identify the potentials of a specific region – referring to the development of sustainable projects – and produce relevant projects meeting the needs of their clients at the level that any damage to the environment is avoided – as possible. The support of the state in the achievement of this target would be valuable – however even without the support of the state civil engineers would be still able to promote sustainability allocating the necessary resources in the private sector. References Abush, J. (2000) Energy, Environmental Performance, and the Built Environment. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, Vol. 20, No. 5, 379-382 Allen, A., Davila, J. (2006) The peri-urban water poor: citizens or consumers? Environment and Urbanization, Vol. 18, No. 2, 333-351 Ballard, D. (2005) Using learning processes to promote change for sustainable development. Action Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, 135-156 Chikami, S. (2008) Creating a Sustainable City through a System of Citizen-based Learning. Tonn, B. (2000) Technology for a Sustainable Environment. Public Works Management & Policy, Vol. 4, No. 3, 171-176 Dimitrova, E. (2007) Testing PETUS: Expectations and Outcomes of the `Theory—Practice Dialogue on Urban Sustainability. 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Science Technology & Society, Vol. 10, No. 2, 161-195 Appendix Figure 1 – Sample of urban plan referring to the construction sustainable buildings – distribution of roles among the building’s parts (source: http://www.thewellingtoncompany.co.nz/images/travel_to_work.pdf) Figure 2 – Ranking of cities in accordance with the level of their sustainability (source: http://www.data360.org/dsg.aspx?Data_Set_Group_Id=1294) Figure 3 – An eco-efficient bus in Curitiba, Brazil (source: http://www3.iclei.org/localstrategies/summary/curitiba2.html) Figure 4 – Urban Energy Indicators (Ravetz, 2000, in Keirstead, 2007, p.6, available from http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/pls/portallive/docs/1/24289696.PDF) Read More