Comment & Analysis
Sometimes a story comes along and you just know that it has legs. That was my first reaction on 18 September when the US Environmental Protection Agency alleged that some Volkswagen and Audi cars had been fitted with a defeat device that circumvented emissions standards for certain air pollutants. It was a shocking accusation that triggered a hundred questions in my mind. I knew it would run and run.
Since then the diesel scandal has shaken VW to its very foundations. Its shares crashed overnight; billions of euros have had to be put aside to cover costs; hundreds of thousands of vehicles will be recalled; and the company’s chief executive has resigned. There is also talk of criminal charges. But those are just the tangible impacts. The long-term damage to VW’s reputation is yet to be established. VW had plans for bold expansion in the US. They look unlikely to progress now.
An investigation into how VW cheated emissions tests on diesel cars has been instigated, and already a certain amount of finger pointing has begun. One official has reportedly said the scandal was the result of “unlawful behaviour of engineers and technicians involved in engine development” and some staff have been suspended. I can’t quite imagine how a fraud of such sophistication and complexity could be conceived and delivered by an internalised group of engineers without knowledge elsewhere. But presumably audit trails exist and specific chains of command can be identified, with full disclosure expected in due course.
Any further comment on specific responsibility for this case would be conjecture. So I will leave it there, for the time being at least. But the VW scandal comes as a salient reminder of just how interwoven engineers are in the complex structures of most global corporations. From carmakers to food producers, power providers to water suppliers, the daily actions of engineers can have enormous ramifications on the entire operational ability of all major institutions. That brings with it enormous levels of responsibility. Engineers wrestle with the impact of their actions every day. That’s why engineering has such strict standards of compliance and governance, and such high expectations of conduct and discipline.
Indeed, these requirements are clearly stated in the IMechE’s Royal Charter, with a section on ethics which calls on members to be ambassadors of the institution who must therefore conduct themselves in a manner that “upholds and enhances the reputations of the institution, the profession of mechanical engineering and the institution’s members”.
All members should conduct their professional work and relationships with “integrity and objectivity and with due regard for the welfare of the people, the organisations and the environment with which they interact”. That last line about the welfare of people, organisations and the environment takes on particular resonance in the light of recent events.
These are the guiding principles that the vast majority of engineers employ without second thought. It’s to be expected. It’s why they seek professional registration. But with the VW scandal implicating more and more people, it cannot hurt to reflect upon what these beliefs actually mean.