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Determining Negligence in Engineering Failures

COURSE NO: LE2-012
PDH CREDIT: 2
COURSE PROVIDER: Mark Rossow, P.E.
Determining Negligence in Engineering Failures
Course Highlights

This engineering online PDH course will establish conditions under which, when an engineering failure has occurred, it can be attributed to negligence.    

 

Five causes of failure are proposed: negligence, rare failure mode, overlooked failure mode, new (previously unrecognized) failure mode, and incorrect assessment of a known risk. Negligence is the only cause that involves failing in an ethical duty.  These concepts are illustrated with five case studies of failures ranging from gross negligence to absolutely unforeseeable events: 1) the Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919, for which a new possible cause was identified 95 years later (2014); 2) a building collapse in Bangladesh in which over 1,000 people died—one of the worst structural engineering disasters in history; 3) a meteorite strike of a private residence; 4) the crash of the British-French Concorde supersonic airliner, caused by an unlikely tire blow-out; and 5) radiation overdoses received by patients treated by the Thorac-25 medical linear accelerator, caused by errors in the software controlling the machine.

 

The 2 PDH online course is intended for engineers concerned with ethical behavior in engineering practice.
Learning Objectives

This P.Eng. continuing education course is intended to provide you with the following specific knowledge and skills:

  • Understanding the definitions of negligence and standard of care
  • Relating safety to risk
  • Knowing the principle of Knightian uncertainty
  • Avoiding the retrospective fallacy in accident investigations
  • Avoiding the fallacy, in accident investigations, of assuming perfect engineering practice
  • Using the results of failure investigations appropriately
  • Being aware of the negative effects of punishment on learning from accidents
  • Categorizing the general causes of engineering failures
Course Document
In this professional engineering CEU course, you need to review the course document titled, “Determining Negligence in Engineering Failures,” by Mark P. Rossow, 2019.

 

To view, print and study the course document, please click on the following link(s):
Determining Negligence In Engineering Failures (1.3 MB)
Course Quiz
Once you complete your course review, you need to take a multiple-choice quiz consisting of fifteen (15) questions to earn 2 PDH credits. The quiz will be based on the entire document.
The minimum passing score is 70%. There is no time limit on the quiz, and you can take it multiple times until you pass at no additional cost.
Certificate of Completion

Upon successful completion of the quiz, print your Certificate of Completion instantly. (Note: if you are paying by check or money order, you will be able to print it after we receive your payment.) For your convenience, we will also email it to you. Please note that you can log in to your account at any time to access and print your Certificate of Completion.

To buy the course and take the quiz, please click on: