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Engineering Ethics: The Collapse of the Willow Island Cooling Tower
In Engineering Ethics: The Collapse of the Willow Island Cooling Tower, you'll learn ...
- Details of the deadliest construction site accident in U.S. history
- Multiple errors and deficiencies that converged on a single day to cause the accident
- The decisions and actions of the parties involved in the project from an ethical point of view
Overview
Preview a portion of this course before purchasing it.
Credit: 1 PDH
Length: 16 pages
Around 10:00 a.m. on 27 April 1978 in Willow Island, WV, workers engaged in the construction of a concrete cooling tower began hoisting their third load of wet concrete from the ground to the work platform, which was 166 feet in the air. Without warning, the top of the partially constructed tower collapsed into the center of the tower, killing 51 construction workers.
To date, the partial collapse of the Willow Island Cooling Tower is considered the worst construction accident in the United States. In this course, you’ll learn why the tower was being built, the causal factors in its collapse, and the major findings of OSHA’s investigation of the disaster. The course will examine the decisions and actions of the parties involved in the project from an ethical point of view.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Explain why the Willow Island Cooling Tower was built and describe the unique erection strategy that was used.
- Identify the root causes of the tower’s collapse.
- Describe the warning signs that were ignored before the accident.
- Explain the importance of having a qualified engineer review on-site modifications to the erection plan.
- Summarize the major findings of the OSHA investigation of the disaster.
- Identify the ethical lapses when viewed through the lens of the present-day NSPE Code of Ethics.
Certificate of Completion
You will be able to immediately print a certificate of completion after passing a multiple-choice quiz consisting of 10 questions. PDH credits are not awarded until the course is completed and quiz is passed.
| This course is applicable to professional engineers in: | ||
| Alabama (P.E.) | Alaska (P.E.) | Arkansas (P.E.) |
| Delaware (P.E.) | District of Columbia (P.E.) | Florida (P.E. Other Topics) |
| Georgia (P.E.) | Idaho (P.E.) | Illinois (P.E.) |
| Illinois (S.E.) | Indiana (P.E.) | Iowa (P.E.) |
| Kansas (P.E.) | Kentucky (P.E.) | Louisiana (P.E.) |
| Maine (P.E.) | Maryland (P.E.) | Michigan (P.E.) |
| Minnesota (P.E.) | Mississippi (P.E.) | Missouri (P.E.) |
| Montana (P.E.) | Nebraska (P.E.) | Nevada (P.E.) |
| New Hampshire (P.E.) | New Jersey (P.E.) | New Mexico (P.E.) |
| New York (P.E.) | North Carolina (P.E.) | North Dakota (P.E.) |
| Ohio (P.E. Self-Paced) | Oklahoma (P.E.) | Oregon (P.E.) |
| Pennsylvania (P.E.) | South Carolina (P.E.) | South Dakota (P.E.) |
| Tennessee (P.E.) | Texas (P.E.) | Utah (P.E.) |
| Vermont (P.E.) | Virginia (P.E.) | West Virginia (P.E.) |
| Wisconsin (P.E.) | Wyoming (P.E.) | |
Preview a portion of this course before purchasing it.
Credit: 1 PDH
Length: 16 pages
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