Educating Engineers on Safety

Abstract

This paper discusses the ethical, legal, and statistical reasons why engineers should include safety and health topics in a continuing education program and why formal engineering education should also include these topics as part of an engineering curriculum. It notes the increasing costs of accidents and the legal obligation that employers have to comply with the "General Duty Clause" of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and the penalties for noncompliance. The paper cites the initiatives of organizations outside of academia which have called for increased safety education in engineering curriculum, including the Societies of Industrial and Mechanical Engineering and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. Included are sixteen safety and health topics that the author believes should be part of engineering education.