As a young engineer, you have been told not to trust the machinists who work for you. They will make up excuses for bad parts that aren’t true because they are lazy or incompetent. One day a machinist tells you his milling machine is “out of calibration,” and that he can’t make parts to specification unless the machine is repaired. What do you do?

a. Replace him with a more competent machinist.

b. Ask the machine shop supervisor to check the milling machine to see if there is a problem.

c. Ask the machinist to show you exactly what he means by demonstrating the problem.

d. Tell your supervisor you need a raise if you have to work with idiots like this.

Use the Engineering Ethics Matrix.