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The impact of philosophy on engineering and testing: The past, present and future of mitigating risk in construction.

About this event

The impact of philosophy on engineering and testing: The past, present and future of mitigating risk in construction.


In this webinar, two leaders in the construction industry Mike Webster – expert witness and forensic engineer – and Bill Hewlett – Technical Director of the British Board of Agrément – discuss with Nick Treanor – Reader in Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh – what philosophy can bring to engineering, specifically to the domain of product certification.

Philosophy brings in excess 2000-years of human thought and understanding in key fields such as the study of knowledge – what it is possible to know and how we know it – how we experience things and the world around us, and what things are – what is the essence of their being. This resource is under-utilised in the field of engineering and seen almost no application in the field of product certification. This despite certification being a prime epistemic (or knowledge) practice.


Two questions:

- What is something?

- For what purpose is it fit?


Agrément, the certification of fitness-for-purpose of construction products as practiced by the BBA for 50+ years, warrants examination through this lens. It raises two primary philosophical questions in equal measure – ‘what is something’, and ‘for what purposes is it fit’. This takes us beyond a simple ‘compliance to standards’, such as UKCA marking, which majors on only the ‘what something is’ question. The implications are profound, calling for a different level of corporate and technical competence for Agrément, and giving the method the ability to address innovative products inaccessible to compliance methodologies.

Philosophy has been described as ‘Math in words’. This points to both its precision, and its reach. The precision of numbers and mathematics we are all familiar with. While words cannot reach every facet of life, but they can get to most – think Shakespeare! The discussion will build from an assessment of why philosophy is relevant to engineering – taking Agrément as a specific example – then use philosophical insight to unravel some of the foibles around over-reliance on product testing, bring new appreciation to the processes of design and give insight into motivating excellence the profession.


In this webinar, we ask the panellists the following key questions:

1. Why is philosophy relevant to Agrément / certification / construction / engineering?

2. Specific examples philosophical idea/concept that should play a bigger role in the industry?

3. Why the interest in something that is rather a niche?

4. Philosophy and it’s role in testing and certification.

5. An attempt to clarify what Engineering is, within the philosophical realm.


Sponsored by:

Hosted by

  • Guest speaker
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    Katy Roberts Head of Marketing @ British Board of Agrément

    Katy has worked as Marketer in the tech, hospitality, event, education, and now construction sectors for over 20 years. Bringing together a continuous desire for learning, with tactical and strategic know-how, Katy has helped businesses establish and drive conversations and engagement that truly matter, in their space. Heading up the BBA’s marketing team, Katy continues to build on opportunities to develop important relationships within the construction landscape.

  • Guest speaker
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    Mike Webster Director @ MPW R&R Ltd

    Mike Webster is a Director of MPW R&R Ltd, a company providing specialist consulting, forensic engineering and expert witness services in relation to construction and structural safety. He has worked in consultancies undertaking the design and assessment of structures. He has led over 40 projects for UK and international regulators investigating how construction and other hazardous industries should be regulated. He also spent 12 years working for research and trade associations in the concrete industry.

  • Guest speaker
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    Bill Hewlett Technical Director @ British Board of Agrément

    Bill Hewlett is Technical Director at the British Board of Agrément, since 2020. He built his career working for Laing O’Rourke and Costain, where he was the Group Technical Director. He has worked across building construction, infrastructure, nuclear and petro-chem, and served as a Vice President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, on the Board of the Engineering Council and as Chair of SCOSS, the Standing Committee on Structural Safety. In 2010 he founded the Temporary Works Forum.

  • Guest speaker
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    Nick Treanor Research Affiliate @ Edinburgh Futures Institute

    Nick Treanor is a Reader in Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, and a research affiliate with the Edinburgh Futures Institute. Before coming to Edinburgh, he was the Newton Trust Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Churchill College. His work focuses on theoretical issues concerning how to understand quantities of knowledge and ignorance, and on applications of this and related philosophical research to matters of contemporary social importance through challenge-led collaboration with industry partners and other stakeholders.