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The Learning Environment

It’s great to be back with you for Episode #27. Being a college instructor, learning is a front-and-center part of my life. As much as I hope the students are learning under my tutelage, I […]

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Morning Routines

I know that my position in life won’t likely garner a chapter in a book or website like My Morning Routine but I certainly am a creature of habit when it comes to getting long […]

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A Tall Order….

Am I living up to the standard…? I’ve always got room to get better. (Excerpt from “Be-Know-Do” by the Leader to Leader Institute, 2004)

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212,582 Legal Filings in 2022….

I read this in a recent issue of Construction Dive, in an article titled “It’s Not Just You: Construction Really Is Risky Business,” the following statistic was provided: Construction businesses had 212,582 legal filings entered […]

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When an EF-0 Tornado Hits Your House

I am simply putting this post up to memorialize this past weekend’s event. Quite a weather weekend with storms popping up everywhere on Friday March 31, 2023. https://www.weather.gov/lot/2023_03_31_SevereStorms It’s not often that you can say […]

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February Reading Stack

This month, it’s a nice blend of leadership and personal growth. I’m tearing through “Legacy” and “Be-Know-Do” both of which are proving a lot of great takeaways. “The Road to Character” is underway. And I […]

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Time Management vs. Task Management

Hey Crew – It’s so good to check back in with you here on Episode 026.  With so many task management systems now in existence, there’s an opportunity to turn your To Do list into […]

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Construction Layout at JJC

As the Joliet Junior College Spring 2023 semester got underway this week, I reminded the students how fortunate they are to be a part of a construction management program that offers them the opportunity to take a […]

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What I Read in 2022

As we bring 2022 to a close, we all get the chance to look backwards, Our personal After Action Reports. How did we do? How did we perform? Where did we thrive vs. where did […]

Honoring Firefighters

FROM THE ARCHIVES

  • ARCHIVES

    Asking the Simple Question – The Solution

    In my previous article (CLICK HERE to read it), I described the maturation of a piling bearing capacity issue that we had on a recent railroad bridge project. Let’s dive into getting the issues resolved. [...]
  • ARCHIVES

    Asking the Simple Questions – The Problem

    “Ego clouds and disrupts everything: the planning process, the ability to take good advice, and the ability to accept constructive criticism. It can even stifle someone’s sense of self-preservation. Often, the most difficult ego to [...]
  • ARCHIVES

    When Slopes Fail – Part 2

    In this, Part 2 of my series on slope stability & erosion control failures, I want to dissect another jobsite failure that one of our projects suffered through a couple of years ago. The conditions, [...]
  • ARCHIVES

    When Slopes Fail – Part 1

    There are some people I know, when talking about their “college days,” who can recite chapters & verses of classes they took. They can remember class numbers, people in the class, problems they solved, the [...]
  • ARCHIVES

    It’s More than a Line

    I wanted to write a post discussing a design issue that we encountered out here on our site. MicroStation, AutoCADD and the like are the daily tools of choice for almost all designers, and no [...]
  • ARCHIVES

    The Risk of Traffic – Final Chapter

    So as I’ve developed in the last 2 posts, traffic control on a construction project exposes just about everyone involved in the process to RISK. A motorcycle accident in 2008 sent me through the legal [...]
  • ARCHIVES

    The Risk of Traffic – Part 2

    As I developed in my last post, engineers in construction are often-times thrust into situations of RISK that, in many instances, are completely beyond their direct control. I’m going to take you on a tour [...]