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Q&A – Changing Directions

What’s up Crew? Cool to be back with y’all. In this episode, I answer a question that I received from a college student who is considering changing his educational trajectory into construction management. Episode Transcript […]

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Spring, 2026 Reading List

Spring, 2026 Stack – This is one of those stacks where I, seriously, don’t know which one to grab BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL INCREDIBLE READS!!! I just finished The Culture Code: Game Changer! I’m in […]

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Finally!!

Spring weather has arrived! The Joliet Junior College CM 125 Construction Layout crews have been getting their hands-on training done in the hallways this winter-What a great change of venue to FINALLY GET OUTSIDE this […]

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Looking at 2026

I’ve never been one to feel like I need to wait for January 1 to start something. I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions – Just make the decision of what needs to get done […]

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Construction Site Emergency Planning

I thought that I’d posted a series of links & articles about planning for jobsite emergencies, but I guess I was mistaken. Things to consider: A couple of other resources:

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5 Articles Worth Keeping

As I go through the process of purging various sources of Brain Book information, I’m building a reference library of purposeful articles. Here are 5 worth adding: Tips for Winterizing Your Construction Equipment Are You […]

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Now THAT’S a Work Truck!

My goal is to try and figure out how to get all of this gear into my work truck – I’ll likely have to flip the back seats down, probably need a trailer for the […]

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The Reason We Write

A bit of a stream-of-consciousness post this morning. My strength & life coach is Zach Even-Esh. If you’ve never met or heard or seen him, go find him. It’s said that we are the people […]

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Texting, Driving & Work Zones

First and foremost, it appears that the woman was physically OK. That’s what matters most. Vehicles are machines, complicated assemblies of metal, plastic, rubber & glass. They can be fixed. They can be discarded. Unfortunately […]

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JJC Surveying – Fall 2025 Check-In

The Joliet Junior College AEC 125 construction layout crews have been making the best of the fall weather by getting their hands-on training done in the parking lots. The crews spent the first half of […]

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Windshield Debrief – Consistency

With this episode, I’m rolling something out that’s a bit different. Maybe you’ll like it, maybe not. Like most of you, I do a lot of training, job and daily work activity preparation while holding […]

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Performance Enhancement

Occasionally, a video crosses my feed that is worth bookmarking. Trying a new tactic here-This one is so good and so timely, I want to memorialize it here in the website. Takeaways:

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The Value of Training

We had a great night of training last night. Our Plainfield Emergency Management Search and Rescue Team participated in a night training exercise with several other surrounding SAR teams. Hat tip to Liz Brady and […]

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Civil Engineers & Public Policy

If you know me, you know where I stand on a lot of things. Having a website affords me the opportunity to express thoughts on what is of interest to me in my own space, […]

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Mid-Year Book Stack Check-In

It’s June, 2025. Halfway through the year. It’s as good a time as any to do a “What Are You Reading” pit stop and post an update on what I’ve been soaking in for the […]

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Training. Purpose.

Good Morning. Wednesday, June 18th, 2025. Firefighter Success Podcast #006 with John Spera. Hit a nail on my head today. Training. Purpose and why. People set a fitness goal, health goal, something goal, January 1st […]

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Fit for Duty

In this episode, I revisit (somewhat…) some concepts from Episode 20 – Preparing for the Operation. but with several new twists & angles. Question: How prepared are you for the workday. In this episode: –I dissect […]

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Discord for Construction Engineers

We are all inundated with information coming at us. Threads. Emails. Teams. Notifications. Critical overload. We are also getting a lot smarter. Understanding that our time is a commodity that we don’t give away like […]

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Spring 2025 Class Secured

Joliet Junior College Spring 2025 Construction Layout class is secured! While it’s a great feeling to finish grading exams & assignments, shelve the handouts and field training exercises and see the class get over the […]

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2025 National Surveyors Week

It’s 2025 National Surveyors Week! The Joliet Junior College AEC 125 construction layout crews have been making the best of the winter weather by getting their hands-on training done indoors. The crews spent the first […]

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. [...]
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    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, [...]
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    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 [...]

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