The Construction Engineering Show

Hello Team! It's great to be back with you after a bit of a hiatus.

For the past several months, I've been working on a municipal improvement project. The project is located in a residential subdivision in a southwestern Chicago suburb and has required me to keep dozens of plates spinning simultaneously: On-site troubleshooting, design changes, coordination with the municipalities, residents, local police/fire/schools and of course, working hour-by-hour with the contractor and his activities. It has been one of the most difficult management projects I've been involved with, simply from the standpoint of the seemingly dozens of inputs & outputs that require me to have my finger on the pulse of all of them.

I've been managing projects for decades and have developed, over the years, numerous different ways and system for tracking open issues. I've used Expedition. I've used task apps. I've used Excel, in spreadsheet & pivot table form. I've tried Outlook task flags & To-Do's, and I've tried to incorporate Trello with it. And I know there are dozens of software & applications that are similarly built for managing issues and streamlining processes. But for me, through all the trial & error, the one fail-safe that never lets me down is the simple use of pencil & paper.

As I was debriefing this past week (and really, much of this past month...), it occurred to me that I ought to consider sharing my personal "Lessons Learned" with the crew, thinking & hoping that maybe there are a few useful takeaways for all of us.

Topics in this Debrief include:

-Starting at a new company

-Filling-in for someone on another project

-Being curious & willing to ask questions

-The importance of relationships in the construction industry

Connect with me anytime!!

I had an opportunity to interact with a group of high school students and had a great time. The Illinois Tollway (who our company is working for) hosted the students to introduce them to all of the different kinds of careers that are possible. It was a great time, the students & their instructors were great. The group got a chance to visit one of the active construction sites to see what a bridge under construction looks like.

We broke the students into two groups and I got to talk to them about surveying. I brought out several of our instruments and showed them a level, a robotic total station and our GPS unit. It was fun for me, breaking down, what could be a very complex topic, into basic concepts that teenagers could understand. I had a blast.

Afterwards, a few of us were debriefing the event, and it struck me hard: This is the next generation of construction professionals. High school students, just like the ones we met today, will be taking my place. So I asked myself:

What am I, and what are we doing to introduce them to what it is we do?

And moreover, how are we letting them know that what we do is really cool?

The takeaway from my discussion is an easy one: It's up to us. We are the senior members of the industry who need to carve the paths for the next generation of construction professionals to travel. The generation before us paved the way for you and I, we need to do that for them.

Connect with me anytime!!

I am putting this out there: How can I be of service to you? What questions do you have? What issues are you working through in the jobsite that a seasoned member of the industry could help you with?

I haven't been doing enough. I've been letting you down. We have a small but growing community of sitework professionals who come here to get a dose of positive impact. And I've been lax in pushing you & I forward. I've dropped the ball. I haven't been getting the messages out. I haven't added any tools to your toolbox. Not good.

This is a call to action-Send me a DM on Linked in. Leave a comment here. Hit me up at my website. Leave a message in the Spotify Q&A attached to this episode. Let me know what I, and our growing community can do to increase your percentage of impact. Let's Go!!

Connect with me anytime!!

Hello Construction Engineers! 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 am learning as well: Learning how to speak. Learning how to break concepts down. Learning how to present materials in a digestible format. Suffice to say, we are always learning.

In this episode, I talk about how we, as people involved in construction, need to be cognizant of our need to constantly be learning. Are we creating a job office atmosphere where we are using the people and resources around us every working day to better ourselves & each other? How can we promote a learning environment in our field office? I'll give you a couple of stories & some ideas to get you thinking.

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 a job unto itself. Managing your tasks should be a simple exercise: Prioritize and execute, that's the goal. 

But it's now easy to become lost in app's, bogged down in trying to get this app to talk to Outlook, which then needs an add-in to talk back to your task management, which then needs to be updated so it can coordinate with your calendar. In my world, all of that linking of applications does nothing but cause friction. 

In this episode, I discuss my task management system - Tried & true pencil & paper. I've spoken about my Franklin Planner and what a anchor it is in what I do day-to-day to keep myself organized. I challenge the listener to take a step back off the line this week and assess how your task management systems are working for you. 

Some notable links from the episode: 

Hey Crew - It's great to be back with you for Episode 025.

I'm a big fan of the fire service: Fire service podcasts, fire service leadership. I've come to really value listening leaders in the fire service. I think there is a lot of carry-over between the fire service and the construction industry: Our jobs place us in, sometimes, risky situations that we are called to mitigate. There are leadership issues in both of our industries that call for us to be sound in our inter-personal skills, navigating situations & issues. I love listening to great chiefs & leaders, in any industry, but those who are in the fire service always strike lots of chords with me.

Hey Crew - It's great to be back with you. 

For the past few weeks, I've spent a lot of free-time thinking about goals. I've been a goal setter since I got my first Franklin Planner in 1989. Back then, I learned the basics of goal setting that we all know & love: Determining values & what matters most, developing ways of creating task lists that would be the incremental steps that lead to accomplishing the goals. I don't consider myself to be a "Type A" personality who's always trying to get to the next ladder rung, I'm just a guy who's trying to better himself everyday. Safe to say, we all are striving towards things that we believe to be important to us, so loosely defined, whether we write them down or not, we all have goals.

In this episode, I take a quick drive down my own Goal Setting Memory Lane and talk a bit on how I have historically looked at the process of goal setting. And then, I'll take you down a bit of a back-road and introduce you to a concept that has changed the way I think about goals. For me, this has been a game-changer: I won't be setting my goals the same way I used to. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on whether my new way of thinking might be something you'll implement.

A few linkables mentioned in the Show:

Episode 023 - I'm excited to be back after a bit of a hiatus! I've spent the last couple of months immersed in teaching a course in Construction Surveying, but the spring term has been secured, the final grades have been posted, and I now have time to get back to the podcast.

This episode comes to us by way of a question from the Interwebs. Although I could list dozens of attributes, I discuss six characteristics, traits & skills that I think ALL OF US (not just the younger members of our industry....) can focus on to improve our on-site duties:

1. Be Squared Away
2. Constantly Improve Your Communication Skills
3. Walk Everywhere
4. Engage with the Field Forces
5. Get REALLY GOOD with Excel
6. Strive to Improve Your Situational Awareness

And there's a Bonus #7 that puts all 6 of the items to work.

Episode 22 - It's nice to be back with you all!! The couple-of-month hiatus is past, just too much else going on...

A couple of weeks ago, those of us at our company received our annual "Self-Evaluation Form." That means it's time to reassess. I've always enjoyed stepping away from the total station and the laptop and getting the 10,000 foot view of where my life & career are heading. I've done it since I got my first Franklin Planner in 1989. Self-assessment and goal setting have always been part of my life road mapping.

But this year's analysis will be a bit different. New situations, both around the shop as well as outside work. I'm still heading to the right destinations, I'm just choosing to look for off-ramps and dirt roads, as opposed to staying on the 4-lane paved highway).

In this episode, I play catch-up on the "Hey Bob, where have you been?", and then dive into how I'm setting my course of action for the year, using Jiu Jitsu as a means of establishing what the "long game" is all about.

Episode 20 - How well are you preparing for the work day? Are you putting in the "mental reps" prior to heading out to the site to meet with your crews? Are you prepared to inspect the work, answer questions and troubleshoot problems? 

Or are you rolling out to the site and simply reacting to what is going on, rather than engaging in the work. 

On this episode of the Construction Engineering Show, we discuss 4 ideas of ways that you can better-prepare yourself for your day on site. And even the the 4th idea is a little nuanced, implementing it will change the way you think about anticipating problems: 

1. Do the mental preparation 

2. Have the resources you need on-hand 

3. Look for and review checklists 

4. The "5 Biggest Challenges & 5 Biggest Opportunities" Card 

The construction industry is about as dynamic of an industry as there is. Think about it: Every project is different. Multitudes of issues, problems, paperwork, people & personalities, weather conditions, you name it. Nothing is ever the same. And as construction professionals, it's our job to navigate this ever-changing landscape that we call "A Project."

To be an effective construction professional, you need to be able to adjust. Adjust to the specifics of the project. Adjust to the issues of the day. Adjust how you execute your day-to-day duties. We are all constantly needing to adjust.

We've all know that there are times to lead, and times to follow. But in the same breath, there are times to take full responsibility, but there are times when, although you might want to, you can't. 

In this episode of The Construction Engineering Show, I take a step into accepting responsibility. Being a leader requires taking ownership of everything that happens on your watch. Leading yourself, your crew, assisting the client, the agency you are working for, it's all part of being a professional field engineer. 

We all want to be good leaders. We all are willing to take responsibility for the going's-on on our jobsites. But we have to acknowledge that there are, in fact, times when we simply do not have direct control over the situation. And in those instances, I argue, it's OK to allow others to be responsible. I discuss 4 "Situations of Responsibility," each with its own level: 

1. Full Responsibility 

2. Crew Responsibility 

3. Managerial Responsibility 

4. Project Involvement (and Not Direct Responsibility) 

If you're interested in listening to Andy Stumpf and the podcast that I mention, you can check it out here: 

We are in a world where we are constantly being told that we need to advance our careers. We see and hear from lots of sources that may or may not be credible when it comes to the construction and engineering industries, giving us "tips and tricks" that will lead us to a corner office.

While the over-arching goal of striving towards a goal is extremely important, the rate at which our growth actually occurs doesn't always match-up.

Critical thinking is one of those skills that, for myself, I probably take for granted. My mind works very practically. I like to work with my hands. I don't like asking for help. I like to fix things myself. I can look at a situation and pretty-much develop a course of action and a method of execution to get it resolved.

I like to solve problems myself.

But more and more, I'm seeing a trend. A disturbing trend. Internet search bars and chat forums are becoming venues for getting answers. For solving problems. Put in part of your question, Google autofills the rest the rest and an algorithm points you to an answer.

"An" answer. Not necessarily "the" answer…

How many tools do you really need (figuratively speaking, of course) to be effective in your work? How complicated are your systems? Do you spend more time updating spreadsheets, typing up emails or trying to integrate Trello with Slack and Teams and Outlook? What would happen if you stripped your toolbox down to just what you need?

The Basics.

We all know people who look to cause problems, and we know people who look to solve problems. There is a dichotomy in the word "Problem:" To some, it becomes a chasm that forces progress to stop, while for others, it becomes a challenge requiring a solution.

For most engineers, problems are why we chose the line of work that we did - Engineering is a constant stream of problems that require solutions. How we choose to look at a problem dictates how we will deal with it. I'm proud to say that, Yes, I am constantly looking for problems.

In this episode, I discuss the construction engineer's mindset when it comes to looking for problems, I share a story where the term "Problems" meant different things to different factions on a construction project. And I spend some time charting a course for how we can better think about our daily activities on site and how we should ALWAYS be looking for problems to solve.

Feel free to send me your feedback, post a question or a topic you think might be interesting, or simply let me know if you are enjoying the show.

Cheers!!

Connect with me and let me know what you think - Cheers!!

Tailgate Talk is just that - You & I, on-site at our trucks before the shift starts, spending 5 to 10 minutes together discussing a topic to get our work day started right.

Today, I talk about tools: Do you have all of the tools you need to execute all of your on-site tasks today? When is the last time you went through your kit and did an inventory & resupply?

I mention this article that I wrote a couple of years ago - You can use it as a baseline for your gear check-down.

In this episode of the Construction Engineering Show, I discuss design document reviews. I have spent the better part of the last year as a design document reviewer. Performing a good plan review requires you to have a general system in-place so that you can be as thorough as possible in a limited amount of time to cover as much ground as possible. I've spent the better portion of this past year as a design reviewer and have developed some fundamentals that I think can help anyone who is tasked with reviewing plans & specifications.

I touch on 5 key components that I consistently use:

1. Start your review at the 30,000 foot level

2. Understanding what's underground.

3. Review each discipline & the details

4. Always use checklists

5. Don't forget to review the special provisions & specifications

This episode of the Construction Engineering Show focuses on ideas for developing a safety mindset. "Working Safe" requires us to be actively looking and thinking about our surroundings, the operations we are involved with and how we can keep both ourselves and the folks we are working with out of harm's way. In this episode, I discuss a couple of strategies that I'm implementing in my daily routine that are worth sharing.

In this episode of the Construction Engineering Show, I spend some time discussing job progress and how construction engineers track it. You need to have simple tools to use on a daily basis that will allow you to, months later, assemble the pace & trajectory of your job in order to present, approve or refute a claim for time.

At several points in the show, I mention an article that I wrote several years ago that shows several ways that I've tracked progress:

In this episode of the Construction Engineering Show, I spend some time debriefing my recent training session on Traffic Incident Management (TIM). I spend some time discussing the hazardous environment that we, as construction professionals, find ourselves working in on a daily basis. We discuss ideas about incident notification, wearing the proper PPE (ie "Looking like a Super Hero...) and talk about ways in which we can use better situational awareness for ourselves and the people on our crews who we are working with. 

In this episode of the Construction Engineering Show, I spend some time introducing myself, discussing my background in industry and as a college instructor. Although this episode could certainly be construed as a "Brag-A-Thon," just pretend we are sitting at a bar and you asked me "So, what do you do for a living?"  I take the opportunity to talk about my work experience and discuss my plans for this podcast. 

This is the introductory episode to the Construction Engineering Show. I'm your host, Bob Hildebranski, a registered professional engineer with 30+ years of industry experience. This is my opener into the world of podasting: If you've come looking for a polished podcast....well, be patient, this is my On-The-Job training into what it takes to publish a podcast.

In future episodes, we'll dive into a wide range of construction related topics. I'm looking forward to this new venture.