Engineering Ingenuity Boosts Success On Construction Jobsites
Construction sites bring a wide array of challenges and problems that often require creative strategies to resolve. That’s where the construction engineer shines since the position demands a problem-solving mentality and a visionary ability to predict potential complications and risks before they occur. The engineer’s unique skillsets can result in cost- and time savings for all parties involved and in the end help contractors, construction managers, clients, employees and stakeholders to reach their individual goals. This can mean cost savings across the life of the job.
For example, engineers are skilled at forecasting the performance of individual materials and analyzing how each will interact with other types of materials. An experienced engineer also has insight into supply chain constraints and can view job site and materials challenges as opportunities to be resolved in ways that will save money while ensuring safety.
It is also the construction engineer who coordinates in-person meetings and phones calls that build trust among the various team members and clients. No two situations or projects are the same, but engineers can build confidence by drawing on past experiences and foreseeing potential problems in the process of a project.
Ways that Engineers Ensure Success
Success with any construction project begins in conception, before any shovel breaks ground. Engineers, along with architects and construction managers, are often involved as guides, enlightening clients on what is feasible and possible and what is not. This means looking at the plans, designs and drawings to ensure that the goals and visions of all involved meet regulations.
Next, engineers and architects create documents that contractors and subcontractors can use to submit bids to the construction manager. An engineer’s input is invaluable in setting up the pre-construction phase in order to draw up a realistic schedule and cost estimates and hammer out information such as job site access, quality control procedures, material storage and required hours needed to launch the construction project. Engineers also calculate material usage.
Engineers play valuable roles during the construction phase as well. Despite the best laid plans, there are often delays and overspending, but engineers can provide the most cost-effective solutions to make sure the finished product meets the client’s needs. An engineer’s input goes a long way in ensuring that a company’s project is successful.
Head Designer
While typically, construction design teams are led by an architect, engineers often play an important role as a contributing designer, particularly on complex building projects. This is a problem-solving approach rather than a creative one that includes developing simple tools as well as complex technologies. The process involves these five steps:
- Defining the problem
- Researching and brainstorming
- Designing
- Building and testing
- Refining the final product
As designers, engineers are central to designing sustainable systems and accessing the life cycle of buildings and their component services in order to minimize resources used and lessen the impact on the environment.
Engineers are also involved in overall strategies and projected standards, façade engineering, equipment needed, positioning of vertical service risers, determining routes needed to distribute services, and determining drainage, energy sources and sustainability. In these areas, the engineer creates a building services design that must be integrated into the overall design of the building. Because of this, on complex projects, engineers are often appointed as the lead designer.
In some cases, an engineer will turn a drawing into a 3D or BIM model that serves as a guide for contractors. During this process, engineers work closely with the manufacturing and architectural design teams during which testing is done to flag any errors and to identify the most appropriate production method and tools. A detailed manufacturing plan and timeline are created, and testing is done for reliability, usability and quality, as well as an array of environmental conditions. By including the engineer as a designer on a construction project, construction managers can ensure that the end results are efficient, cost-effective and meet the client’s needs.
Innovator
The nature of the engineer is to seek new solutions to the many challenges that can crop up in the various phases of construction. Engineers tend to be creative thinkers who are able to introduce innovative approaches and are on top of the latest materials and technologies in construction.
Problem Solver
Engineers have unique skills sets that allow them to analyze challenges and come up with efficient solutions. These include structural issues, resource distribution and risks that can develop through every phase of a building project. The construction engineer often excels at finding practical solutions and cost-effective answers to problems that can arise during the construction process.
Collaborator
In the position of collaborator, engineers work closely with architects, contractors and other important members of the construction team. This role ensures seamless coordination in all stages of a project and, combined with effective communications with all parties involved, can lead to successful results.
Engineering Strategies Maximize Efficiency
There are several strategies that a construction engineer employs to ensure the efficiency, sustainability and productivity needed to bring a construction project to a successful outcome. One way is to integrate eco-friendly practices in designs, such as implementing energy-efficient systems and using recycled materials in the building process that can reduce the ecological footprint that construction projects are notorious for leaving behind. Not only does this contribute to a greener ecology but it can also result in long-term cost savings for stakeholders.
Another way that engineers can optimize the opportunities for success of a construction project is to utilize the power of technology in order to make the construction process more efficient. This includes taking advantage of tools such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), drones, and virtual reality, leading to more efficiency and precision and less errors.
In addition, engineers can streamline the project management process of a project. By employing comprehensive project management practices such as effective planning and risk assessment and efficient resource allocation, engineers can make sure projects stick to a schedule and are finished on time and within budget.
Engineers are also skilled at analyzing potential risks and making sure a project is compliant with industry standards. This minimizes accidents and protects employees, while safeguarding the financial interests of companies and stakeholders.
Engineering’s Role in the Future of Construction
As technologies continue to advance, the future of construction will increasingly require the unique mindsets and skills of engineers. With the growing need for sustainability, along with the integration of artificial intelligence, robotics and green practices and other advances, engineers can help construction companies maneuver this progressively complex industry.
