Construction Space: Let’s Talk About Building And Contractors

Posted on: 23 August 2018

Construction engineers are important players in every construction project. They design, manage and even approve some projects in the construction industry. Construction engineers usually have a degree and certification in civil engineering.

When looking for construction engineers for your project, there are several qualities that you should look for in the engineers besides their education levels. Remember, these people will play a pivotal role in your project right from the design phase of the construction. You must, therefore, vet the quality of engineers based on a number of further considerations.

Field specialty

While it is generally expected of construction engineers to be rounded in terms of civil engineering knowledge, it is preferable to hire construction engineers who have specialised in specific fields. Construction engineers specialised in commercial construction projects may not be suitable for your residential construction project. They may also be comparatively more expensive, which may drive up your project costs. Roads and bridge construction projects need no mention of the importance of the construction engineers' specialty.

Field knowledge

Field knowledge refers to a construction engineer's handle on various construction elements. This is particularly important especially when hiring recently graduated construction engineers. While they may be shy on experience years, their command of construction materials and handling may make up for the lack of experience time. Handling cement, steel, concrete or conducting tests on the site will be crucial for the engineers.

Field knowledge also includes the engineer's knowledge of building codes, area regulations and even laws regarding construction. Such fine-print issues, if not addressed by construction engineers in the right manner, can seriously harm a construction project.

Analytical skills

Construction engineering will rely heavily on analytics. The engineers come up with a mental image of everything your project will need, as well as estimate costs. If an engineer is poor at analysing situations and preempting various moves, you may end up with projects that progress slowly with cost increases, and some projects may even stall. Analytical skills are important in the project design stage. This is when the engineer has nothing but a computer-rendered image of what will be where and at what cost.

Interpersonal skills

Finally, construction engineering goes hand in hand with working with various people. In projects where the construction engineers are also the managers of the overall project, several contractors and workers may need directing. The engineers need to communicate well with the different parties working on the site.