communicate

TCEP 112: Managing Mega Civil Engineering Projects and Staying Calm in the Process

February 27, 2019 By Anthony Fasano

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

In episode 112 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I’m taking you with me to the offices of Louis Berger where I will be speaking with the Department Manager, Muzamil Husain, PE. We talk about the importance of managing mega civil engineering projects and how to stay calm during stressful situations.

Engineering Quotes:

Here are some of the questions I ask Muzamil Husain:

In terms of project management, what would you say are some things that you have done that made you successful?
How do you determine what tasks to work on each day?
Can you describe the Magnetic Levitation project?
As a project manager you need to get good at understanding your resources and deploying them in the right areas. How does one get good at that?
What do you do to improve the culture on your team?

Here are some key points discussed in this episode about managing mega civil engineering projects:

TCEP 102: Why Civil Engineers Should Get Involved in Government Policy

October 24, 2018 By Anthony Fasano

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

In episode 102 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I speak with Jennifer Sloan Ziegler, a Project Engineer focusing on water resources, specifically watershed management and coastal restoration. We discuss government policy and its importance in civil engineering, and why all civil engineers should in some way get involved in policy.

Engineering Quotes:

Here are some of the questions I ask Jennifer

TCEP 095: Office Layout and How It Impacts Productivity and Culture

August 29, 2018 By Anthony Fasano

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

In episode 095 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I am bringing you with me to the offices of Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers (MRCE) to sit down with Senior Partner Peter Deming and myself. We will be talking about the importance of your physical office layout and how it impacts productivity and culture. This is a topic you might not consider as important until you hear Peter discuss it.

Here are some of the questions I ask Peter Deming:

How did you decide how to setup the people throughout your office?
Can you talk about the importance of the library and the locker room that you have at your offices?
What comes to mind when I say the word “culture”?
How did you get to the point where you wanted to drive change in your career?

Engineering Quotes:

Here are some key points discussed in this episode on the impact of office layout and culture:

TECC 182: Using Your Military Experience to Become a Project Management Leader

August 21, 2018 By Christian Knutson, PE, PgMP, PMP

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

In this episode, I talk with Eric Wright, Ph.D., PMP, CPD about the benefits of earning the project management professional certification (PMP) for military members transitioning out of the service looking to become a project management leader. Eric gives some great tips on planning, leading, organizing, control, actions impact, and also explains the importance of soft skills and creating future value not only for yourself, but for clients as well.

Engineering Quotes:

Here are some of the key points discussed in today’s episode on becoming a project management leader:

Strategies for Delivering a Presentation to a Hostile Audience

August 14, 2018 By Anthony Fasano

Strategies for Delivering a Presentation to a Hostile Audience is a guest post by Shoots Veis, P.E.

As engineers we often get the opportunity to work on great projects. We often transform the landscape through construction and make life safer and more efficient for the people using our infrastructure. However, not everyone is going to see it that way. Many of us have had to deliver a presentation to a hostile audience that does not think a certain project is the best idea. They come to the meeting with a preconceived notion of the project, not happy at the thought of what is proposed to be built.

If you are already a less than confident public speaker, speaking to this type of audience can be one of the hardest things to accomplish. They tend not to share your viewpoint, may have a dislike for technical answers, and may not value engineering expertise. Speaking to this type of crowd is never going to be easy, but there are a few things you can do to get ready.

TCEP 088: Growing a Civil Engineering Company from the Ground up with Stephen Morse

June 20, 2018 By Anthony Fasano

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

In episode 88 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I talk with Stephen Morse, PE, LEED AP from Grant Engineering about growing a civil engineering company from the ground up. Stephen talks about the process he went through in growing his company from starting out in his apartment to now having a growing office in New York City.

Here are some of the questions I ask Stephen:

What made you decide to start your own civil engineering company?
Tell us about your experience of hiring your first employee.
What types of projects are you currently working on, and what is your involvement in those projects?
How many employees does Grant Engineering have?
Can you explain what the organization: “Engineers Without Borders” is?
What would you say to a civil engineer that might consider starting their own civil engineering company?

Engineering Quotes:

Here are some key points discussed on growing a civil engineering company:

TECC 169: Strategies Engineers can Take to Immediately Improve their Technical Writing Skills

February 20, 2018 By Anthony Fasano

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

In this episode, I talk with David Kowal, founder, and president of Kowal Communications about improving one’s technical writing skills. David gives five very specific strategies that you can start using immediately to make you a more effective writer and overall communicator as a technical professional.

Engineering Quotes:

Here are the key points discussed on improving your technical writing skills:

We have more ways to communicate than ever before, yet technology has made communication impersonal and often ambiguous.
We need to focus more on how we communicate, and writing is a big part of that.
Most communication today is written. By improving your writing skills, you can improve how you communicate through emails, text messages, social media posts, blog posts, reports, memos, articles, white papers, letters, and presentations.
Improving your technical writing skills can help you manage projects more efficiently, generate more dynamic engineering reports, sell more effectively, be more productive, stand out and advance your career.

Here are five strategies you can use to improve your technical writing skills:

TCEP 074: How to Communicate Effectively on Civil Engineering Projects

January 3, 2018 By Anthony Fasano

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

How to Communicate Effectively on Civil Engineering Projects

In episode 074 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I talk with Steve Soldati, PE about how to communicate effectively on civil engineering projects.

Here are some of the questions I ask Steve about communicating effectively on civil engineering projects :

Why is communication important for engineering professionals?
What are some things you have done to improve your skills?
Are there any tools that you use or recommend to improve/streamline communications?
Can you give examples of positive/negative communication instances in your career?
Talk about team communication early in project development.
Tell us about conflict resolution within a team.

Engineering Quotes:

Here are some key points discussed in this episode:

TCEP 063: Challenging Aspects of Construction Engineering with Ralph Tulis

August 2, 2017 By Anthony Fasano

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

In episode 63 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I talk with Ralph Tulis, a licensed professional engineer about the challenging aspects of construction engineering.

Here are some of the questions I ask Ralph on Construction Engineering:

What can engineers do to get a better handle on the construction side of things?
What does delegated design responsibility mean?
Do engineers ever really retire (jokingly)?
What do means & methods mean?

Engineering Quotes

Here are some key points discussed in this episode:

Good Communication Skills- An Engineer’s Career Escalator

August 1, 2017 By Anthony Fasano

This is a guest post by Shoots Veis, P.E.

The boss and I were talking the other day about hiring a young engineer. The person we were considering checked a lot of the boxes we were looking for and they had a decent interview. There was no doubt they would meet all the requirements we had in the engineering skills job description. During the first 90% of the conversation, I would bet they were going to get the job. Then came this question:

“Do you think if they had to present in front of a city council I could trust them to go to the meeting without me?”

Unfortunately, the answer to that question was “No.”

That ended any chance the engineer had of getting that job.

I don’t know where they landed and I suspect they were able to get a job. However, it was evident throughout their interview that public speaking was never going to be their strong point. At least, not if they didn’t make an effort to improve their public speaking.

Most engineers need to be trusted to be able to stand up in front of an audience and communicate with that audience. Those engineers that do it well will catch the attention of clients, the public, and the boss because communication skills are highly valued in an engineer.

PSMJ Resources polled a number of public works departments about the engineers that work for them. They asked them to list the most important skills needed to do a good job. Here is the list they came up with: