Engineering Management Institute

UPCOMING TRAINING

Program Management

Who Knows What You Know? – Your Voice Matters!

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Your Voice Matters is a guest blog by Mike Burns

Voice MattersLast month we discussed Continuous Learning, growing together as teachers and students, deepening our commitment to sustained personal and professional growth. As our COVID-19 response continues to mature, the AEC industry is rapidly advancing new ways of communicating, learning, and delivering projects. As we Zoom from meeting to meeting (cheesy pun intended), it is easy to feel connected without truly connecting. Yet this moment — this critical period of recovery — necessitates sustained empathetic listening in order to empower a diverse and inclusive chorus of critical voices. Infrastructure improvements will be a vital component of our pending economic recovery. We must concurrently fast track “shovel-ready” projects and restructure our capital improvement plans, setting the stage for a wave of critical infrastructure projects. Your voice matters, and is particularly critical today as we make difficult choices, pivoting to and accelerating new solutions. I hope that this embarrassing, yet rewarding story from my career inspires you to assert yourself in this moment for your community and our world.

Voice Matters

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TECC 225: How Project Management Skills Contribute to Your Overall Success as an Engineering Leader

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Project Management SkillsIn this episode, I talk to Christian Knutson, CEng, P.E., PgMP, F. SAME, who has co-hosted this podcast in the past and now serves as the Europe Program Manager for Stanley Consultants. He is responsible for managing and coordinating Stanley Consultants’ activities in the U.K. and Europe as well as providing program/project management delivery and master planning solutions for clients in the U.K. and Europe. In this episode, which is part of a series we are publishing focused around the four key drivers of engineering managers, we talk about the third key driver: the ability to manage projects. Chris talks about the fundamentals of project management and how project management skills can help you to become a great engineering manager.

Engineering Quotes:

Project Management Skills

Project Management Skills

Here Are Some of the Key Points Discussed About Project Management Skills:

[Read more…] about TECC 225: How Project Management Skills Contribute to Your Overall Success as an Engineering Leader

TCEP 127: Digital Twins for Digital Cities

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Digital Twins for Digital Cities

Bob Mankowski, P.E., Vice President of the Bentley’s Digital Cities Business unit with a 3D representation of the The City of Helsinki. The City of Helsinki used Bentley’s reality capture technology for geo-coordination, optioneering, modeling, and visualization throughout the Helsinki 3D+ project.

In episode 127 of The Civil Engineering Podcast, I will be taking you on a road trip to Connecticut, to the offices of Bentley Systems, to visit with Robert (Bob) Mankowski, P.E. who is a civil engineer and also the Vice President of Bentley’s Digital Cities Business Unit. Bob will discuss the power of digital twins for digital cities and emphasizes the importance of having technological advancement as a tool in the preparation and mitigation of city-wide projects.  This episode is also available on YouTube.

Engineering Quotes:

Digital Twins for Digital Cities

Digital Twins for Digital Cities

Here Are Some of the Questions I Ask Bob:

  • Tell our listeners about your background and career journey and how you got to where you are today.
  • What is your role with Bentley Systems?
  • Are there cities that are already using the digital twin process?
  • What excites you about the future of civil engineering?
  • What worries you about the future of civil engineering?

Here Are Some Key Points Discussed in This Episode About Digital Cities for Digital Twins:

  • Obtaining field experience early in your career makes a big difference in terms of understanding how your work as an engineer will impact other people around you.
  • A digital twin is a digital replica of a physical product, process or system that bridges together the physical world and the digital world. It does not only involve the geometric or physical replica in a digital world. It also includes engineering technology which allows you to understand and model the behavior and performance of the infrastructure as well.
  • A digital twin is built up from a variety of different sources containing different data. You will then typical connect it to an IOT which provides the real-time and historical performance of the system into the digital replica.
  • One of the ways in which you would start creating a digital city and a digital twin of a city is through a process called reality modeling. The idea is that your vertical replica reflects the actual reality. An example of doing this would be by transforming photos into 3D models. The 3D model would then become the integration point for other data. Having this 3D model is a way of indexing all of this information and accessing it in a very intuitive and immersive environment.
  • The demand for civil engineers is growing dramatically and it is uncertain whether the enrollment rate and graduation of civil engineers are going to be able to keep up with that demand.
  • There are so many things that civil engineers can have an impact on in this world, so we need to make sure that we have enough skilled and professional civil engineers out there.

More details in this episode…

About Robert (Bob) Mankowski, P.E.

Digital Twins for Digital CitiesBob joined Bentley Systems in the company’s 2004 acquisition of Haestad Methods, where he served as chief technology officer. He is a co-inventor of seven patented technologies. Prior to serving as the Digital Cities business executive, Bob was the leader of the product teams that created AssetWise capabilities for water, wastewater, geospatial, and communications infrastructure. Bob has a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Drexel University and is a licensed professional engineer.

Sources/References:

Bob Mankowski’s LinkedIn|
Bentley Systems
TSEC 07: Drones and Structural Engineering Inspections – A Marriage in the Making
EMI’s YouTube Channel

Here Are Some of the Digital Twins for Digital Cities Projects Bentley Has Worked On:

Helsinki, Finland Project
Oporto, Portugal Project

This episode is brought to you by Maser Consulting P.A., a privately owned, multi-discipline, consulting and engineering design firm with a unique balance of public and private sector experience. Established in 1984 by Richard M. Maser, PE, PP, CME, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, the firm has an expert staff of licensed engineers, planners, surveyors, landscape architects, and environmental scientists with offices strategically located nationwide. Click here to learn more about Maser Consulting P.A. today.

If you are interested in taking our FREE CMAP Diagnostic Case Study, please email Betty at >> betty@engineeringmanagementinstitute.org

Books Mentioned in this Episode:

Dynamics of Software Development 

Objectives and Key Results: Driving Focus, Alignment, and Engagement with OKRs

Please leave your comments or questions in the section below on Digital Cities for Digital Twins.

  • If you enjoyed this post, please consider downloading our free list of 33 Productivity Routines of Top Engineering Executives. Click the button below to download.

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To your success,

Anthony Fasano, PE, LEED AP
Engineering Management Institute
Author of Engineer Your Own Success

Developing Program Management Competencies to Excel in Your Engineering Career

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Program Management

Over my career I’ve amassed knowledge and skills, and the experience, to manage large programs. This took years. I didn’t step into my first infrastructure program management role until my 12th year as a practicing engineer, managing a housing program in the Air Force.  A few years later that program became a nearly $1 billion infrastructure program covering Europe and into Afghanistan.

Did I have any formal training to set me up for these roles?  No.

Most of us will step into project management – or even program or portfolio management – positions with little to no formal training. Since most people selected to manage projects, programs, or portfolios have exhibited the basic skills to do so effectively, the lack of legitimate training isn’t seen as show-stopper in companies.

However, in surveys of both public and private sector organizations conducted by the Project Management Institute (PMI) and other project management focused entities, some startling statistics highlight the importance of some amount of formal study: [Read more…] about Developing Program Management Competencies to Excel in Your Engineering Career

Your Life Is A Program, So Manage It Like One

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BalanceAfter a decade-plus of leading and managing programs, there’s one thing I don’t recall ever saying – or hearing someone else say: “gee, I need to find balance in my projects.”  I didn’t philosophically, or physically, sit down to figure out how to balance my time, my focus, and my energy between the various projects I was running.

Why?  Because that’s not how someone manages a program.  You collect key information components about the program’s elements, such as cost, schedule, and scope, and then you execute.  That might mean a lot of work in some periods of the year, a little less at other times.  You delegate less important tasks to others and look for efficiencies to optimize schedule and keep on budget.

If ever I did fret about balance between projects in my portfolio, it was because of one of them going off schedule or budget.  Or maybe because of the contractor executing the project or some other stakeholder that was creating friction.

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