At the engineering firm I founded, we've recently seen an increase in RFP's (Requests For Proposal) that include project management as a consultant selection criteria, in one form or another. Not just as a "nice to have" criteria, but as one of the scores that factor in the selection of the consultant. Now, more than ever, engineering consultants need to include … [Read more...]
Every year, CE News publishes the "Best Civil Engineering Firms to Work For." Since the award began in 2001, hundreds of outstanding civil engineering firms have received the award. Being on the list attracts good employees and good clients. Results are obtained from a survey of the employees by CE News. For 2013, the Best Civil Engineering Firms to Work For … [Read more...]
Recently I watched the latest documentary, called The Experts Speak Out, from the 911 Truth Movement. Truthers, as they are called, believe that there is evidence that the World Trade Center buildings were most likely brought down by controlled demolition rather than weakness from the airplane's impact. Apparently over 2,100 architects and engineers have signed a … [Read more...]
The thing that amazes me about project management in the engineering business is how little it gets used. We engineers are in control of the largest projects in the world, but most engineers have little more than a passing knowledge of project management processes. In this article, I will talk about the following items as they relate to engineering project … [Read more...]
Since I've become the manager of an engineering company, I've learned many things, but I will divide them into the following three categories. Business Management Client Management Project Management Business Management As a manager, you're responsible for making the business grow (or not grow!). This means you need to track work progress and make sure time is … [Read more...]
For engineering projects, document control is a big deal. Nobody has time to rework a design or report because a reviewer received the wrong copy, or document versioning wasn't kept up to date. At Roseke Engineering, besides using ProjectEngineer to manage our projects, we have a physical document control system in place. It resides in the project management binder … [Read more...]
The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, also called the Deming Cycle, is an important project management tool. How can this tool be used in a typical engineering project? Plan This step involves identifying and analyzing the problem. Planning is consistently underrated in most engineering projects. I've been involved with multi-billion dollar oil sands projects as well as … [Read more...]
For us engineers, quality is a big deal. Industry standard quality control dictates that most documents and designs require a "second stamp" i.e. a reviewer who takes as much responsibility as the designer. But what does a true project quality management plan look like? In this article, I will talk about project quality from the perspective of the project management … [Read more...]
According to the Project Management Institute, less than two thirds of projects meet their intended goals. The other one third are projects that end up with a drastically different scope than they began with, sometimes with different deliverables, or even get canceled outright. The project managers of these projects are not doing any favors for their careers. I … [Read more...]
Big companies and small companies each have their own pros and cons. In the end, it comes down to personal choice. Read through the following pros and cons and see where you fit. Small Company Pros: Better experience at multiple projects and more diversity in your experience. Small companies tend towards true empowerment because they don't normally have the … [Read more...]
