President's Blog

Good Advice on 'Stuff You Don't Learn in Engineering School'

2008-10-27T10:30:00-04:00

I recently read a book by Carl Selinger called "Stuff You Don’t Learn in Engineering School: Skills for Success in the Real World." Selinger, an American Society of Civil Engineers member, wrote the book in 2004. In his preface he indicates that he has written the book to "give young engineers a practical down-to-earth guide to the real world they are in, a very different place than the strenuous boot camp engineering school."

Selinger organizes the book well, identifying at the onset some critical skills that engineers need, primarily writing, speaking and listening. He provides some good basic down-to-earth examples of how to be a better writer. These include using clear, simple language, minimizing the use of acronyms, reading more, having peers review your writing, and a device that I sometimes use, just pretend you are talking to someone and write that. Selinger drives home the point by quoting an engineering manager from DMJM Harris: "Writing and public speaking are the two most important soft skills that engineers need to succeed in the field today."

Selinger's other chapters focus on decision making, feedback, priority setting, running effective meetings, teamwork, negotiations, creativity, developing leadership skills, dealing with stress, and one that I find to be very important, ethics in the workplace. He includes as an appendix a survey of various managers on non-technical skills, various concerns with the real world and other issues. The book also includes a list of professional engineering societies, emphasizing the importance of such associations in career development and providing solid reasons for membership.

"Stuff You Don't Learn in Engineering School" is a fairly quick read, one that I recommend to all engineers, both young and old. You can read some excerpts here at the publisher's Web site.

'Don't Throw This Away!' Is a Good Read Worth Saving

2008-09-02T10:30:00-04:00

Recently, I read an Engineering News Record blog entry about a book we've published at ASCE, "Don't Throw This Away! The Civil Engineering Life," by Brian Brenner, P.E. A professor at Tufts University, Brenner teaches structural engineering as well as bridge history and aesthetics. Having spent much of his career with the Parsons Brinckerhoff firm, he received the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Presidents Award in 2000 and ASCE's Thomas R. Torrens Award in 2005. During his tenure at Parsons Brinckerhoff, he wrote a number of short essays for their technical magazine, PB Network. "Don't Throw This Away" is a collection of many of those short essays plus some others.

I was extremely impressed by the diversity of Brenner's writing. He delves into a number of his civil engineering experiences in ways that are funny as well as thought provoking. Other essays touch on his personal life, one of which was about being called "babysitter-in-law." He recounts that while attending the wedding of a now-adult child for whom his wife used to baby-sit, his wife of course was remembered by the new spouse, family and friends, but everyone else referred to him as the "babysitter-in-law."

I particularly enjoyed four short essays that inspired the book’s title, "Don’t Throw This Away." We are all pack rats, some of us moreso than others. I remember early in my career visiting the office of Baltimore’s department head for water and sewer. His desk was a series of feet plus high stacks of papers. The stacks covered every square inch of his desk except for a 10-inch opening right in front center of his desk. If you wanted to see his face, you had to sit squarely in front of the center of his desk. Anything to the side, your view was blocked. What was utterly amazing was if you asked him a question about something, he could reach into one of those dozens of stacks and pull out the precise piece of paper that you needed to proceed with the project.

Brenner also shares that uncanny ability to relate the simple aspects of modern life to civil engineering. His stories of hamsters gone wild and how that relates to civil engineers currently "grappling with the difficult set of questions related to sustainability" is fascinating. I would urge everyone to get this book. It is a quick read, and is just the right book for an airplane trip or a relaxing vacation day. As I mentioned, it is available through ASCE Press; click here if you're interested.

Texas: Home to Great ASCE Presidents, Past and Future

2008-08-18T10:30:00-04:00

I recently read the Summer 2008 edition of Texas Civil Engineer, a quarterly magazine published by the Texas Society of Civil Engineers. It included an article by Melinda Luna entitled, "The Texas Five: Five ASCE Presidents from the Texas Section." We know that Wayne Klotz, our current president-elect, will be installed in early November as president of ASCE. Many of you have heard Wayne’s vision regarding his "ABCs of Civil Engineering," which translate to advocate, benefit and change. But were you aware that Wayne is the fifth in a line of ASCE national presidents from the Lone Star State?

The first was Mason G. Lockwood, who served in 1956. One of his goals was to have the Society establish policies to financially help younger members join ASCE as well as student membership at the national level. While an electrical engineering graduate of Rice, he established his own firm, Lockwood, Andrews & Newman, which after more than 50 years is still going strong within the Leo A. Daly Company. Following in his footsteps was one of his partners, Frank H. Newman, who served as Society president in 1969. Before teaming with Lockwood, Newman worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Texas Highway Department.

The third Texan, and member of the Texas Section, was Jim Sims, who served in 1982. Another Rice graduate, he worked as a consultant to Humble Oil Company and spent the majority of his career at Rice in various positions, including professor and vice president of campus business affairs. As ASCE president, Sims focused on organization, administration and operation of technical activities.

The fourth to serve was John Focht Jr. in 1990. Many of us know John, who is still active within ASCE. He was a graduate of both the University of Texas and Harvard, and worked with McClelland Engineers. He also worked at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg, Miss. At the national level, he focused on educating the public on how their quality of life was improved by civil engineers.

All of these gentlemen, besides being from the Texas Section, have in common a deep and devout devotion and dedication to service in the civil engineering profession. In their own ways, they all contributed to the advancement of the profession and ASCE. It is also interesting to note that two individuals from the same Texas engineering firm became president, Lockwood in '56 and Newman 13 years later. This is a unique occurrence and shows the dedication that the firm’s founders had to the profession.

I salute the Texas Section for sending forth these five eminent individuals. I also wonder if any other Section can lay claim to having five or more ASCE presidents. Let me know in the comments section below.

Book Offers a Blueprint for Career Success

2008-06-02T10:30:00-04:00

I recently had the pleasure of reading a new book, Career Success in Engineering -- A Guide for Students and New Professionals, co-written by the current president of the National Society of Professional Engineers, Bernard R. Berson, and Douglas D. Benner. The book is filled with numerous beneficial suggestions on how to advance your career, from the fundamentals to specific engineering-career guidance. Some of the suggestions for getting off on the right foot at a new job include, "be early to work," "focus on the quality of your work," "make a concerted effort to understand how your work impacts the overall product or project," "learn to be business oriented" and "be open to ideas for everywhere." The book goes on to discuss company organizational structures and how different organizations function. Another good section outlines the advantages of a masters degree in engineering as well as the merits of holding an MBA degree.

I especially liked the discussion of project teams. The book's sound advice is to learn early how to be a team player and understand the role of each member of the team. The book presents the various pros and cons of engineers in industry, private practice, construction, government and education. It also provides excellent tips on how to do a resume and interviewing skills.

One of the book's major sections is on career planning and setting your own goals and personal vision. I know that when our immediate Past President Bill Marcuson speaks to students, he always emphasizes the theme of establishing a plan or goal for your career. The book is an easy read and I would recommend it to not only students, but also those just entering into the engineering profession.

Add the Knowledge of an Institute to Your Section or Branch

2008-05-05T10:30:00-04:00

As you know, ASCE's mission is to provide essential value to our members, their careers, our partners and the public. The first two elements of the mission are facilitating the advancement of technology and encouraging/providing the tools for lifelong learning. ASCE is considered the world's premier association focusing on engineering knowledge, with much of this activity coming through our technical activities committees and Institutes. Our Sections and Branches are also a great source of technical knowledge and interchange. Many Sections have had multiple technical groups that provide valuable opportunities for technical learning and discourse.

The creation of Institute chapters within Sections and Branches is strongly encouraged. It is very easy to convert an existing section or branch technical group into an Institute chapter. These chapters in no way are competing with the local Section or Branch but are adding value for the local members, just as the technical groups have done. By being linked with the larger organization of an institute, they can provide greater resources and opportunities that the technical groups cannot.

There are four simple steps that constitute a recommended procedure for creating a viable and effective institute chapter. ASCE's Geographic Services can provide more information on the exact steps and process. Please contact Nancy Berson at nberson@asce.org for more details.

How effectively have Institute chapters been working with your local Section? What stories, good and bad, do you have?

Developing a Quality Work Culture

2007-11-27T12:29:23-05:00

For a number of years, I have attended a convocation held by the insurance company that provides my firm's professional liability insurance. This convocation focuses on loss prevention in the architectural and engineering liability area. The firm analyzes the claims against their insured and conducts numerous surveys.

The company has identified a number of factors that drive risk in an organization. These include project management, client selection/management, contracts, lack of qualified staff, sub-consultants, compressed schedules, contractors, slow reaction time to solving problems, scope creep and project type. While much of this is focused obviously on the consulting industry, I believe it does have application to government, industry and contractors. While the end result in these organization's activities might not be litigation, it could be an unsuccessful project or dissatisfied users and clients.

The insurance company particularly focuses on the role of the project manager relative to managing risks. This individual is in the front line, but not always trained to be a risk manager. The project manager is sometimes not well versed on contract languages. He or she manages the relationship with the client usually very well but doesn't always see obvious signs of client dissatisfaction. The manager is just too close to the trees to see the forest. Unfortunately, many project managers are not involved in contract negotiations and pre-qualifying go/no-go decisions.

The focus of the convocation is education and discussion around these risk drivers as well as overall quality in the design and constructed project. The company firmly believes that leadership is critical to instituting and managing quality. Understanding the mistakes that firms make is critical to quality improvement. Having a vision for the firm also is a positive driver in quality management and a firm must be dedicated and attack the challenges to creating and maintaining a high level of firmwide commitment to an effective quality program.

ASCE has a number of continuing education programs and webinars that focus on project management training, quality assurance and leadership development. My firm has utilized a number of these educational opportunities, particularly the webinars. What is your firm doing to create a quality culture?