Civil engineer in construction – an overview

A civil engineer is trained to work with the design, construction, and even the maintenance of different types of buildings, roads, bridges, pipelines, railroads, and more.  However, many civil engineers specialize in one area over all the others, and it is becoming more common for many of them to focus on the construction industry.
A civil engineer in construction industry will normally create and review contracts, monitor prices of supplies, and evaluate any and all of the logistic operations that take place for every job.  Some civil engineers will do more work as a consultant, while others will work as a contractor.  The consultants stay in the office more as they monitor the design work of projects, while the contractors take those designs and implement them throughout the construction process.

Civil engineer in construction – skills

There are many skills that civil engineers need within the construction industry including the following:

• Excellent skills in leadership, negotiating, and supervising
• The knowledge to problem solve for any issue that arises
• Think methodically during the management of projects
• Can meet numerous deadlines while staying within the allotted budget
• Knows the minute details of every project that they are working on, while also dealing with the details of any technicalities
• Excellent communication skills, whether verbal or written
• Knowledge of skills within mathematics, IT, and scientific fields

While many of these skills can be acquired without any schooling, as people can find a mentor to teach them what they need to know as they work as an apprentice, successful civil engineers in the construction field will find that a college degree will allow them to get further.
Anyone that chooses to attend a college for civil engineering within the construction field will want to find one that is accredited by the Institution of Civil Engineers or ICE.  After a person acquires their degree, they will need to decide on one of two professionally recognized qualifications.  Some students will only go to school long enough to qualify for an incorporated engineer status, but those who choose to continue their education will find that their chartered engineer status will allow them to excel in the field easier.

Why hire construction civil engineer?

There are many reasons why construction firms are hiring civil engineers, but there are three benefits that cannot be overlooked.

1. Additional Oversight

There is never anything wrong with adding more oversight to a construction project, as that oversight can ensure that everything is done properly and on time.  A civil engineer can monitor all the construction operations as well as troubleshoot any problems that occur at any time during the project.  This can save a construction company a lot of money, as they will not need to redo work that was done incorrectly, and they will save time as well.

2. Compliance

The amount of local, state, and federal codes can be overwhelming, yet a civil engineer has had the training necessary to either know them all or know where to find them.  Civil engineers will ensure that a project is continuously in compliance with all the codes and other regulations, while also implementing safety procedures at the same time.  This will ensure that work will only need to be done once, and safer work sites means less downtime and higher profits.

3. Construction Management

A construction manager oversees every major and minor phase of a construction project, and recently, companies have decided that civil engineers are the best people for this job.  They can work closely with the project managers, investors, and anyone else involved in the project to ensure that everything goes according to the specifications that were laid out in the proposal.  In this position, the civil engineers will determine how to meet each required benchmark, how to stay within the budget, and where to construct structures that will be needed during the entire project.

Find here: Construction blueprints – what you need to know

Of course, there are many different scenarios during construction projects where a civil engineer will come in handy.  First off, with their extensive knowledge, they can help choose the best property site for any type of building.  They will be able to do the necessary research for the property lines, whether there are any flooding issues and how to potentially fix them, determine if there are any other topographical issues that need to be resolved before the construction process can begin.

Not every property that a construction company wants to use is going to be easily accessible, which means that unless they find a way to get their equipment and materials to it, they will not be able to use it as a site.  Well, a civil engineer can normally find a way to make the property accessible, even if it means constructing a temporary bridge over water, so that everyone can reach the job site every day.

Every construction company may want to consider having a civil engineer on their payroll, because the savings that they see, within increased profits and time saved, will well outweigh the cost of the additional employee.