The M Files

Bad news for stereotypical engineers: Personality matters as much as technical aptitude.

In a post titled Design-Build Discussion Generates Buzz, PC Construction Company concisely captured what those of us immersed in successful Design-Build practices already know (bold underlines added by me):

When asked the question “What one piece of advice can you give to improve our future success with Design-Build?” the panel agreed that selecting the people with the right personality traits is key. This was a bit surprising to some who have never been involved with a Design-Build project. They imagined success would relate directly to engineering, technical, or organizational skills. Mike Cecil of PC Construction added that those skills can be learned, whereas personality traits are inherent. Collaboration, communication, and trust are just as important to the success of a Design-Build project as are technical aptitude.

And so we have our predicament. Collaboration, communication, and trust aren’t traits we associate with the stereotypical Dilbert-esque engineer. Successful Design-Build scenarios require those with sharp analytical skills to step outside the comforts of their womb-like offices and to listen and engage.

My alma mater used to invite me to speak to sophomore engineering students about what it’s like in the real world. The students would invariably ask, “What are my most important classes?” or “What are you looking for when hiring engineers out of college?” Highly educated professors would spit out their coffee at my responses. I would tell students that getting into and graduating from the arduous engineering program was enough evidence of technical aptitude. I wanted folks who could read, write, and carry an intelligent conversation. That viewpoint didn’t exactly make me a candidate for a distinguished engineering alumni award.

Good Design-Build practices encourage open conversation among stakeholders throughout the project’s life cycle. Trust is an essential element for win-win outcomes and only develops out of relationships. Relationships only develop through honing the soft skills of communication.

In 1995, I was a young engineer charged with designing factory certification test stands for a major manufacturer’s largest water-cooled chillers. It was the project of a lifetime, requiring intimate knowledge of national testing standards and mechanical engineering principles. It also involved installing many thousands of feet of circuitous large-bore steel piping.

As required on competitively bid projects, it was my job to tell the bidding installers through specifications how they should hang, support, weld, and generally put together the pipes. I was faced with the same unspoken dilemma that all young college-educated engineers have: I didn’t know jack about installation methods for large-bore piping. My expertise was in fluids, thermodynamics, and heat transfer. Nothing in my personal experience could have possibly taught me anything about installing heavy pipe. Yet, our contracting method demanded that I specify how that ought to be done. So I pretended to understand the AIA Master Specification and did my job.

Luckily the project was awarded to a company with a strong field crew. Their superintendent was a seasoned veteran named Ken. Instead of following the normal rules of contractor-engineer engagement on competitively bid projects by firing off RFIs or issuing change orders, he would ask me to visit the site, where we would take the time to interact. Ken would show me how the piping layouts could be designed for the better, to reduce installation time, and save the customer some money. It was fun and very revealing.

Our respect for each other made the outcome a positive one for all stakeholders. Ken had knowledge that college-educated engineers didn’t, and we valued his specialized expertise. Correspondingly, I knew the technical rationale and physical laws governing the design, and sometimes Ken counted on me to offer those insights in return. It was freeing for both of us. Our mutual trust allowed us to completely focus on what we knew. And we felt equally free to admit what we didn’t know.

The job came together beautifully, ahead of schedule and under budget. And it was all because we discarded traditional contractual barriers in favor of valuing open communication. This is the desired norm of great Design-Build practice.