Post by @luislockedin

These are 7 skills every Project Engineer should know… 🏗️👇 Being a Project Engineer is an important career in commercial construction management, and there’s A LOT more skills to the job than just having a construction management or engineering degree. These are 7 skills I’d focus on if I was starting over as a PE: 1. Reading Construction Drawings 📐 This is probably the most important skill you can develop as a PE. You should be able to navigate a full set of drawings, understand floor plans, details, sections, elevations and schedules — but more importantly, understand how different trades interact with each other. The better you get at reading drawings, the faster you’ll be able to catch conflicts, answer questions from the field and understand what’s actually being built. 2. Software Skills 💻 Learn the software that commercial contractors actually use. Procore for project management, RFIs, submittals and documentation. Bluebeam for reviewing and marking up drawings, overlays, measurements and document management. Primavera P6 for understanding and managing project schedules. You don’t have to be an expert on Day 1, but knowing your way around these programs can put you WAY ahead of other candidates. 3. Managing RFIs & Submittals 📋 RFIs and submittals are a huge part of being a PE. Learn how to identify issues, research the drawings and specs, communicate with the field, write clear RFIs, track responses and make sure information gets back to the people actually building the work. Same thing with submittals — you need to understand what needs approval, when it needs approval and how it impacts procurement and the schedule. Build trackers that show ball in court, priority level, required dates, and comments. 4. Communication 🗣️ You’re constantly communicating with PMs, superintendents, architects, engineers, owners, subcontractors and vendors. Learn how to write professional emails, lead conversations, ask the right questions and communicate problems clearly. You don’t need to know everything — but you need to know how to get the right people talking to each other. Whenever you feel nervous to speak up in a room full of professionals, remember that you’re in the room too. 5. Scheduling & Planning 📅 Construction is all about sequencing. You should understand what work needs to happen first, what comes next and what could hold up the trades behind it. This is called construction logic. Learn durations, predecessors, milestones, look-ahead schedules and how your responsibilities affect the overall project schedule. 6. Documentation 📸 DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. Take pre-construction photos, progress photos. Track conversations. Save important emails. Document existing conditions. Keep meeting notes. Follow up verbal conversations in writing. Build your job folder. Construction moves fast, and three weeks later people might remember the same conversation very differently. Good documentation protects both you and the project. 7. Problem Solving 🧠 Construction NEVER goes exactly according to plan. Drawings conflict. Materials show up late. Existing conditions are different than expected. Subs make mistakes. Inspections fail. The good news is, no matter how big a problem may seem in construction, there’s always a solution. A good PE learns how to identify problems early, gather the right information and help the team find a solution before it becomes a bigger cost or schedule issue. You don’t have to know everything to be a good Project Engineer. But you should know how to read the drawings, use the software, manage information, communicate and FIND THE ANSWER. Master those skills and you’ll become valuable on any commercial construction project… #construction #constructionmanagement #projectengineer #engineering #bloomcreator @Bloom Nutrition