The Construction Engineering Show Bob Hildebranski, PE

Hello Team! It's great to be back with you after a bit of a hiatus.

For the past several months, I've been working on a municipal improvement project. The project is located in a residential subdivision in a southwestern Chicago suburb and has required me to keep dozens of plates spinning simultaneously: On-site troubleshooting, design changes, coordination with the municipalities, residents, local police/fire/schools and of course, working hour-by-hour with the contractor and his activities. It has been one of the most difficult management projects I've been involved with, simply from the standpoint of the seemingly dozens of inputs & outputs that require me to have my finger on the pulse of all of them.

I've been managing projects for decades and have developed, over the years, numerous different ways and system for tracking open issues. I've used Expedition. I've used task apps. I've used Excel, in spreadsheet & pivot table form. I've tried Outlook task flags & To-Do's, and I've tried to incorporate Trello with it. And I know there are dozens of software & applications that are similarly built for managing issues and streamlining processes. But for me, through all the trial & error, the one fail-safe that never lets me down is the simple use of pencil & paper.

For this project, I've built a one-page, hand-written, 4-category tracking sheet that has been perfect for me. It's allowed me to review it when I start my day, refer periodically throughout the shift, and update it quickly when issues are added, updated or closed. I'm going to stick with this system as it is simple, easy & maintainable.

The 4 categories of issues I'm tracking are:

1. General List of Open Issues

2. Notifications

3. Tracking Today

4. Inspections

I've uploaded a sample here and have posted a similar link to the template at Hildebranski.com. Feel free to check it out. Use it. Change it. Let me know what of it works for you, and/or what you've tweaked to customize it for yourself.

Connect with me anytime!!

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bob Hildebranski, PE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hildebranski.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Page Link




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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bob-hildebranski/message

As I was debriefing this past week (and really, much of this past month...), it occurred to me that I ought to consider sharing my personal "Lessons Learned" with the crew, thinking & hoping that maybe there are a few useful takeaways for all of us.



Topics in this Debrief include:

-Starting at a new company

-Filling-in for someone on another project

-Being curious & willing to ask questions

-The importance of relationships in the construction industry



Connect with me anytime!!

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bob Hildebranski, PE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hildebranski.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Contact Page Link




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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bob-hildebranski/message

I had an opportunity to interact with a group of high school students and had a great time. The Illinois Tollway (who our company is working for) hosted the students to introduce them to all of the different kinds of careers that are possible. It was a great time, the students & their instructors were great. The group got a chance to visit one of the active construction sites to see what a bridge under construction looks like.

We broke the students into two groups and I got to talk to them about surveying. I brought out several of our instruments and showed them a level, a robotic total station and our GPS unit. It was fun for me, breaking down, what could be a very complex topic, into basic concepts that teenagers could understand. I had a blast.

Afterwards, a few of us were debriefing the event, and it struck me hard: This is the next generation of construction professionals. High school students, just like the ones we met today, will be taking my place. So I asked myself:

What am I, and what are we doing to introduce them to what it is we do?

And moreover, how are we letting them know that what we do is really cool?

The takeaway from my discussion is an easy one: It's up to us. We are the senior members of the industry who need to carve the paths for the next generation of construction professionals to travel. The generation before us paved the way for you and I, we need to do that for them.

Connect with me anytime!!

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠Bob Hildebranski, PE⁠⁠

Website: ⁠⁠Hildebranski.com⁠

⁠⁠⁠Contact Page Link


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bob-hildebranski/message

I am putting this out there: How can I be of service to you? What questions do you have? What issues are you working through in the jobsite that a seasoned member of the industry could help you with?

I haven't been doing enough. I've been letting you down. We have a small but growing community of sitework professionals who come here to get a dose of positive impact. And I've been lax in pushing you & I forward. I've dropped the ball. I haven't been getting the messages out. I haven't added any tools to your toolbox. Not good.

This is a call to action-Send me a DM on Linked in. Leave a comment here. Hit me up at my website. Leave a message in the Spotify Q&A attached to this episode. Let me know what I, and our growing community can do to increase your percentage of impact. Let's Go!!

Connect with me anytime!!

LinkedIn: ⁠⁠Bob Hildebranski, PE⁠⁠

Website: ⁠⁠Hildebranski.com⁠

⁠⁠⁠Contact Page Link




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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bob-hildebranski/message

Hello Construction Engineers! It's great to be back with you for Episode #27.



Being a college instructor, learning is a front-and-center part of my life. As much as I hope the students are learning under my tutelage, I am learning as well: Learning how to speak. Learning how to break concepts down. Learning how to present materials in a digestible format. Suffice to say, we are always learning.



In this episode, I talk about how we, as people involved in construction, need to be cognizant of our need to constantly be learning. Are we creating a job office atmosphere where we are using the people and resources around us every working day to better ourselves & each other? How can we promote a learning environment in our field office? I'll give you a couple of stories & some ideas to get you thinking.



Book Recommendation: Resilience (Eric Greitens)



Connect with me anytime!!

LinkedIn: ⁠Bob Hildebranski, PE⁠

Website: ⁠Hildebranski.com⁠

⁠Contact Page Link




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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bob-hildebranski/message

Hey Crew - It's so good to check back in with you here on Episode 026. 

With so many task management systems now in existence, there's an opportunity to turn your To Do list into a job unto itself. Managing your tasks should be a simple exercise: Prioritize and execute, that's the goal. 

But it's now easy to become lost in app's, bogged down in trying to get this app to talk to Outlook, which then needs an add-in to talk back to your task management, which then needs to be updated so it can coordinate with your calendar. In my world, all of that linking of applications does nothing but cause friction. 

In this episode, I discuss my task management system - Tried & true pencil & paper. I've spoken about my Franklin Planner and what a anchor it is in what I do day-to-day to keep myself organized. I challenge the listener to take a step back off the line this week and assess how your task management systems are working for you. 

Some notable links from the episode: 

Tiago Forte - Building a Second Brain 

Focused Podcast 

Connect with me anytime!!

LinkedIn: Bob Hildebranski, PE

Website: Hildebranski.com

Contact Page Link


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Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/bob-hildebranski/message