Contractors and Engineers Part 2

Some of you may have read my previous article entitled “Contractors and Engineers” that explained some the difficulties that lay between the two professional groups. Pat Munday, who worked previously in the quality-control sector of a refining plant, also offered some perspective on the issue from the standpoint of an engineer. In this article, we’ll look a little further into the difficulties that are faced as engineering projects are implemented with the hope of shedding light on a common occupational problem. Hopefully this insight will help you in your career to better understand the ways in which communication between these two groups can help create more success in the projects you undertake during your professional life.

Often the biggest drive for a foreman or contractor to complete a job is production. Most of the people who are in the field, doing the dirty work, are paid on production. Although the work they complete must often be inspected for quality before they finish, the drive to finish the project quickly and cost-effectively may lead to cutting corners. Cutting corners for those who have been a part of a process for years may not seem to have any negative consequences; after all, it’s the laborers who are often the closest to the building or dirt work or manufacturing process, rather than those who spend their time in the office designing the processes. This familiarity creates a comfort level that can sometimes lead to an attitude of self-assured confidence that isn’t always reliable considering the finer points involved. For instance, consider the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City which had the walkway that collapsed in 1981, killing 114 people. The investigation revealed a change in the original plans that may have appeared quite minor but in fact, limited the walkway’s load capability to half of what it was designed to be. The investigation determined that the reason the project was allowed to pass inspection was due to a lack of communication between the builders and the engineering firm.
While engineers tend to focus more on quality and cost-effective design, contractors and foremen are more focused on production. This difference in motives can result in poor craftsmanship in some cases. The reasons for this can also be exacerbated by the worker’s disdain for engineers and the engineers disdain for those in the field. Many times, those workers responsible for completing a process haven’t been properly trained to understand the process and so they misunderstand the key aspects that may have a major impact on the finished product. When problems arise on this level, the solutions that are determined by blue collar workers may not consider the process as a whole, rather, they consider the aspects that are most important to them in getting their step of the job completed. If engineers are aware of this and are quality conscious and, at the same time, able to adjust for unexpected field conditions, the problems that come up between engineers and workers can be minimalized. It often comes down to effective communication between the two groups to asses when flexibility can be helpful and when it can be harmful.