Guidelines for Improved Risk Management in Tunneling – Ep 062

In this episode, we talk to Elizabeth Dwyre, PE, D.GE, a Senior Technical Principal with WSP USA, who shares her recipe for success for building a successful project delivery team. Engineering Quotes: Here Are Some of the Questions We Ask Elizabeth: Can you explain what a project delivery team does? Why do you think it is important to work collaboratively with other disciplines? What are key skills that an early-career geotechnical engineer should acquire to be a strong technical team member on multidisciplinary projects? How important is technical expertise in geotechnical engineering to work effectively within the delivery environment? When hiring and selecting new project delivery team members, how do you ensure you choose the right candidate for the job? How does timely geotechnical involvement support overall project schedules? How important is culture when building an engineering team, and what are some of the things WSP has done to improve the culture within the organization? What final piece of advice would you like to give to geotechnical engineers out there? Here Are Some of the Key Points Discussed About Building a Successful Project Delivery Team: An engineering project delivery team follows the process of taking a project from setting the scope to closeout. In a design-bid-build project, a multidisciplinary design engineering team can include planners, environmental specialists, architects, and multiple engineering disciplines. In other types of project delivery, such as design-build projects, the contractor is also a fully engaged team member right from inception. As projects and project tools become more complex, you need a host of specialties that will each have a lot to contribute to the project's success. All the specialties must work together, understand each other, and communicate effectively to deliver the project on time, on budget, and to expectations. Project delivery team members must have a strong grounding in their discipline and have the knowledge to share to be effective members of the team. It starts with solid technical and academic preparation, like graduate studies in geotechnical engineering. It is essential to have field experience in sub-surface exploration and construction field experience. Although many engineers get a variety of solid skills through a bachelor’s degree with a geotechnical focus combined with many years of experience, as well as good guidance and development along the way, graduate study is essential if you aspire to be able to practice at a higher level in geotechnical consulting. Higher level academic preparation from graduate study gives you a broad base of technical knowledge which helps develop engineering judgment and helps foster your ability to appropriately assess and think about geotechnical problems. When selecting new project delivery team members, solid fundamental preparation is essential to ensure they will have a strong career path going forward in the organization. Having experience in certain things can only go so far, but understanding why things were done in certain ways shows that a person has the potential for continued technical growth and contribution throughout their career. You need a mixed variety of talents to balance your team's skill sets. Geotechnical engineers need to have a seat at the table early in the project process. In large projects, geotechnical engineers must collect data on the project site and discuss their findings with the project team to ensure everyone knows what ground conditions to expect going forward. It will help ensure that the major structure foundations are positioned correctly and where things like detention ponds should be placed. It is where geotechnical engineers can improve constructability, reduce risks,