Site engineers are critical supervisory personnel on any construction project. Nearly any large-scale commercial or industrial project will have a site engineering team taking on a range of essential tasks, including management and oversight duties. However, site engineers are more than just managers, and they have many roles to play on any construction project.
If you're outsourcing your site engineering to a civil engineering consulting firm, keep these three potentially surprising roles in mind as you consider qualified contractors for the job.
1. Quality Control
Quality control (QC) often falls to site engineering teams on anything but the smallest construction projects. QC duties come in many phases, and they're essential at all stages of a project. Quality control typically begins with material delivery, where an engineer will inspect construction materials and equipment for defects or other issues that may impact the project's final outcome.
On-going quality control is also necessary as a project progresses towards its conclusion. Your engineer will monitor construction for defects that may result in client complaints, safety issues, or other problems. This role requires education, experience, and careful attention to detail to prevent the many potentially costly problems arising from defects during construction.
2. Environmental Research
Construction projects affect more than just their immediate stakeholders. Most projects need to comply with local and state regulations to minimize their environmental impact, but it's not always sufficient to simply follow code. Unforeseen environmental complications can have potentially severe consequences for other parties and may even lead to liability for site owners.
Site engineers conduct thorough environmental research for large projects, considering impacts that may affect regulatory compliance along with other, more subtle effects. This research can also uncover hidden risks and help your project remain durable and resilient in the face of a changing, more volatile climate.
3. Process Monitoring
Every construction project is unique, and that means the best approach isn't always the same. One of the duties of a site engineer is to monitor the construction process, continually looking for ways you can make your project safer, more efficient, and more cost-effective. Their conclusions can help you complete your project more quickly and cheaply while also offering lessons for future work.
Site engineers have a surprisingly large number of roles to fill, so choosing the right engineering firm is one of the best ways to ensure a successful outcome for your project. Working with a site engineering team that's well-trained, experienced, and responsible can help ensure your construction reaches the finish line on time and under budget.
Reach out to a site engineering services company for more information.
