The Construction Engineering Show
Bob Hildebranski, a licensed professional civil engineer with over 35 years of field experience, hosts this show focused on the heavy civil and site development industry. The podcast provides practical tools, strategies, and tactics for civil and construction engineers, technicians, and project managers. Topics cover real-world applications to improve everyday work in construction and engineering.
Episodes
Q&A - Changing Directions
What's up Crew? Cool to be back with y'all.In this episode, I answer a question that I received from a college student who is considering changing his educational trajectory into construction management.Connect with me anytime!!LinkedIn: Bob Hildebranski, PEWebsite: Hildebranski.comContact Page Link
A Discord for Construction Engineers: The Tailgate
Hello construction types! It's great to be back with you - Let's get 2026 rolling!This is somewhat of a scattered-topics episode as I had a few things on my mind to share with the crew:Engineering Management InstituteBook Recommendation - Construction Surveying and LayoutBeing good at the basics Article - The Tailgate - A Discord for Construction Engineers If you're interested in joini
Windshield Debrief - Consistency
With this episode, I'm rolling something out that's a bit different. Maybe you'll like it, maybe not.Like most of you, I do a lot of training, job and daily work activity preparation while holding onto a steering wheel. There is something about the austere environment that the front seat of a truck can provide. I try to use the time as best as I can. Occasionally, it'll be music in the background,
Fit for Duty
Welcome back Team! It's great to be with you again!In this episode, I revisit (somewhat...) some concepts from Episode 20 - Preparing for the Operation. but with several new twists & angles.Question: How prepared are you for the workday. In this episode:--I dissect my performance on a recent EMA callout--I discuss what it means to be Fit for Duty: What condition are we in? How is our perfo
Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone
When you hear the term"shelter in-place," what do you think about? My first inclination has me needing to remain where I'm at. Indoors. In a safe place. Away from an impending event.But, how appropriate would it be for me to consider that Ishelter in-place, say, when I'm in an uncomfortable position? Maybe I'm asked to push myself a little, to do something new, to go someplac
How We Communicate
"The secret of good writing is to strip every sentence to its cleanest components. Every word that serves no function, every long word that could be a short word...these are the thousand and one adulterants that weaken the strength of a sentence."
--"On Writing Well" by William Zinsser
As professionals, how we communicate is a reflection on us. It's a reflection on our skil
Tracking Open Job Issues (Version 2.0)
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, reside
Weekly Debrief - November 11, 2023
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 a
Who Is Going To Take My Place?
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 br
What's On Your Mind? How Can I Help?
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
The Learning Environment
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 learnin
Time Management vs. Task Management
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,
What is Your Percentage of Impact?
Hey Crew - It's great to be back with you for Episode 025.
I'm a big fan of the fire service: Fire service podcasts, fire service leadership. I've come to really value listening leaders in the fire service. I think there is a lot of carry-over between the fire service and the construction industry: Our jobs place us in, sometimes, risky situations that we are called to mitigate. There are leadersh
Goals Redefined
Hey Crew - It's great to be back with you.
For the past few weeks, I've spent a lot of free-time thinking about goals. I've been a goal setter since I got my first Franklin Planner in 1989. Back then, I learned the basics of goal setting that we all know & love: Determining values & what matters most, developing ways of creating task lists that would be the incremental steps that lea
What Makes a Good Construction Inspector?
Episode 023 - I'm excited to be back after a bit of a hiatus! I've spent the last couple of months immersed in teaching a course in Construction Surveying, but the spring term has been secured, the final grades have been posted, and I now have time to get back to the podcast.
This episode comes to us by way of a question from the Interwebs. Although I could list dozens of attributes, I discuss six
Your Career Arc
Episode 22 - It's nice to be back with you all!! The couple-of-month hiatus is past, just too much else going on...
A couple of weeks ago, those of us at our company received our annual "Self-Evaluation Form." That means it's time to reassess. I've always enjoyed stepping away from the total station and the laptop and getting the 10,000 foot view of where my life & career are heading. I've don
Taking Initiative
Episode 21 - How many times do we find ourselves on-site, or in the field office, where we see something that we think could be improved? It could be a process that our team uses, or a manner that we communicate, or it could be something that we noticed on-site during operations that, if tweaked, could improve a work element. As listener Patrick asked "When is it worth it to take initiative?"
In t
Preparing for the Operation
Episode 20 - How well are you preparing for the work day? Are you putting in the "mental reps" prior to heading out to the site to meet with your crews? Are you prepared to inspect the work, answer questions and troubleshoot problems?
Or are you rolling out to the site and simply reacting to what is going on, rather than engaging in the work.
On this episode of the Construction Enginee
Episode 19 - Making Adjustments
The construction industry is about as dynamic of an industry as there is. Think about it: Every project is different. Multitudes of issues, problems, paperwork, people & personalities, weather conditions, you name it. Nothing is ever the same. And as construction professionals, it's our job to navigate this ever-changing landscape that we call "A Project."
To be an effective construction prof
Episode 18 - Taking Responsibility
We've all know that there are times to lead, and times to follow. But in the same breath, there are times to take full responsibility, but there are times when, although you might want to, you can't.
In this episode of The Construction Engineering Show, I take a step into accepting responsibility. Being a leader requires taking ownership of everything that happens on your watch. Leading your
Episode 17 - Career Advancement in Construction (in My Humble Opinion….)
We are in a world where we are constantly being told that we need to advance our careers. We see and hear from lots of sources that may or may not be credible when it comes to the construction and engineering industries, giving us "tips and tricks" that will lead us to a corner office.
While the over-arching goal of striving towards a goal is extremely important, the rate at which our growth actua
Episode 16 - Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is one of those skills that, for myself, I probably take for granted. My mind works very practically. I like to work with my hands. I don't like asking for help. I like to fix things myself. I can look at a situation and pretty-much develop a course of action and a method of execution to get it resolved.
I like to solve problems myself.
But more and more, I'm seeing a trend. A di
Episode 15 - Basics for the Win
How many tools do you really need (figuratively speaking, of course) to be effective in your work? How complicated are your systems? Do you spend more time updating spreadsheets, typing up emails or trying to integrate Trello with Slack and Teams and Outlook? What would happen if you stripped your toolbox down to just what you need?
The Basics.
On this episode of the Construction Engineering Show,
Episode 14 - Constructability Review Basics
In this episode of The Construction Engineering Show, we discuss constructability reviews.
If you are a construction engineer, chances are, you'll be asked to review a set of plans and specifications for your design team, your agency or a client who is getting ready to issue a set of plans for bid. Constructability reviews are a great way for those of us who wear white hard hats and have mud-on-ou
Episode 13 - Develop Your Engineering Training Plan
Athletes train.
Service members train.
Police officers & firefighters train.
If you’re an engineer, ask yourself: How’s my training? Am I training regularly? Are the PDH’s I sign up for selected with a purpose? What am I training for?
As engineers and construction professionals, it is our responsibility to train. Our crews and the contractors & agencies we work with need us to be functio
Episode 12 - Looking for Problems
We all know people who look to cause problems, and we know people who look to solve problems. There is a dichotomy in the word "Problem:" To some, it becomes a chasm that forces progress to stop, while for others, it becomes a challenge requiring a solution.
For most engineers, problems are why we chose the line of work that we did - Engineering is a constant stream of problems that require soluti
Tailgate Talk 01 - Check Your Tools
Tailgate Talk is just that - You & I, on-site at our trucks before the shift starts, spending 5 to 10 minutes together discussing a topic to get our work day started right.
Today, I talk about tools: Do you have all of the tools you need to execute all of your on-site tasks today? When is the last time you went through your kit and did an inventory & resupply?
I mention this article that I
Episode 11 - Tailgate Talks
On this episode of the Construction Engineering Show, I discuss Tailgate Talks.
What is a Tailgate Talk? I think it is one of the best ways that I know of for starting the work shift off on the right foot. I discuss my first experience with participating in a Tailgate Talk and how much of an effect it had on the way that I think about job start-up.
I am looking forward to providing a "virtua
Episode 10 - Project Close-Out
On this episode of the Construction Engineering Show, I discuss project close-out. OK, so it's not the most glamorous topic that I could think of, but it is a crucial component of any construction project. The mantra "Your job needs to look as good on paper as it does in the field" goes a long way. If you are working for a government agency, then you already know the drill: There is a myriad of pa
Episode 9 - Embankment Construction Principles
On this episode of the Construction Engineering Show, I discuss the 2, no wait, 3 performance criteria required for building quality embankments. This episode is a 100-level class review of density & moisture, but we dive into stability, which I believe, is the most-important performance criteria of the three. I close the show riffing about the need for construction engineers to get into the d
Episode 8 - "Need to Knows" for Young Construction Engineers
On this episode of the Construction Engineering Show, I discuss a few "Need to Knows" for young engineers who are considering getting into construction. The construction industry is exciting, fast-paced and tests all of your knowledge & skills everyday, and you need to have the right mindset if you want to be a valuable component of a construction team. Whether you are a college student who is
Episode 7 - Design Review Basics
In this episode of the Construction Engineering Show, I discuss design document reviews. I have spent the better part of the last year as a design document reviewer. Performing a good plan review requires you to have a general system in-place so that you can be as thorough as possible in a limited amount of time to cover as much ground as possible. I've spent the better portion of this past year a
Episode 6 - Developing a Safety Mindset
This episode of the Construction Engineering Show focuses on ideas for developing a safety mindset. "Working Safe" requires us to be actively looking and thinking about our surroundings, the operations we are involved with and how we can keep both ourselves and the folks we are working with out of harm's way. In this episode, I discuss a couple of strategies that I'm implementing in my daily routi
Episode 5 - Tracking Job Progress
In this episode of the Construction Engineering Show, I spend some time discussing job progress and how construction engineers track it. You need to have simple tools to use on a daily basis that will allow you to, months later, assemble the pace & trajectory of your job in order to present, approve or refute a claim for time.
At several points in the show, I mention an article that I wrote se
Episode 4 - Traffic Incident Management
In this episode of the Construction Engineering Show, I spend some time debriefing my recent training session on Traffic Incident Management (TIM). I spend some time discussing the hazardous environment that we, as construction professionals, find ourselves working in on a daily basis. We discuss ideas about incident notification, wearing the proper PPE (ie "Looking like a Super Hero...) and talk
Episode 3 - Are You Training Enough?
In this episode of the Construction Engineering Show, I spend some time discussing training and the need for civil engineers and construction personnel to always be thinking about training. Making the excuse that there aren't enough hours in the day to train is no excuse - There is no reason to NOT be training in some form or fashion everyday. I expand on this subject in my article Engineers NEED
Episode 2 - My Elevator Speech
In this episode of the Construction Engineering Show, I spend some time introducing myself, discussing my background in industry and as a college instructor. Although this episode could certainly be construed as a "Brag-A-Thon," just pretend we are sitting at a bar and you asked me "So, what do you do for a living?" I take the opportunity to talk about my work experience and discuss my plans
Episode 1 - Welcome
This is the introductory episode to the Construction Engineering Show. I'm your host, Bob Hildebranski, a registered professional engineer with 30+ years of industry experience. This is my opener into the world of podasting: If you've come looking for a polished podcast....well, be patient, this is my On-The-Job training into what it takes to publish a podcast.
In future episodes, we'll dive into
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