I hear this a lot, and I’m going to disagree with it, so I don’t want you to be mad at me. I’m entitled to my own opinion, not my own facts. Companies say, field engineering would be nice, our company believes in training, we want a training program for entry-level people, but we don’t self-perform, so we don’t need field engineers. We’re kind of stuck. I 100% disagree.
Short answer: Self-perform work is irrelevant to whether you should have field engineers. You don’t have field engineers to lay out concrete. You have them to build people, not buildings, and to train your future superintendents. The fundamentals apply just as much when you manage trade partners as when you self-perform.
Do the Principles Change Without Self-Perform?
When I was at Hensel Phelps, and I apologize for always mentioning certain contractors, but I grew up there, Hensel Phelps was key in the development of the field engineering role. The Turners and the Kiewits of the world and other contractors have field engineers too, but I come from Hensel Phelps.
When we had projects that self-performed concrete, it was an amazing experience to be a field engineer. When we had projects where we hired that out, it was amazing to be a field engineer too. The principles still apply. It doesn’t matter if somebody else is doing concrete. You still need to do placement checks. You still need to do lift drawings when it comes time. You still need to work with the trade partners. For me, it’s no different between early concrete, masonry, or in-wall rough-in. Field engineers do just as much with overhead MEP inspections, in-wall, closeout, and punch list as they would with concrete.
Who Should Be a Field Engineer First?
In my opinion, and I train thousands of people, the builders who really get the training they need to take it to the next level are the ones who get the chance to be a field engineer.
| If you ask, how do we train… | My answer |
|---|---|
| Foremen coming in as superintendents | Have them be a field engineer for a while and do the FE boot camp |
| College graduates | Have them be field engineers and go through the FE boot camp |
| Surveyors | Have them be field engineers for a while and go through the FE boot camp |
| Someone hired from the industry | No other company taught them the fundamentals either. Field engineer and FE boot camp. |
That is the answer to every single question I would be asked. Nowadays we cannot just hire somebody and have them know what they’re doing. Test me on that. Do they know the fundamentals of lift drawings? Surveying? Coordinate geometry calculations? Have they learned drafting software? Do they know CPM in detail? Takt planning in detail? 3D MEP coordination at a minimum? For most of this, even down to simple Gantt charts, the answer is going to be no. So we must break the cycle. Our Field Engineer Boot Camp exists for exactly that.
If you’re a superintendent or a PM who didn’t get that experience, you can be awesome and doing great in your role right now. But how much cooler would your life be with those tools in your tool belt? How much cooler would your role as a mentor be if you could teach them to your up-and-coming folks, create an amazing experience for your people every year, and inspire a culture inside your organization?
Why Do You Have Field Engineers?
We don’t train field engineers for the sake of survey work and lift drawings. We’ve proven, even though it’s not great for our contingency buckets, our finances, and our quality, that you can build jobs without field engineers. So why have them? You have field engineers to build people, not buildings. You have them to build the next generation and to train the up-and-coming ranks of your superintendents.
What Are Lift Drawings Really For?
We have to get the right view of these things, even down to lift drawings. If somebody says we don’t need lift drawings, okay, fine. But the purpose of lift drawings was never first to give the craft a drawing to build from.
- It was always first for the field engineer or superintendent to learn the drawings, learn what they’re going to build, lift all of it off, and sketch it on one piece of paper. It trains them to research drawings, read drawings, and understand the building.
- Second, it was always to find missing information. If you can’t draw it, you can’t build it. If information is missing on a drawing, it’s going to be missing in the field.
- Third, and way down the line, was having a drawing for the craft.
Don’t we need supers and field engineers who know what they’re building? We do. Don’t we need to know what’s missing on the drawings before we build it? We do. Don’t we need future superintendents and PMs who can visualize a set of plans in 3D in their mind? We do. Don’t we need professionals who are proficient with quality and safety and can build the component parts of a project? We do. See What Does a Field Engineer Do With Lift Drawings?.
Can You Teach Coordinates With Painter’s Tape?
The other day in a boot camp, we were talking about calculating coordinates from a set of drawings. They were very confused. So I put blue painter’s tape on the floor. Here’s zero. I put tape on the y-axis and the x-axis and some dots out there for the coordinates. An easting is the distance from the y-axis, and a northing is the distance from the x-axis. Then I showed them how bearings and azimuths work, and how the rotation of the building produces coordinates that aren’t exactly in line.
They said, oh my gosh, this is amazing, and immediately they started to think in a coordinate geometry system. Everything on our projects is on a coordinate geometry system, so we must be able to visualize it. Don’t we need builders who can do that? Who are organized and can use the technology? We do.
So Should You Have Field Engineers?
Self-perform work was never the driving factor. I’ve never heard anyone say, I need field engineers because I want to lay out my concrete. It was always to train future builders. You can do that in a fun way if you self-perform, and just as effectively if you’re managing trade partners.
Not from a negativity, judgment, or controlling standpoint, but I hope I never hear again: I would do an FE boot camp, but I don’t have self-perform. I would have field engineers, but I don’t have self-perform. Yes, you should have field engineers. Start hiring for the position, staff your projects with it, and start training your future builders. You can recruit now for temporary solutions, but you’d better start building your bench for three, four, or five years from now, and you do that with an FE and PE program.
A listener asked what texting app I mentioned years ago, when I said a good tool needs to be as addictive as social media and easy to use. I used to use GroupMe. Now I use WhatsApp. Every part of our business runs on Miro, Canva, and WhatsApp. It does videos, polls, and voice to text, and works over the internet without cell service.
So here is the challenge. Pick one entry-level person, foreman, or new hire this month and put them in a field engineer role, with a lift drawing as their first assignment.
Bottom line: Self-perform in your company or on your project is 100% irrelevant to whether you should have field engineers. You should.
If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.
On we go.
FAQ
Do you need self-perform work to have field engineers?
No. Jason says self-perform in your company or on your project is 100% irrelevant to whether you should have field engineers. The principles still apply when trade partners do the work: placement checks, lift drawings, working with trade partners, overhead MEP inspections, in-wall, closeout, and punch list.
Why do companies have field engineers?
To build people, not buildings. Field engineers build the next generation and train the up-and-coming ranks of superintendents. We’ve proven you can build jobs without field engineers, even though it hurts contingency, finances, and quality.
What is the purpose of lift drawings?
First, for the field engineer or superintendent to learn the drawings, research them, and understand the building. Second, to find missing information, because if you can’t draw it, you can’t build it. Third, and way down the line, to give the craft a drawing.
People Also Read:
Field Engineer Duties In Construction (Responsibilities And Daily Checklist)
Lift Drawings For Field Engineers (How To Review Lift Drawings In Construction)
The 14 Things – Self-perform
The Joys of Boot Camp
If you want to learn more we have:
-Takt Virtual Training: (Takt Virtual Training)
-Check out our YouTube channel for more info: (Elevate Construction on YouTube)
-Listen to the Elevate Construction podcast: (Elevate Construction Podcast)
-Check out our training programs and certifications: (Training Programs and Certifications)
-The Takt Book: (The Takt Book on Amazon)
Discover Jason’s Expertise:
Meet Jason Schroeder, the driving force behind Elevate Construction. As the company’s Founder and COO, he’s dedicated to taking construction to new heights. With a wealth of industry experience, he’s crafted the Field Engineer Boot Camp and Superintendent Boot Camp – intensive training programs engineered to cultivate top-tier leaders capable of steering their teams towards success. Jason’s vision? To expand his training initiatives across the nation, empowering construction firms to soar to unprecedented levels of excellence.