Looking at a piece of infrastructure doesn’t always tell the full story.
Because at face value, the perspectives that went into it are not something you can always see. But successful civil engineering projects aren’t just a product of technical merit; they’re built on teamwork.
Over the weeks, months, years of a project, people from all sorts of career backgrounds are brought in. There are those who design, those who build, those who manage logistics, and more – all from a variety of disciplines. And the combination of different specialties is what brings everything together.
“There is a general need to stop, take a breath, slow down, and think about the gaps you might be missing and how your colleagues work not only within your own organization but across the sector or across multiple sectors,” Ross van Dongen, chief of infrastructure and workforce development at Accelerator for America, told Civil Engineering Source. “It might make your work better.
“… We have so much information in out world right now, there is no way to synthesize it down into useful information without having other experts around you and others collaborating with you.”
In a recent Thursdays@3 discussion, four expert panelists came together to explore the theme of teamwork in engineering. Find out below what they had to say.
Rafiq Chowdhury
President and founder of Quadrant Engineering; New York City
I have a heavy infrastructure background. You also have technicians, you have researchers, you have a lot of people who may not have a P.E., but believe me when I tell you they're fundamental, vital to the team, and we all understand that … It's our job to make that jump and make these teams meet, make these individuals feel welcome.
We're doing a better job as an organization, certainly ASCE is, but as an industry I think we can do a little bit more. Some of the best ideas come from the most unexpected places, and I think we need to adopt that more and appreciate that.
Marc Hoit
Vice chancellor for information technology at North Carolina State University; Raleigh, North Carolina
Teamwork to me is vital. In the vice chancellor for information technology role, I get to work with all of the disciplines, external, groups, industry, a lot of different fun things. And in order to make things work, you have to be multidisciplinary and work across all those boundaries. It's really fun and also a challenge.
An interesting example in teamwork is that recently, we were working with the military to try and do landmine detection.
… We were trying to be modern and use drones and wireless technology, and we had civil engineering, ground penetrating radar, lots of different activities. So, we brought people together that normally the military didn't see doing this, including one that blew everybody's mind: our agricultural teams. … And all of a sudden, they had a whole perspective of things we’d never seen or thought about before.
So, you get ideas you can never accomplish any other way without that team diversity and working together.
Adam Rhoades
Associate engineer at the City of Spokane Integrated Capital Management Department; Spokane, Washington
I think teamwork is vital. It's probably the most important aspect of getting a project out the door. Understanding everyone's expertise and learning from each other goes along way and plays a big role in the success of a project.
On the teamwork aspect in engineering, I think it ultimately helps us be the most productive, efficient, and cost-effective at the end of the day.
Samuel Ariaratnam
Professor and Sunstate Chair of construction and management; Tempe, Arizona
Teamwork is really important. I mean, whenever you're trying to solve a project, you have many different parts to a team, right on a construction site, trying to build a facility or a road or whatever you're trying to build. It's not just one person who's doing it. It's a lot of different people with a lot of different points of view. So, it's important that as a team, you can come up with a consensus of how to do the job and do it well.
It's that old adage that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. So, we want to make sure that everyone on the team is up to speed and has the knowledge base to be able to do that. We always hear the words teamwork and efficiency. Those are kind of interchangeable, and I think that's really an important aspect to me of teamwork in engineering.
Register for May's Thursdays@3 discussion, Beyond the Blueprint: Mental Wellness in Engineering.
Engineering Is a Team Sport at ASCE2027
Big infrastructure solutions don't just magically appear while you're sitting alone in your cubicle. Solutions take shape when you open the door to collaboration and open your mind to new ways of thinking. Solutions happen when you work as a team.
ASCE2027: The Infrastructure and Engineering Experience is a first-of-its-kind event bringing together big thinkers from all across the infrastructure space, March 1-5, 2027, in Philadelphia. Join the team and step up your game!
