Jakob Devlin

Mrs. DeBock

Block 3

21 March 2018

Essential Question: What do civil engineers do on a day to day basis? What kind of

infrastructure do they deal with, and what problems do they run into?

Thesis: Civil Engineers can spend time at multiple project sites or in the office on a day to day

basis. They deal with all types of infrastructure depending on the location.

Works Cited

“Articles Master of Civil Engineering.” ​A Day in the Life of a Civil Engineer | Graduate Degrees

Norwich​,

graduate.norwich.edu/resources-mce/articles-mce/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-civil-engineer/.

This source gave an overview of a day in the life of a civil engineer. Instead of just

explaining the generalities of civil engineering, it went into deep explanation of the subcategories

of civil engineering. The subcategories included Coastal Engineering, Construction Engineering,

Earthquake Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering, Structural

Engineering, Municipal Engineering, and Water Resource Engineering. I plan to do my service

hours with someone who specializes in construction engineering. The author says that the work

of construction engineers usually consists of reviewing the quality of a project’s logistical

operations and monitoring transactions to ensure maximized cost-effectiveness. A construction

engineer usually visits a construction site, where they will gather information about the project

they are working on and then head back to the office.

“C & S Software Solutions Sdn Bhd .” ​What Are the Common Problems for Civil and

Structural Engineer Faces on Project Management Work​,

www.civilstructural.com.my/072007/ArWhatAreTheCommonProblemsForCivilEngineerF

acesOnProjectManagementWork.aspx.

This sources discusses problems daily problems civil engineers run into. One problem

they encounter is a project being commenced before the civil engineer acknowledges it.

Contractors and site workers need acknowledgement from the civil engineer because he

has authority over the project. Another problem is that contractors will often ignore civil

engineer instruction. If contractors ignore civil engineer instruction it can lead to bigger

problems within the project itself. Another problem that civil engineers face is contractors

trying to cost cut a project. Contractors will try to budget too much which will endanger

clients.

“Civil Engineer.” ​Sokanu​, www.sokanu.com/careers/civil-engineer/.

This source discusses what projects civil engineers typically work on. Civil engineers

create large infrastructure projects such as airports, bridges, and highways. They must

look over the cost of a project and safety concerns. This includes making sure the project

is safe for the public but also safe for the workers working on the project. Civil engineers

have to communicate with other professionals about a project such as architects and urban

planners. If civil engineers do not communicate clearly and effectively, it can result into
 problems that will occur later on in the project. This article also discusses the daily tasks

civil engineers encounter. These tasks include: analyze survey reports, maps, and other

data to plan projects, consider construction costs, government regulations, potential

environmental hazards, and other factors in planning stages, test soils to determine the

adequacy and strength of foundations, test building materials, such as concrete, asphalt, or

steel, for use in particular projects, provide cost estimates for materials, equipment, or

labour to determine a project’s economic feasibility, use design software to plan and

design transportation systems, hydraulic systems, and structures in line with industry and

government standards, oversee, or participate in, surveying to establish reference points,

grades, and elevations to guide construction and present their findings to the public on

topics such as bid proposals, environmental impact statements, or property descriptions

“Civil Engineering Grand Challenges: Opportunities for Data Sensing, Information Analysis, and

Knowledge Discovery.” ​American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)​,

www.asce.org/computing-and-it/news/20141014-civil-engineering-grand-challenges--opp

ortunities-for-data-sensing,-information-analysis,-and-knowledge-discovery/.

This source discusses the many problems civil engineers may encounter on a daily basis.

These problems include estimating sea levels, enhancing disaster management through

infrastructure resilience, reducing soil erosion, improving building energy efficiency

Managing groundwater, monitoring the health of infrastructure, reducing traffic

congestion, improving construction productivity and enhancing construction site safety.

As I plan to work with a civil engineer who specializes in construction, I will probably see

problems like reducing soil erosion, improving building energy efficiency, managing
 groundwater, and monitoring the health of infrastructure. Monitoring the health of

infrastructure is a huge problem for America because of its crumbling infrastructure. As

engineers begin to renew the old infrastructure of America, they need to focus on

monitoring the health of the new infrastructure and maintaining it.

“What Is Civil Engineering?” ​Civil Engineering​, colivil.cumbia.edu/what-civil-engineering.

In this article it discusses what Civil Engineering actually is. The article states that civil

engineering is the oldest engineering around and dates back to the first time someone put a roof

over their head. There are huge structures that are designed by civil engineers that the public can

see, but there are also creations that the public can’t see and hardly knows about. Some of these

creations include water supply systems and drainage systems.