Managing the process

Anyone who has been involved in a construction project from its beginning to its end will be aware that building things, whether on the scale of a domestic self-build or a major international development, involves a complicated and often bewildering set of considerations, judgements, decisions and actions. Several specialist disciplines will typically be involved in helping clients to meet and overcome the many challenges along the route to achieving the optimum outcome.

It is therefore important to consider how the whole process can best be managed in order to achieve the most sustainable end result possible. It is also important to recognise that, apart from fundamental technical knowledge, the determination to drive rapidly-developing change, the ability to take a leading role with confidence, and the skills needed to communicate effectively using a variety of media are all essential tools for today's engineer.