Day 1: Construction Engineering and Inspection

To start off my first day at SEPI Engineering and Construction, I met with Ms. Karen Crawford, my initial contact at the engineering firm. She took me on a tour of the two main buildings that the firm operates in and explained the responsibilities and purpose of each department in them. I then met with Mr. John Wolf, who is the CEI (Construction Engineering and Inspection) Construction Services Manager at SEPI. We initially planned to go walk around and review some construction projects that were underway in the field, but with the weather not cooperating and calling for rain all day, we sadly were unable to do so. Luckily, Mr. Wolf had an exciting meeting to go in Morrisville. We were meeting with the town manager of Morrisville and several other contractors and business partners of SEPI to discuss the progress of a project that they were working on. It was really interesting to experience the side of engineering that you might not think about too often, which is the business and political aspect, and how much money, risk, paperwork, planning, etc. is involved with construction projects. I was warned ahead of time that the meeting might get a little confrontational and aggressive, as its purpose was to meet with a representative from a construction company that was hired by the town to construct a railroad and to widen the roads in specific areas, and they weren’t doing a very good job. The construction crew was severely behind schedule, costing the town and business partners a lot of money in liquidated damages, and unreliable in terms of following plans and sticking to their word. The meeting did get a little intense at times, but that just reinforced the importance and gravity of the “construction” that takes place behind the scenes, not just out in the field. I’m excited to see what’s in store for me in the upcoming days at SEPI Engineering and Construction!