Posted by: nedpelger | October 4, 2008

The Effective Construction Supervisor

James Adrian, a consultant and speaker for the construction industry, understands the importance of the Construction Supervisor to successful construction projects. He states in an article titled How to Identify an Effective Construction Supervisor that the 100 decisions a Construction Supervisor makes in a day greatly affects project outcome. He lists 10 skills and attributes below:

The effective construction supervisor

  1. Technically competent; knows how to build
  2. Challenges and critiques as well as monitors work
  3. Focuses on workers production, cost, and risk
  4. Monitors equipment productivity and usage
  5. Is attentive to timely and accurate recordkeeping
  6. Treats individuals with respect and as equals
  7. Is willing to try new ideas
  8. Is willing to work as a team member
  9. Places as much emphasis on planning as on putting out fires
  10. Puts a high priority on quality and safety
I like that he begins with technical competence, ConstructionKnowledge.net developed from the basic belief that knowing how to do things right matters. I also appreciate his understanding of the generally poor level of productivity on most job sites and the great opportunity that presents for those of us willing to learn and grow and manage.
Read the article and see how you stack up against the ideal Construction Supervisor.

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Responses

  1. very good 10 line items to live by.there are too many superintendents that use bully hard ass tough guy leadership on projects due to there lack of construction knowledge and lack of intelligence to use this tactic to hide there knowledge of construction.i could on and on on this topic.thank you.

    By: tim vince on November 7, 2008
    at 11:26 pm

    Reply

  2. On construction site’s I’ve been on, the best worker is usually promoted to supervisor which is not necessarily the best decision. This can turn a great worker into an okay supervisor. I like the definition that A supervisor is a person who performs work through the efforts of others. If you combine that with the list above, I can see how many of the problems found on sites would simply evaporate.

    By: Toronto 416er on April 20, 2010
    at 2:53 pm

    Reply


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