Important traits of Project engineers

Account EPC Training

A project engineer has many skills and it is not possible to list all of them. However there are
some which are considered as must-have.

Leads Safety

Project Engineers never compromise on safety. Safety should be reflected in your temperament.

Communication

Around 80% of time is spent by project engineers on communication. They need to have
exceptional communication skills, both written and oral. They need to communicate internally
with their engineering team, as well as externally with client. Communication is upwards,
downwards and sideways.

Communication with client is through weekly meetings, weekly progress reports, monthly
progress reports. Always ensure that minutes are distributed to the relevant team members.

Communication with vendors is less formal and email is the main medium nowadays. However,
important issues are captured through meetings.

Conflict Resolution

They need to resolve conflicts and issues. Some departments will not talk with each other. A
project engineer is needed to resolve and push the project forward, bring hidden issues to the
forefront. Resolve conflicts until the goal is reached. In case conflicts are not resolved, escalate it
to someone who will.

Decision Making Ability

A project manager is a guide. He provides direction. He should be clear about what he wants. In
projects, you have to make decision on an hourly basis. Decision making needs information. The
more information you have, the refined your decision. However, sometimes decisions have to be
made with little or no information.
Ability to track issues

Issues are reported on a daily basis. But there are some that demand special attention. Care to
note them down and remember the headlines. It is important that a project engineer maintains
a meticulous chronology of events by writing it down.

Eye on the contract

Projects department is the final owner of the contract. They maintain a list of important contract
terms and conditions.

Technical Ability

A project engineer mainly galvanizes the effort of the team in the right direction. In short, he
directs the team to what the client is expecting, and guides the client to what his team is doing.
However, it is very imperative that the project manager acquaints himself with the technical
knowhow of the project. Never do anything without understanding.