Boots on the Ground

All professions have an entry level position. Before a lawyer there is a field attorney, a banker manager is a teller, a civil engineer is "the CAD guy" or surveyor, and a construction manager needs to be an estimator. These positions lay the ground work and experience to make higher level decisions. In the Construction management realm a lot of decisions stem from cost and quality. Having the framework of an estimator and developing the heuristics of knowing what costs what, what are the equipment/manpower needs, and the time needs is invaluable. The RS Means software is a tool for calculating the needs of a job. However, the estimator's view of the project is often the reverse of what is happening in the field. Software allows for projections and calculations of cost and time but I think it is invaluable for an estimation or anyone to get into the field and see what is actually going on.

A short story... When 9-11 was happening Rudy Giuliani was in the the headquarters trying to work with his team to estimate the needs and next actions to address the crisis. Then as any good leader does Mr. Giuliani put his boots on and went outside to walk the streets. In his own words he basically said that without having the 1st hand knowledge of the magnitude of what was happening outside he would have made the wrong decisions.