Donna, Project Controls Engineer

When she visited the Parade of Homes as a child, Donna was hooked. "I looked at the homes and thought ‘that's so cool.'" She initially considered architectural drafting, but soon discovered the construction management program at her college. After graduation, Donna joined Cherne’s corporate project controls staff. "I monitor the receipt of drawings and materials and check headcount levels. My goal is to help our project teams finish their projects on time. I collaborate with other members of the project team to notify them if we start to overrun our estimates and help to solve problems that impact on-schedule project completion. I work in the corporate office, but have spent time in the field at project sites. My favorite thing is to identify a problem while it's still correctable."

Cherne's corporate based project controls engineers perform a variety of roles and provide valuable data management and reporting which allows Cherne management and staff to meet project goals and to successfully bid on and complete future projects. With an actual position title of estimator / scheduler / project engineer, each staff engineer may be involved in more than one discipline and will contribute from project bid through project completion. Corporate project controls engineers are employed at the Minnesota corporate office, but may travel to project sites nationwide. Weekly work schedules of 40+ hours are common, but do expand as project demands dictate.

Corporate project controls engineers report to the Project Controls Manager. New staff additions are mentored by experienced members of their team as they learn the principles of Cherne’s estimating, planning and construction process. Cherne management and members of the corporate and field staff can also be relied upon to provide the information and resources needed to realize professional growth.

A typical day for a corporate based project controls engineer varies according to the project timeline. During bid preparation, they analyze items driving the project’s schedule to provide input to project estimates. During the project, project controls engineers create and update report packages for Cherne management and the client. They update project schedules to reflect additional work orders, material delays and completed work, and they identify issues that may jeopardize timely project completion. After project completion, project controls engineers analyze and chart data to provide for greater accuracy in future project bids.