Construction Project Manager Interview

Meet Joanna Slominski, a construction project manager with Mortenson Construction.

Please share your name, title, and a description of your job duties and responsibilities.
My name is Joanna Slominski. I'm a construction project manager with Mortenson
Construction, a general contractor. We work early on with clients to help them coordinate,
manage, and decide what it is that they want to do for their overall project. A lot of our
services include construction management, estimating, and scheduling in support of the
overall project.

As construction project manager, I manage subcontractors. Together, we coordinate details

in the field, manage schedules, coordinate construction activities, procure materials, and get
everything ready and organized so that we can install a project based on the overall
schedule. Currently, I'm working on a project at the Minnesota Zoo called the Heart of the
Zoo Entry Project. We're building a new penguin exhibit, a new bird theater, and a new
education space for the zoo.

What is a typical day like at your job?

Our day usually starts before 7 a.m. in the morning. We usually get together and discuss the
plan for the day. We talk about our disruption avoidance plan, schedules, access, and
logistics. A good part of my day is spent on the computer working on contracts, doing
change order management, and ordering materials. I also spend quite a bit of time in the
field coordinating issues, managing subcontractors, and problem solving. In terms of
meetings, we have weekly meetings with our subcontractors, foremen, and the owners.
Each day, we also often have five or six smaller meetings to plan, coordinate, and manage
our activities.

How did you get started working in this field?

I grew up on a farm in Northern Minnesota in a very rural area. I decided at a very early age
that I did not want to sit behind a desk but that I wanted to be doing something unique and
fun and hands-on. I went to North Dakota State University and majored in construction
engineering, and realized that I like to solve problems and figure things out. I started out
with Mortenson right out of college. I've been with them for six years, and so far it's been a
great experience.

What sort of training or education do you have?

I have a Bachelor of Science in construction engineering from North Dakota State University.
I actually started out in architecture, but decided that it was not so much the theoretical
aspects that interested me, but the practical application of those theories. I really like the
practical aspects of construction, like figuring out how we're actually going to build the
buildings.

I'm also a LEED-accredited professional, and my LEED focus was on sustainable aspects of
building and construction design. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design. To get accreditation, you take a three-hour test. To prepare for it, you learn all of the
ins and outs of the LEED perspective. I also took the fundamentals of engineering exam,
which moves me toward becoming a professional engineer. After four or five years in the
industry, you can take the professional engineer (PE) exam, and I'm planning to do that
because it is part of my career aspirations. Having the PE designation demonstrates that
you're well-rounded and know the details of engineering.

What sort of tools, machines, or equipment do you use regularly?

On any given day, I spend a lot of time on the computer. Oracle is the main program we use
for our management tools, but we use Microsoft Word and Excel a lot as well. In the field, we
use tape measures, and we need to be able to read diagrams and blueprints. Because
Mortenson is committed to 100 percent safety, we wear hard hats, high-visibility vests, work
boots, and safety glasses at all times in the field.

What skills or personal qualities are good for this job?

To be a construction project manager, you need great interpersonal skills. You need to be
able to work with all types of people, easy people as well as difficult people. You need to be
able to handle people and be able to change your approach based on their reactions and
responses. A lot of what we do in this job is problem solving, so we spend time figuring out
details and dimensions and coordinating of a lot of unique systems. We spend a lot of time
thinking critically and solving problems.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

This job is very challenging, but it's also very rewarding. At the end of the day, you have
something very tangible. I can go out and touch the things I've been coordinating and
working on, which is what I love about my job.

How does your job benefit the environment?

We often work on LEED projects which are all about incorporating sustainable practices.
Early on in a project, we'll work with the owners and the design team to come up with
strategies about implementing LEED principles and sustainable features into their building.
At our current project at the Minnesota Zoo, we're renovating a facility that's over 30 years
old. As you can imagine, there are inefficiencies in the existing mechanical and electrical
systems. In this case, we're spending quite a bit of time and effort replacing those systems
with more energy-efficient systems.

Are there any common misconceptions about this type of work?

As a project manager, there aren't as many women in the field because construction has
been a fairly male-dominated industry. Mortenson has spent considerable time and focus
making sure the company has a diverse workforce. They also spend a lot of time investing in
relationships with owners (clients). A lot of what we find is that when working with clients,
the soft skills are very important and women tend to have strong soft skills, such as a
nurturing aspect and a softer focus when dealing with challenging circumstances. That can
be an advantage.

What changes in this field do you expect to see in the future?

Recently, there's been a great focus on sustainability. Five or six years ago, people may have
heard about LEED or sustainability, but it was often assumed to be too expensive. But now
people understand that it is affordable, it's more of a standard practice, and that there is a
long-term reward. It's easier to weigh the up-front costs against the long-term costs. Now
owners can better understand the long-term rewards and opportunities. A part of what we
do is to help them understand those rewards and opportunities, so I see the focus on
sustainability as becoming more and more prominent in the building and construction
industry.

What is your advice to someone interested in this field?

Obviously, there are some educational requirements for this type of work. But it is also
important for people to understand that even though the market has been slow, it is coming
back around, so there are opportunities out there. It's also important to find the company

that's the right fit for you. It's also important to know this is what you want to do. You need
to have a drive for construction and an interest in doing something unique and hands-on.

Any final thoughts you'd like to add?

The focus of the project I've been working on at the Minnesota Zoo is based on their
commitment to sustainability. The zoo has a great vision for their sustainability. They have a
great vision for how they want to have a positive impact on the environment. They want to
make sure their facilities and operations are green. For me, it's great to be a part of that.
Projects are established to achieve specific goals. Objectives support those goals and are
measurable, providing for opportunities to track progress. For a project manager, the
primary goal to be achieved is the goal of the project he is responsible for managing.
Additional goals should focus on customer satisfaction and quality. Objectives to support
each goal should be based on the triple constraints model of time, cost and scope, as
recognized by most project management courses and certification programs. Each objective
should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound, or SMART.

Stay On Budget
One important objective of the project should be to stay on budget. Every project should
have a specific budget assigned. The project manager must keep track of project costs, and
make adjustments as necessary to avoid going over budget. Typical costs include resources
such as team members, supplies, materials and equipment, depending on the nature of the
project. Additional costs might include travel and other administrative expenses.

Finish On-Time
Another objective should be to bring the project to completion on time. In order to manage
time, many project managers use Gantt charts to track tasks, dependencies and milestones.
Whether a Gantt chart or other tracking model is used, the critical path must be identified.
Critical tasks are those that will delay the project if they are not completed on time. Project
managers should identify these tasks, determine how long each will take, and gauge their
dependence on other tasks. He should also stay abreast of when critical path tasks are
completed so he can gauge the progress toward the objective of on-time project completion.
Related Reading: What Is an Assistant Construction Project Manager?

Stay In-Scope
A third objective for a project manager is to keep the project in scope. The project's scope
defines its boundaries. If the project represents an engineering design, for example, the
scope will identify the features and functionality that must be included. Over time,
stakeholders can influence the scope, such as when they try to add new features and
functionality that were not originally discussed. In-scope items are typically defined in a
work breakdown structure, or WBS. The WBS should be monitored to identify and prevent
anything that can impact the project's scope.

Triple Contraints Model

If any of the above objectives is threatened, the project manager should see where
adjustments can be made in the other objectives to compensate. For example, if the project
timeline is being threatened by the late completion of critical path tasks, he must decide if
the scope needs to be adjusted to reduce the project's requirements, or if the budget should
be increased to expedite completion of other tasks. Similarly, if stakeholders demand
making an addition to the project scope, the project manager should determine if the
timeline should extended or the budget increased. Finally, if the budget is threatened, he
must determine if the scope be reduced, or the timeline extended into a new budget period.

Create Quality
Building quality into the project management process is another potential objective.
Measuring quality can be based on maintaining the balance of budget, time and scope, in
addition to reviewing customer or stakeholder satisfaction indicators. Stakeholders will be
satisfied if the project meets all of its key objectives, or provides added value by improving
the efficiency of the overall process. Additional value can be provided if the project comes in
under budget or early, or if the team can meet both of those original objectives while also
delivering out-of-scope items that had been identified as want-to-have but not need-tohave items by stakeholders.

References (5)
About the Author
A careers content writer, Debra Kraft is a former English teacher whose 25-plus year
corporate career includes training and mentoring. She holds a senior management position
with a global automotive supplier and is a senior member of the American Society for
Quality. Her areas of expertise include quality auditing, corporate compliance, Lean, ERP and
IT business analysis.