Over the years, I have come to know many professionals (V.P's, CM's, PM's, Foremen and Superintendents) who were highly respected in the field, and who had made a solid reputation within the industry. These relationships and past friendships of mine imparted some very good technical and practical knowledge to me, from which I have benefited ever since.
Inclusively, the common thread shared and talked about within a lot of these relationships was centered on..... About not, "How much" we knew about construction, (even as professionals), but instead.... "about how much we still didn't know"! Even with our experience and education, this field can get over the top sometimes and learning is an on-going process...
In essence, there is too much information out there to be competent in everything, and mistakes are going to be made.
These older professionals learned by making mistakes and miscalculations on the job. I learned from them when they shared their on-the-job errors and mistakes with me. Subsequently, I shared my construction process errors with them, which I feel they benefited from and learned from my mistakes. We made it a point to share our "gaffs" with each other...There was a trust to not ridicule a person.
In this exercise, comment about how errors on the job shape our work life. How crucial is it to teach new cms about learning from their mistakes, and by sharing our own lessons with them as they grow into their careers. Furthermore, related to the class a real example of how you "messed up" on the job and what impact it had on you as a person- Don't forget to include your boss’s reaction!
Construction errors are part of the game and in the end, we are all still human.