In engineering today, more and more people are choosing the generalist route, often pivoting off that solid, multi-faceted educational foundation into different fields. But what happens when you take the opposite route, honing in to pursue an aspect of your work that truly drives your passion?
In today’s episode of Navigating Major Programmes, hosts Riccardo Cosentino and Shormila Chatterjee speak with a Master Builder who did just that. After spending her early years on industrial projects, Wendy Itagawa returned to school for a Master’s in structural engineering, focusing on bridge design. Today, she serves as the Executive Director of Vancouver’s Pattullo Bridge Replacement Project, of which she’s been an integral part for more than seven years. She shares how working with and leading teams through the whole lifecycle of projects impacts how she views the work she has completed on some of the country’s most high-profile transportation initiatives.
”I really believe that even if it's a design build contract, it doesn't necessarily mean you don't have to be in one of these progressive collaborative models. So really comes down to the relationship and helping, helping each other. And I think sometimes what I've seen is, you know, owners or on their team that too almost afraid of helping too much or because you're afraid of getting claims or creating too many changes. But I think it actually prevents that and you know, claims are going to happen either way. So, but you can mitigate impacts a lot more if you do work collaboratively because you can sometimes reduce the time and, and costs if you work together on it. So yeah, I think sometimes being like that hands off owner approach is not, is not helpful.” — Wendy Itagawa
Key Takeaways:
- The benefits of focusing on a more technical specialization rather than generalizing
- Why working on a project for the long term impacts team performance and outcomes
- How to foster a collaborative approach even in traditional design-build contracts
- A master builder’s uniquely positive perspective on working in male-dominated environments.
The conversation doesn’t stop here—connect and converse with our community via LinkedIn:
- Follow Navigating Major Programmes
- Follow Riccardo Cosentino
- Read Riccardo’s latest at www.riccardocosentino.com
- Follow Wendy Itagawa
Music: "A New Tomorrow" by Chordial Music. Licensed through PremiumBeat.
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