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In the world of public infrastructure, quality, schedule, and budget form an eternal triangle of competing priorities. Steve Read, who spent 20 years as a materials engineer with the City of Seattle, recently shared his experience navigating these challenges while maintaining the integrity of public works projects.

Read's path to becoming a materials engineer wasn't straightforward. Starting as a heavy equipment operator after initially dropping out of college, he eventually returned to school, earning a civil engineering degree at age 35. His background in asphalt paving gave him a practical foundation for understanding the materials he would later test and approve. "Working on pavements is all about the kinds of materials that we do in this shop—aggregates, soils, asphalt, concrete," Read explains. This hands-on experience proved invaluable when he eventually took on the role of materials lab supervisor for Seattle.

One of Read's most powerful insights concerns the development of technical professionals. Rather than focusing narrowly on test procedures, Read emphasized communication skills as crucial for career advancement. His team regularly practiced five-minute presentations on any topic, followed by constructive critique sessions. The reasoning was clear: technical knowledge alone doesn't drive career progression. "If you can't be understood, you can't go forward. If you can present in a way that is fluid and meaningful and can engage people, you will move forward," Read notes. This approach to professional development focuses not just on what engineers know, but how effectively they can communicate that knowledge to stakeholders, clients, and colleagues.

Throughout his career, Read has witnessed significant changes in the engineering field, particularly in diversity. He expressed particular enthusiasm about the growing number of women taking leadership roles in engineering and other STEM fields. "Diversity is the answer to solving a lot of things. I mean, everybody brings their own point of view with them," Read observes. "When you're sitting at a table full of people who don't all look the same, they all bring different perspectives to an issue, and when you're collaborating, wow, you can come up with some cool ideas."

Working within a complex governmental structure like the City of Seattle presents unique challenges. Read's philosophy for navigating multi-agency coordination focused on solving problems at the lowest possible level. "If you're trying to solve issues and you solve them at the lowest possible level, you get fewer turf wars," he explains. As projects move up the chain of command, personalities and territorial concerns often complicate matters, whereas technical staff focused on the work itself can often find practical solutions.

Perhaps most revealing was Read's perspective on the eternal tension between quality and schedule in public infrastructure projects. "In public sector work, there's always politics," Read acknowledges. When a project encounters difficulties, schedule pressures often win out over quality concerns—something Read found "highly annoying" as the self-described "quality guy." His commitment to long-lasting infrastructure stems from both fiscal and environmental responsibilities: "The least green thing we can do is be tearing things up because we didn't build them well and we have to replace them earlier than planned."

Despite these challenges, Read expressed deep satisfaction with his career, attributing this primarily to the people he's worked with. "I have worked with a lot of smart, dedicated, intense, good-meaning people and that is the rewarding part," he reflects. This perspective offers a powerful counterpoint to criticism of government inefficiency, as Read highlights the dedication of public servants committed to spending taxpayer money responsibly and creating infrastructure that serves the public good.

As Read transitions into retirement, his insights serve as valuable guidance for those managing public infrastructure. His career demonstrates that technical expertise must be paired with communication skills, diversity strengthens decision-making, and sometimes the quality advocate must stand firm against schedule pressures when the long-term integrity of public assets is at stake.connect

Important Note: Buzzsprout Cohost AI was used as a resource when creating this post.