We recently spoke with Chris Kehl to learn more about his new role as Vice President and Principal Engineer. We asked him about his background, what he enjoys about working at Braun Intertec in his new role, and his advice for those just starting their career.
What is your current role at Braun Intertec?
除了运行和审核提供客户外geotechnical engineeringandconstruction testingprojects, my internal responsibilities include being the Technical Practice Leader for construction materials testing, and I also have operational responsibilities for the Twin Cities construction materials testing group.
What is your professional background?
I graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison in 1999 with a degree in Civil Engineering. Six months after college, I began working at Braun Intertec as a field technician. I spent five years in the field working on larger, high-rise structures in Minneapolis. After those five years, I came into the office and started managing projects, and I’ve been here ever since. I’m coming up on my 20th今年夏天在这里。
What interested you about your profession?
I got into civil engineering because of a combination of things. My father worked in construction and growing up I always liked building things. I also enjoyed that engineering combines math and science, which were subjects I was curious about.
您在Braun Intertec在Braun Intertec的作用中最喜欢的角色或最有价值的部分是什么？manbet体育滚球
I have a lot of different roles, so this is a tough one to answer concisely. For me, the most rewarding part is helping people – internally, helping staff develop their careers and, externally, helping clients solve a problem. My roles not only allow me to do that on an individual project basis, but also how Braun Intertec solves issues across the company.
你最喜欢在布劳恩Intertec工作的事情是什么？manbet体育滚球你觉得它是独一无二的吗？
关于在Braun Intertec工作的最佳部分将参与大量项目manbet体育滚球。许多工程师或承包商只能在少数项目上工作。由于我们的工作性质，我们倾向于触及大量的项目。关于在布劳恩intertec工作的最有价值的部分之一是我与许多善良的人一起工作，这些人都在共同努力manbet体育滚球满足客户的共同目标。
我们提供的技术专业/服务您认为从其他公司的差异化Braun Intertecmanbet体育滚球
I would say the differentiation is that we provide so many services all in one stop. It’s rare. We’re able to use technology from one service to solve a problem in another, like when we can use a thermal camera from our building and structure sciences group to help solve a problem during a construction testing project. Knowing unique, novel solutions to solve a problem can provide a big advantage to our clients.
How do our different technical specialties interact with one another?
我们不断地在项目上工作。目标是充当一家公司。如果我们向客户提供一个服务并注意到稍后可能成为问题的事情，如果没有解决问题，我们将与客户交谈并使他们意识到风险和提供解决方案。
您对客户解决问题的方法是什么？
My approach is to try to be a consultant, which by my definition means explaining to them why something is an issue, as well as giving them a variety of solutions to solve that issue. I try to explain to them the pros and cons of each solution and then provide them a recommendation in the form of “if it was my decision, this is how I would approach it.” The key to client problem-solving is understanding their mentality – get in their mind and understand what they’re trying to achieve.
What traits do you look for in your team members?
What I look for right away is an ability and demonstration of a strong work ethic. I like to see someone who is curious about the world—someone who wants to be a learner. Another important trait is honesty. We demand a lot of trust and honesty in our role, so that is a big requirement for our team.
新的布劳恩intertec员工应manbet体育滚球该知道在这里工作吗？您是否有一个进入您的职业的人有一段建议？
我会描述这里的文化和态度，就像“努力工作，你会得到回报。”不要指望它立即或自动。即使似乎没有人在寻找，它也是一贯做正确的事情的高潮。好奇，灵活，愿意采取新的机会。有时你必须跳进去，让你的手肮脏，但你会学到这样做的事情。后来，当别人正在做同样的任务时，您可以更好地管理或审查他们的工作。
My advice from a civil engineering standpoint is to get a good basis of knowledge of how things get assembled in the field. Understand construction and how it impacts your design. Understand the constraints all contractors work under in terms of the environment, schedule, logistics — because that all has a huge impact on the end product.
你的爱好或你喜欢在工作之外做什么？
我喜欢做任何户外打猎,钓鱼, hiking, camping. I like anything building-related, from woodworking up to building my own cabin. Building something outdoors is probably the most fun thing you can do. I also enjoy spending time with my family traveling, doing anything adventurous with two teenage sons — we’ve been to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Panama, Belize, Costa Rica, and Vietnam. Our next family trip is to Nepal.
