Find out the top 10 core skills you need to master as a project superintendent and what hard skills you need to know to succeed in this job.

A project superintendent runs the daily operations of the construction site, takes care of the schedule, controls quality, and coordinates the responsibilities of the sub- contractors. He/she supervises the construction of the project, ensures that the work is completed on schedule and within budget according to the specified quality.

Other duties associated with the role include examining contract drawings and their specifications to ensure they do not have deficiencies, and there are no code violations, ensuring there are harmonious working relationships at the site, verifying that the subcontracts have completed the requirements including certificate of insurance and schedule of values before beginning work, ensure all licenses and permits have been obtained, review the daily reports of subcontractors as well as review and approve payment to subcontractors.

Core Skills Required to be a Project Superintendent

Core skills describe a set of non-technical abilities, knowledge, and understanding that form the basis for successful participation in the workplace. Core skills enable employees to efficiently and professionally navigate the world of work and interact with others, as well as adapt and think critically to solve problems.

Core skills are often tagged onto job descriptions to find or attract employees with specific essential core values that enable the company to remain competitive, build relationships, and improve productivity.

A project superintendent should master the following 10 core skills to fulfill her job properly.

Knowledge of Company Processes:

Knowledge of Company Processes is the in-depth understanding of a collection of related, structured activities that serve a particular goal for a group of customers or clients who are valuable to the enterprise.

A Project Superintendent ought to maintain consistency across the daily processed while keeping a keen eye on the overall plan of the organization by ensuring the company processes are performed and followed.

Assertiveness:

Assertiveness is the inclination to stand up for your rights or other people's rights in a calm and concrete way without being aggressive or accepting a wrong.

A Project Superintendent must be self-assured and confident to master the skills to put his points across without upsetting others or becoming angry and allowing the employees to do the same while complying with the company's policies and procedures.

Attention to Detail:

Attention to Detail is the capacity to achieve a thoroughness and accuracy when accomplishing a task.

A Project Superintendent needs to have this prime characteristic and utilize it in a high performing organization that allows both the customers and staff to understand the need to be keen to all the details required to avoid massive costs for overlooked details that are common in the workplace.

Commitment to the Job:

Commitment to the Job is the feeling of responsibility that a person has towards a mission and goals of an organization.

A Project Superintendent should be diligent in helping the employees connect and commit to their job by creating proper communication channels that make the employees feel listened to and encouraged to provide feedback thus creating mutual trust and respect in the workplace.

Consistency and Reliability:

Consistency and Reliability are the ability to be trusted to do what you do best all the time with or without supervision and without failure to produce results.

A Project Superintendent is liable to maintain a high level of consistency and reliability by engaging with employees and treating them with respect deserved which produces excellent results in various kinds of reliability coefficients.

Enjoyment of the Job:

Enjoyment of the Job is the ability to enjoy what you do rather than enjoying what you earn from it.

A Project Superintendent needs to creatively learn of ways to motivate his employees to benefit from the workplace by matching their personality to the culture of the organization where they fit best and allowing them to explore their hidden talents to grow and mature with the team.

Personal Accountability:

Personal Accountability is the feeling that you are entirely responsible for your actions and consequences taking ownership without blaming others.

A Project Superintendent should provide a list of duties and responsibilities that every employee is expected to perform and define timelines and supervisors who oversee the work to ensure each knows what she /he should do and remain accountable without passing blame.

Using Common Sense:

Using Common Sense is the ability to see what is missing in a situation or a project and supplying it without necessarily being assigned or asked to do it.

A Project Superintendent needs to creatively train his employees always to see the missing element that is typically crucial in any workplace or project and take the opportunity to do business out of it.

Organizational Skills:

Organizational Skills is the ability to make use of time, energy and resources available in the most efficient manner to achieve their goal.

A Project Superintendent should organize the work for the employees to ensure overall organization, planning, time management, scheduling, coordinating resources and meeting deadlines is handled most efficiently by each employee for both personal and professional growth.

Quality of Work:

The quality of Work is the value of work or products produced by the employees as well as the work environment they are provided with.

A Project Superintendent needs creativity in assisting all teams in identifying characteristics that will result in a quality product and lead to greater efficiency and increased productivity by following the four critical outcomes of employee retention, customer satisfaction, profitability, and productivity.

Hard Skills Required to be a Project Superintendent

Hard skills are job-specific skill sets, or expertise, that are teachable and whose presence can be tested through exams. While core skills are more difficult to quantify and less tangible, hard skills are quantifiable and more defined.

Hard skills are usually listed on an applicant's resume to help recruiters know the applicant's qualifications for the applied position. A recruiter, therefore, needs to review the applicant's resume and education to find out if he/she has the knowledge necessary to get the job done.

A project superintendent should have a good command of the following hard skills to succeed in her job.

Project Superintendent: Hard skills list

Accounting
Algebra
Analytical
Analyze and interpret data and budgets
Apply drafting and mechanical drawing knowledge and techniques
Apply mathematical principles to accounting, bookkeeping or budgeting
Apply regulations to surveying and construction activities
Apply structural and safety principles to buildings and other construction projects
Bid engineering, construction or extraction projects
Budgeting (Develop budgets)
Building Codes and Specifications
Communication
Conduct Employment Interviews
Construction Contracting Regulations (Interpret and apply)
Cost Estimations (Prepare cost estimates for construction related projects)
Develop delivery and production schedules
Develop staffing plan
Establish and evaluate employee performance standards
Estimate time needed for project
Evaluate new construction industry practices
Geometry
Hazardous materials specifications
Hire and dismiss employees
Interpret maps for architecture, construction and civil engineering
Mechanical
Research and apply land use regulations
Respond to personnel problems and grievances
Schedule and coordinate construction work
Schematics and Specifications
Safety Inspections
Strategic and Tactical Planning
Supervise building maintenance projects
Translate design specifications to cost estimates
Use negotiation techniques as management tool
Visualize spatial relationships in construction and mapping
Writing
Write request for proposals or bids

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