I love this topic because it is something I am particularly passionate about in my company. (Also a fun abbreviation story at the bottom)
We have a Google Drive library where we keep all these documents. There is an individual document per topic to minimize scrolling and searching time.
I like to format these documents in a consistent way so that people become familiar with navigating them.
Here is a sample of my typical format:Title at the top
Date last modified
One or two sentence intro on what the document contains
A "Why it Matters" header with an explanation
(the rest can greatly differ depending on the topic, but here is an example for drainage design...)
Goals of Design
Pre-Design Considerations
Grading Considerations
Drainage System Sizing
Design Analysis
Presentation of Results
What I like about this format is often engineers in training are taught what to do but not necessarily why to do it. I try to briefly capture why it matters and the impact it has so the importance of following the guidelines is understood.
Okay, story time now.When I was a first-summer intern, one of the PEs took me out to a site visit for one of his university campus projects. The contractor had called him out because their excavations had uncovered some items that they didn't know were there. (Super common on university or school campus projects). The contractor was showing him a few things, but then with a very grave expression he said, "We have also discovered some RCP in the excavation over here. Follow me." We were following him, and I was wracking my brain trying to figure out what RCP would stand for. I'd had 3 years of chemistry, and it definitely sounded like some kind of chemical. We walked over to a deep excavation where he told my mentor about all the RCP they'd found and in what areas.
Then a sub called the contractor over, and I asked my mentor what RCP was. He said, "oh! I didn't even think about you not having learned about that yet. It's reinforced concrete pipe." A wave of relief washed over me. No toxic pollutants in the campus soil after all.
Later the contractor realized I was still in college and said, "If you have any questions or if anything doesn't make sense, you just ask. I'm proud of you for sticking with it. After being a contractor I tried to go back and get a civil degree 'cause I thought lookin' at the plans it didn't seem that hard. But tell you what, I had to drop out. Hang in there, girl, it'll be worth it."
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Heidi Wallace EI,P.E.,M.ASCE
P.E.
Tulsa OK
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