Construction Sciences Company Review

Construction Sciences

The full article was posted on LinkedIn, and then it was deleted. On the 8th of May, I received an email from HR regarding the below article. This is the published one, and it will be deleted to avoid further issues with them.

In this article, I will be discussing the pros and cons of the company and the job itself.

First of all, CMT stands for Construction Material Technician, as per my understanding, the role is to test the cement or concrete samples upon batching from the plants on sites from the trucks or any other sources to get the sample. 

Although per standards 0.2% should be let out, then the sample should be taken, but this rule is not being followed, normally because of the conditions of filling up the bucket.

Starting from the company itself, the website looks promising and it represents the company in a good way. Nevertheless, the city branch in Alexandria most probably was a mixed martial arts training centre and then it was converted into a laboratory. The city branch doesn't have signage to indicate that this is the company. Also, you should know that Cardno is the mother company and CS is under it.

Furthermore, lots of improvement needed to be done in the city lab, such as upgrading the cylinders and writing the mould numbers on the ones without numbers, the same goes for the flex beams moulds. Besides, sometimes we don't have enough space to sink all of the samples from the cylinders in the water tanks; this process is called curing. Moreover, the covers of the cylinders are missing all the time.

Now, let's move out of the lab to the field, the work in the field might be light or heavy depending on the request from the client. Although we are in the 21st century and 2019 the methods that are being used in the Slump test seem to be primitive and not new at all. I don't know why the company doesn't invest in new technology to improve and enhance the process of slump testing or creating the cylinder samples to be crushed later. I do understand that if they are following the standards, then at least they should propose an improvement to the standards. The point is that the whole process can be automated theoretically at least. (At that time, I was more into automation of workspace and enhancing any process I was doing as much as possible, however, in the business, they simply want you to do the job and go home, and to come the next day and do the same, so you will need to get more connection in order to change something within a company, otherwise open your own company.)

Now let's discuss the reasons that led to my release after one month of working.

First of all, I was excited that I left the environment of a warehouse and started to work in a job that at least requires a small tiny level of analytical skills, but soon enough, I found that the work needs muscles and physical endurance, but that was not the reason. I remember that I wanted to improve their way of taking a photo of the screen and then sending it to the app, by using an OCR technology, but it was extremely early to suggest such a suggestion.

The main reason was about the "time", and what I have learned is that being on time is the most important thing, even if you know that from a day before that, you will be in the lab for the whole shift, and not on the site, therefore during the probation period earning your manager and supervisor trust is your utmost priority. 

Then you must ask the manager or the supervisor about the breaks during your shift because your employer will expect you to work seven and half hours in full, so if you can finish the work early, -don't do that-, there is no point, and they will not appreciate it and they will create any unnecessary work for you or they will get really upset if they saw you resting even for five minutes because no one told you about the breaks time. 

Anyhow, if you started working with them and saw yourself being in the lab only after the next two weeks, then there is an issue. The co-workers you are going to work with them, they are doing a good job, except for some of them, but that is not what the article is all about.

I would like to mention the modern way when they let me off, at least they have addressed the issues, so I can learn from them and improve. Thanks for that.

More details about the blogger from the link https://linktr.ee/MedoHamdani

Enhanced Version

Here is an enhanced version of the article:

1. Introduction

On the 8th of May, I received an email from HR about an article I wrote. In this article, I discussed the pros and cons of working at the company as a Construction Material Technician (CMT). However, I was asked to delete the article to avoid further issues with the company. Despite this, I still want to share my experience and give my honest opinion.

2. Company Overview

The company's website looks promising and represents the company well. However, the city branch in Alexandria doesn't have signage indicating that it is the company. The branch was previously a mixed martial arts training centre and was later converted into a laboratory. It's worth noting that Cardno is the parent company, and CS is a subsidiary.

3. Laboratory Improvements

The city lab needs a lot of improvements. For example, upgrading the cylinders and writing the mold numbers on the ones without numbers, as well as the flex beam molds. The company should ensure there is enough space to sink all of the samples from the cylinders in the water tanks during the curing process. Additionally, the covers of the cylinders are missing all the time.

4. Field Work

The workload in the field can be light or heavy, depending on the client's request. However, the company uses primitive methods for the slump test, and they don't invest in new technology to improve and enhance the process. This is surprising, considering we are in the 21st century. Even if the company is following the standards, they should propose improvements to them. The process can be automated theoretically.

5. Reasons for Release

After working for the company for only a month, I was released. Although the work was physically demanding, that wasn't the reason. I wanted to improve their way of taking a photo of the screen and then sending it to the app, but it was too early to suggest such a change. The main reason for my release was being late to work. Being on time is the most important thing, even if you know from a day before that you'll be in the lab for the whole shift. During the probation period, earning the trust of your manager and supervisor is crucial. You should ask about breaks during your shift and work for the full seven and a half hours, even if you finish your tasks early. Resting during work time without permission can lead to unnecessary work or upset supervisors.

6. Conclusion

Despite my short time at the company, I noticed several areas that could be improved. However, I appreciate the modern way in which the company let me go and addressed the issues. Hopefully, my experience can help others who are interested in working at the company or in the construction industry.