2025-12-22 – Weekly Civil Engineering News : Balancing PDHs with project deadlines

Last week on the forum, members delved into the intricacies of project scheduling, especially how to balance PDH requirements with deliverable deadlines. There was significant interest in optimizing non-destructive testing settings for retrofit surveys, and discussions around effective resource planning for corridor jobs. Members also shared strategies for aligning civil deliverables with project milestones and explored practical tools for short-term project planning.


This Week’s Hot Topics

Scheduling PDHs around deliverables
Balancing professional development hours with project deadlines can be tricky. This discussion explores strategies to manage both effectively.
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GPR + ferroscan settings for retrofit surveys
Discover the best practices for using ground-penetrating radar and ferroscan in retrofit surveys to enhance accuracy and efficiency.
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Seeking linear scheduling templates for corridor jobs
Linear scheduling is essential for corridor projects. Forum members are sharing templates and tips to streamline this process.
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Coordinating civil deliverables to hit milestones
This thread dives into techniques for ensuring that civil deliverables are aligned with key project milestones.
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Clean 3-week lookahead in Excel
Creating a clear and concise 3-week lookahead schedule can simplify project management. See how others are doing it effectively.
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Counting people, not cars downtown
A shift in focus from vehicle to pedestrian traffic is gaining traction. Explore the implications and methods discussed here.
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Moving-load analysis for staged bridge work
Learn about the complexities of moving-load analysis in staged bridge construction and how to manage them effectively.
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Keeping utility work off the critical path
Utility work can disrupt schedules significantly. This thread offers insights on keeping it off the critical path.
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CPT-based shallow footing settlement resource
Explore resources for evaluating shallow footing settlements using cone penetration tests (CPT).
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Practical PDHs for public works teams
Find out how public works teams are fulfilling their PDHs with relevant and practical courses.
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Thanks for catching up with us this week. Looking forward to seeing you in the discussions!

On our corridor jobs, I block a recurring 45‑minute ‘PDH sprint’ during utility markout or permit‑review lulls and use an on‑demand course so I can pause if a submittal pops up; ASCE’s catalog has been reliable for that (Education & Events | ASCE). For retrofit surveys and dialing in NDT settings, I’ll only do PDH study if another engineer is lead on safety and comms — otherwise it steals focus from the field work.

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Building on @ethan_carter77, I piggyback PDHs on field lulls by queuing an ASCE on‑demand that matches the day’s spec (“NDT for retrofit anchors”) and turning it into a 3‑item field checklist… If the lull vanishes, the PDH moves — not the submittal: https://www.asce.org/continuing-education/online-learning.

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