University of Panama

Civil Infrastructure Engineering

Daily Activities at Work

1. Analyze survey reports, maps, and other data to plan projects. CI

2. Consider construction costs, government regulations, potential environmental hazards, and other factors
in planning stages as soil testing to determine the adequacy and strength of foundations.
3. Test building materials, such as concrete, asphalt, or steel, for use in particular projects.
4. Determine a project’s economic feasibility.
5. Use design software to plan and design transportation systems, hydraulic systems, and structures in line
with industry and government standards.
6. Oversee, perform or participate in surveying operations to establish reference points, grades, and
elevations to guide construction.
7. Present their findings to the public on topics such as bid proposals and environmental impact.
8. Compile and submit permit applications to local, municipal, and governmental agencies verifying that
projects comply with various regulations.
9. Manage the repair, maintenance, and replacement of public and private infrastructure.
10. Discuss requirements with the client and other professionals.
11. Draw up blueprints, using computer aided design (cad) packages.
12. Assess the environmental impact and risks connected to projects.
13. Prepare bids for tenders, and report to clients, public agencies and planning bodies.
14. Manage, direct and monitor progress during each phase of a project.
15. Undertake technical and feasibility studies.
16. Develop detailed designs as well as review and approve reports.
17. Manage change, as the clients may change their mind about the design, and ensuring relevant parties are
notified of changes in the project.
18. Conduct feasibility studies, economic analyses, municipal and regional traffic studies, environmental
impact studies or other investigations.
19. Act as project or site supervisor for land survey or construction work.
20. Prepare contract documents and review and evaluate tenders for construction projects.
21. Supervise technicians, technologists and other engineers and review and approve designs, calculations
and cost estimates.
22. Confer with clients and other members of the engineering team and conduct research to determine project
requirements.
23. Analyze survey reports, maps, and other data to plan projects.
24. Consider construction costs, government regulations, potential environmental hazards, and other factors
in planning stages.
25. Test soils to determine the adequacy and strength of foundations.
26. Test building materials, such as concrete, asphalt, or steel, for use in particular projects.
27. Provide cost estimates for materials, equipment, or lab to determine a project’s economic feasibility.
28. Use design software to plan and design transportation systems, hydraulic systems, and structures in line
with industry and government standards.
29. Undertake technical and feasibility studies including site investigations.
30. Use a range of computer packages for developing detailed designs.
31. Compile job specs and supervise tendering procedures.
32. Resolve design and development problems.
 33. Manage budgets, project resources, men, materials and equipment efficiently.
34. Schedule material and equipment purchases and deliveries.
35. Make sure the project complies with legal requirements.
36. Assess the sustainability and environmental impact of projects.
37. Prepare reports, designs, drawings, estimation and detailed specifications for each and every work to be
taken up.
38. Make calculations about loads and stresses.
39. Select appropriate construction materials and provide technical advice.
40. Obtain planning and/or building regulations approval.
41. Analyze configurations of the basic structural components of a building or other structure.
42. Calculate the pressures, stresses and strains that each component, such as a beam or lintel, will
experience from other parts of the structure due to human use or environmental pressures such as weather
or earthquakes.
43. Consider the strength of various materials, timber, concrete, steel and brick, to see how their inclusion
may necessitate a change of structural design.
44. Liaise with other designers, including architects, to agree on safe designs and their fit with the aesthetic
concept of the construction.
45. Examine structures at risk of collapse and advise how to improve their structural integrity, such as
recommending removal or repair of defective parts or rebuilding the entire structure.
46. Make drawings, specifications and computer models of structures for building contractors.
47. Work with geotechnical engineers to investigate ground conditions and analyze results of soil sample and
in-situ tests.
48. Liaise with construction contractors to ensure that newly erected buildings are structurally sound.
49. Apply expert knowledge of the forces that act on various structures.
50. Use computers and computer-aided design (CAD) technology for simulation purposes.
51. Liaise with relevant professional staff.
52. Monitor and inspect work undertaken by contractors.
53. Administer contracts and manage projects.
54. Inspect properties to check conditions/foundations.
55. Plan infrastructure projects and costs, and design airports, bridges, dams, harbors and the highways
millions of people use.

ENGLISH SPANISH
54. Inspect properties to check 54. Inspeccionar propidades to check
conditions/foundations. conditions/foundations.
55. Plan infrastructure projects and costs, and 55. Plan infrastructure projects and costs, and
design airports, bridges, dams, harbors and the design airports, bridges, dams, harbors and the
highways millions of people use. highways millions of people use.
 Universidad de Panamá

Engineering College

Professor: Apolinar Torres Student’s Name: Miguel Flores

Group: M2-1 Date: April 3rd, 2017

A Mechatronic Engineer’s Daily Duties

Good morning professor and classmates. Today I’m going to tell you about Mr. Bot, who is mechatronic
engineer. He works at Nixon Incorporated as a General Operations Supervisor, and is in charge of checking
that everything from mechanics to electronics works correctly.

As soon as Mr. Bot gets to work, he greets his coworkers and logs in his attendance. Then, he goes to his
workplace, turns on his computer and checks his emails and pending tasks. Some days, he might even have to
attend to meetings with his superiors and make reports about his work.

When he's done with minor tasks, he starts his morning with his own professional duties, and he generally:

 Checks that all the devices around work correctly around the workplace.
 Fixes machines that don't work and ensures they meet safety measures.
 Maintains the equipment by replacing older parts with brand new ones.
 Oils up mechanical devices that work slower than they should.
 Defragments the computers’ hard drives and formats those that don’t work properly.
 Creates flowcharts that simplify tasks to make them more understandable.
Then, when he finishes all of that, he goes to lunch with his coworkers at the nearest restaurant, where he
talks with them about the latest technological advances and catches up with the latest news on the inventions
on this field.

In the afternoon, after having lunch, he gets back to work and he generally:

 Checks the technician's work for any possible mistakes.

 Helps around the workplace himself by joining his coworkers on tasks.
 Cuts down old and useless wires and replaces them if needed.
 Reprograms the operating system of electronic devices.
 Synchronizes wireless devices with local antennas and workstations.
 Writes down which tasks are done and which aren't for the day.
Before leaving work, Mr. Bot shuts down his computer, writes down pending tasks, logs out his attendance and
says goodbye to his coworkers.

Buenos días profesor y compañeros. Hoy les voy a hablar del Sr. Bot, que es ingeniero mecatrónico. Trabaja
en Nixon Incorporated como Supervisor General de Operaciones, y es el encargado de revisar que todo,
desde la mecánica hasta la electrónica, funcione correctamente.

Tan pronto como el Sr. Bot llega al trabajo, saluda a sus compañeros de trabajo y registra su asistencia.
Luego, va a su lugar de trabajo, enciende su computadora y revisa sus correos electrónicos y tareas
pendientes. Algunos días, incluso podría tener que asistir a reuniones con sus superiores y hacer informes
sobre su trabajo.
Cuando termina con tareas menores, comienza la mañana con sus propios deberes profesionales y, por lo
general:

• Verifica que todos los dispositivos alrededor funcionen correctamente en el lugar de trabajo.

• Repara las máquinas que no funcionan y se asegura de que cumplan con las medidas de seguridad.

• Mantiene el equipo reemplazando las piezas viejas por otras nuevas.

• Engrasa los dispositivos mecánicos que funcionan más lento de lo que deberían.

• Desfragmenta los discos duros de los ordenadores y formatea aquellos que no funcionan correctamente.

• Crea diagramas de flujo que simplifican las tareas para que sean más comprensibles.

Luego, cuando termina todo eso, va a almorzar con sus compañeros de trabajo al restaurante más cercano,
donde habla con ellos sobre los últimos avances tecnológicos y se pone al día con las últimas noticias sobre
los inventos en este campo.

Por la tarde, después de almorzar, vuelve al trabajo y generalmente:

• Verifica el trabajo del técnico por posibles errores.

• Se ayuda en el lugar de trabajo uniéndose a sus compañeros de trabajo en las tareas.

• Corta cables viejos e inútiles y los reemplaza si es necesario.

• Reprograma el sistema operativo de los dispositivos electrónicos.

• Sincroniza dispositivos inalámbricos con estaciones de trabajo y antenas locales.

• Anota qué tareas se hacen y cuáles no son del día.

Antes de salir del trabajo, el Sr. Bot apaga su computadora, anota las tareas pendientes, cierra su asistencia y
se despide de sus compañeros de trabajo.

Questions
1. What’s the name of your character?
2. What’s his profession?
3. What does he work as?
4. Where does he work at?
5. What does he do when he gets to work?
6. What are some professional duties he performs in the morning?
7. What does he do during lunchtime?
 8. Which duties does he perform in the afternoon?
9. What does he do before leaving work?
VOCABULARY
English Pronunciation Spanish
Area Erea Área
Airports Eirport Aeropuertos
bridges Brich Puente
buildings Bilding Edificio
Canals Canals Canals
Cement Ciment Cemento
Concrete Concrit Concreto
Dams Dans Presas
Design Disaing Diseño
Diagnostic Diayanosti Diagnostico
Electrical Ilectrical Eléctrica
Enginner Enginer Ingeniero
Engineering Enginirrin Ingenieria
Hydraulics Haidroylit Hidráulica
Harbors Harbor Puertos
infrastructure Infrastrurchon Infraestructura
Invent Invent Invento
innovate Innoveyt Innovar
maintenance Meines Mantenimiento
machines Machin Máquinas
neighborhood Neiborhut Vecindario
Projects Project Proyectos
Roads Rould Carreteras
structures Strodchon Estructura
Sewers Siuguer Alcantarillas
Telecommunications Telecomuniqueichon Tetelecomunicaciones
Tools Toals Herramientas
Tunnels Tounel Tuneles
Technical drawing Tecniquel drauguin Dibujo
water supply Weter soplay Suministro de agua