When I am talking about digital tools for Civil Engineers I mean everything from the latest apps and software to using artificial intelligence and machine learning.
As civil engineers, I find that we as engineers are slow to change and that probably mirrors the industry as a whole – we need to use tried and tested methods and materials as the consequences of failure are so critical.
I cannot tell you how many engineers I know that use Excel or the built-in notepad in Windows as their to do list manager or even just send emails to themselves to mange their work and personal lives. I have been guilty of this in the past but I have found many tools that are so much better for helping us many our day jobs as engineers but also managing all the other logistics of life in general.
In this post I have tried to summarise the digital tools that I have seen and used that have helped me along the way and also new tools, like in artificial intelligence that I see as not just a new fad but a whole new trend that we will be forced to use in the future.
A lot of these tools utilise to different extents artificial intelligence, check out my specific posts for more information on ai for civil engineers.
Personal Productivity & Project Management
One of the main problems I am trying to solve on my website is to limit the amount of time engineers spend doing the boring admin tasks so they can spend more time doing real engineering.
I have tried and tested so many different productivity apps and software, I am not joking when I say I have probably tried almost 10 different to do list / task managers and over 5 different notebook applications.
I have linked personal with project management as in my opinion you can use a lot of the same digital tools and really, from my own experience, the simpler the system, the easier it is to keep it updated and to actually keep using to get benefit from it.
For, there really is only one tool I can recommend that will cover almost everything you will need a as a Civil Engineer in your day job and also works seamlessly to organise your life also and that is the software called Notion.
Notion for Civil Engineers
I am sure you will get sick of how much I talk about notion and how highly I rate it for just about every aspect of personal and project management for civil engineers.
Notion is basically a ‘no-code’ software where you can visually create almost anything you want – it is simple and extremely easy to use once you learn the basis.
I started using Notion about 2 years ago and once I understood how it works I will not use another to do list manager, notebook app, scheduler or bookmark manager again – in fact I literally use my Notion list a second brain – for engineering and for my life.
I use it to manage all of my tasks, for future planning and for storing all project infromation and basically all information in my personal and professional life.
Mindmaps for Engineers
My second most used digital tool is MindMeister – I use it to create mindmaps. Where these excel is in trying to understand a new topic or piece together all the parts of a new project. Mindmeister also has their own task manager and notes manager that all link up together.
AI Tools for Productivity
There are a lot of great tools out there for doing a lot of the admin tasks in engineering – and this is the area in civil engineering today that I think AI is genuinely useful and is advanced enough where it can actually save you time, once you have learnt how to use the programs you can definitely increase your productivity.
Scheduling Your Time
There are a number of smart calendar apps out there for helping you to schedule your time but the best ones also utilise AI – why is this useful? Well, for me I can start out the week all planned and organised but as soon as one or more things go wrong during the wek my planning is all out of whack and I need to move everythign around and 9 times out of 10 it gets too overwhelming to keep doing that due to overwhelm and needing to finish the weeks task.
Where AI comes in is that they can automatically revise your calendar and tasks as things change, for me this was a gamechanger
AI scheduling assistants are pretty cool tools that can save you a ton of time. They're like having a super-smart personal secretary who never sleeps. These AI-powered buddies can look at your calendar, figure out when you're free, and even suggest the best times for meetings.
They'll handle all the back-and-forth of scheduling, deal with any conflicts, and even send out reminders.
The best part? They work with your existing calendar apps, so you don't need to learn a whole new system. If you're a busy civil engineer juggling multiple projects, these AI assistants could be a game-changer for managing your time
Preparing Meeting Minutes and Action Items
AI tools for meeting minutes are like having a super-smart assistant that never misses a beat. These nifty helpers can listen in, transcribe everything, and even pick out the important bits – jotting down key points, action items, and decisions automatically.
For us civil engineers, who often sit through long, technical meetings, these tools are a real time-saver, handling the boring admin stuff so we can focus on actual engineering work.
Writing Assistance for Reports, Emails etc
AI writing tools are like having a genius editor on speed dial. They can help us civil engineers whip up reports, emails, and proposals in no time, catching grammar slip-ups and even suggesting better ways to phrase things.
These smart assistants can also help with technical writing, making sure our jargon is on point. Plus, they're great for brainstorming ideas or summarizing long documents – pretty handy when you're drowning in project specs or environmental impact reports.
Making Presentations
AI presentation builders are like having a design whiz on your team. They can turn our boring data and technical specs into slick, eye-catching slides without us breaking a sweat. T
hese smart tools can suggest layouts, pick color schemes, and even help structure our content for maximum impact. For us civil engineers, it's a game-changer when we need to present project proposals or progress reports to clients or stakeholders.
It's like magic – you feed in the info, and out pops a pro-looking presentation.
Writing code
AI's getting pretty clever at helping us engineers with coding and design tools. It can whip up basic scripts, suggest code snippets, and even help debug our work.
For calculations, AI can create spreadsheets or small programs to handle routine structural analyses or environmental assessments. It's like having a super-smart colleague who's always ready to lend a hand with the technical stuff, freeing us up to focus on the big-picture engineering challenges.
Digital Tools For Landing Your Next Job
AI is becoming a a staple for job-hunting civil engineers.
These smart tools can scan job boards, matching our skills to the perfect gigs, and even tailor our CVs / resumes to hit all the right keywords.
For CVs and resumes, AI can help us highlight our best projects and skills, making sure we stand out from the crowd.
There are also AI tools that can create professional-looking headshots from our selfies. It's like having a personal career coach, resume writer, and photographer all rolled into one, helping us land that dream engineering job without breaking a sweat.
To get started learning how AI can be your own personal headhunter, start with my post on how to use AI for your next job.
