CE111 FOM1 Smith Strong FOM Example - Annotated.docx Page 1 of 3 FIELD OBSERVATION MEMORANDUM To: Patrick McLaughlin From: John Smith CC: Date: October 30, 2014 Subject: City of Portland Engineering Offices Visit Team D from the CE111 Introduction to Civil Engineering class visited the City of Portland offices at 1310 SW 5th Avenue on Wednesday October 24, 2014. The purpose of this visit was for students to learn about the different types of work civil and environmental engineers do for the city. Our host was Lawrence Terrell, a civil engineer for the City of Portland in the Bureau of Environmental Services (BES). The visit lasted approximately one hour. Five engineers and one construction manager, representing three bureaus, discussed their work for the city. We then briefly toured the work spaces on the 13th floor. This memo presents my observations and discussion of the visit. Observations Mr. Terrell began with an overview of the departments and bureaus in the City of Portland. He then introduced Tim McCurdie, who works in water facility planning for the Portland Water Bureau. Mr. McCurdie discussed the need for watershed improvements in the urban environment and described ways that the city is currently working to increase the capacity and efficiency of the water infrastructure. The next speaker was David Valdez, an engineering analyst with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT). He described an engineering analyst’s fundamental job as “analyzing a system in order to figure out how it works, how efficiently it works, and if it can be improved.” He explained that on a daily basis he analyzes field data such as signal timing to see if a delay in traffic or pedestrian movement can be eliminated. Mr. Valdez also described his training for his job. He did an internship with PBOT as he completed his B.S. and he obtained an M.S. with a specialization in Transportation Engineering so that he was well qualified to work on traffic issues for the City of Portland. The memo used the course template. The first sentence provides specific information about who, where, and when. The second sentence tells the purpose of the visit. The subject line is short and specific. The concise first paragraph provides the basic information about the visit: length, host, what was included. This statement tells of the purpose of the memo. It also tells what content is coming (first observations, then discussion). Make sure the purpose of your memo is clear in your introduction (in addition to the purpose of the visit). The writer uses a quote from a speaker and also provides concrete details about what that quote meant (i.e., what the engineer does and how he makes systems more efficient). These specific details add depth to the observations. The red comments point out important strengths of this example. The Observations section consistently focuses on o.

1. CE111 FOM1 Smith
Strong FOM Example - Annotated.docx Page 1 of 3
FIELD OBSERVATION MEMORANDUM
To: Patrick McLaughlin
From: John Smith
CC:
Date: October 30, 2014
Subject: City of Portland Engineering Offices Visit
Team D from the CE111 Introduction to Civil Engineering class
visited the City of Portland offices at
1310 SW 5th Avenue on Wednesday October 24, 2014. The
purpose of this visit was for students to learn
about the different types of work civil and environmental
engineers do for the city. Our host was
Lawrence Terrell, a civil engineer for the City of Portland in the
Bureau of Environmental Services
(BES). The visit lasted approximately one hour. Five engineers
and one construction manager,

2. representing three bureaus, discussed their work for the city.
We then briefly toured the work spaces on
the 13th floor. This memo presents my observations and
discussion of the visit.
Observations
Mr. Terrell began with an overview of the departments and
bureaus in the City of Portland. He then
introduced Tim McCurdie, who works in water facility planning
for the Portland Water Bureau. Mr.
McCurdie discussed the need for watershed improvements in the
urban environment and described ways
that the city is currently working to increase the capacity and
efficiency of the water infrastructure.
The next speaker was David Valdez, an engineering analyst with
the Portland Bureau of Transportation
(PBOT). He described an engineering analyst’s fundamental job
as “analyzing a system in order to figure
out how it works, how efficiently it works, and if it can be
improved.” He explained that on a daily basis
he analyzes field data such as signal timing to see if a delay in
traffic or pedestrian movement can be
eliminated. Mr. Valdez also described his training for his job.

3. He did an internship with PBOT as he
completed his B.S. and he obtained an M.S. with a
specialization in Transportation Engineering so that he
was well qualified to work on traffic issues for the City of
Portland.
The memo used the course template.
The first sentence provides specific
information about who, where, and when.
The second sentence tells the purpose of
the visit.
The subject line is short and specific.
The concise first paragraph provides the basic information
about the visit:
length, host, what was included.
This statement tells of the purpose of the
memo. It also tells what content is
coming (first observations, then
discussion). Make sure the purpose of
your memo is clear in your introduction
(in addition to the purpose of the visit).
The writer uses a quote from a speaker
and also provides concrete details
about what that quote meant (i.e., what
the engineer does and how he makes
systems more efficient). These specific
details add depth to the observations.

4. The red comments point out important strengths of this
example.
The Observations section consistently focuses on
observations – not providing interpretations or
discussion of the observations yet.
CE111 FOM1 Smith
Strong FOM Example - Annotated.docx Page 2 of 3
Following Mr. Valdez were four employees of BES. Charlotte
Bailey, an environmental engineer, spoke
about her role in maintaining the sanitary sewer system. She
primarily designs repairs for the system and
upgrades to meet new regulations. Patricia Johnson works as a
supervising professional engineer. She
emphasized the impact that permits and regulations have on city
projects. They often determine when and
where work can be done, and they require careful planning that
allows time for the permit process. Sam
Patterson, also a professional engineer, spoke about his work in
stream and habitat restoration. He

5. explained that timber harvesting along many of our rivers and
streams removed woody debris which had
prevented erosion and provided habitat for wildlife. One method
he often employs to mitigate the
negative effects of the timber practices is to place large logs
and root wads along the banks of the rivers.
Finally, George Caruso spoke to our team. Mr. Caruso is a
construction manager who often works with
the city’s engineers. He described his role as “the science of
successfully implementing designs in the
construction phase.” In other words, as he explained, he
supervises crews who build the objects that were
designed by engineers.
The final part of the visit was a five-minute tour of the 13th
floor. The floor was divided into cubicles,
with larger, glassed-in offices along the outside walls. Four
people were having a discussion around a
drawing on a white board in one of the outer offices. Otherwise,
the floor was very quiet and most
cubicles were empty. We were unable to see many engineers in
the midst of their work.

6. Discussion
The speakers covered diverse types of work for the city.
However, two major themes were apparent in all
the speakers’ comments. The first theme concerned the large
number of challenges that come from
working within the city. The speakers mentioned the number of
permits, the need to retrofit old designs
of water and sewer systems to fulfill new laws, the high volume
of traffic on small roads, and the
difficulties of trying to make a natural watershed in an urban
area. Many of these conditions would not
be as challenging in a rural area with lower population. The
second theme concerned the teamwork
required on every project the engineers mentioned. Engineers
in different bureaus worked together, as
when BES and the Water Bureau speakers both talked about
watershed issues. Engineers and
construction employees must also collaborate, as Mr. Caruso
made clear. All the speakers mentioned
The writer concisely introduces four people into this paragraph
rather than
wasting words repeating “The next speaker was Charlotte
Bailey... The next
speaker was Patricia Johnson... After Ms. Johnson was Sam
Patterson...”

7. The following observations provide concrete information about
what the speakers
said.
This sentence is very important for
concretely explaining what the
quotation means. The previous part of “Observations” covered
what the writer
was told by the speakers. Now the writer describes what he
saw. Both are appropriate for the “Observations” section.
The writer is adding his own interpretation of the
situation here. This is appropriate because he is
discussing observations and reflection on what
he learned.
Although many things were covered by the speakers, the
writer focuses on TWO themes. Pick TWO or THREE major
points to develop in your Discussion.
CE111 FOM1 Smith
Strong FOM Example - Annotated.docx Page 3 of 3
how their work was just one part of a larger project.
Previously, I had not thought about how many
different people play roles in the successful completion of a
project. In addition, because I am interested
in transportation, I found comments by Mr. Valdez especially
helpful. I plan to look into internships with

8. PBOT as I complete my B.S. degree.
Conclusion
Overall, the visit to the City of Portland engineering offices was
very useful for increasing my
understanding of engineers’ work in the city. I also learned
more about training for my specific interest in
transportation engineering. The trip would have been even
more educational if I had learned more about
an engineer’s typical day at work. For the future, I recommend
asking the engineers to explain what they
usually do each day or to tell what they were working on earlier
that day.
The writer is reflecting on his own learning, as required for this
assignment. Using “I” in a few sentences to tell about your
thoughts and
experiences is appropriate. It is also appropriate to discuss
points that
are especially meaningful to you even if they were not the main
focus of
the visit. Here the writer emphasizes what Mr. Valdez said
because it
applies to his interests.
The writer succinctly summarizes the visit’s
impact on his learning. Notice that he does not
just say the visit was “useful” or “interesting.”

9. He tells exactly what was useful about it.
The writer chooses to make a
recommendation for the future, and
he explains the reason behind his
recommendation. Making a
recommendation is optional.
The writer has proof-read carefully. There
are no typos or no errors in grammar or
spelling.
1. https://www.pdx.edu/insidepsu/neuberger-hall-renovation-to-
begin
2. https://www.pdx.edu/construction/724-harrison-renovation
3. http://www.nextportland.com/2017/08/29/psu-neuberger-hall/
4. http://www.psuf.org/neuberger-hall-project-updates
5. https://www.pdx.edu/gov-relations/sites/www.pdx.edu.gov-
relations/files/PSU%20-%20Neuberger%20Hall.pdf
Renovation at Neuberger Hall
Wed, Oct 24, 2018
In this class, we were toured the renovation at Neuberger hall.
Before entering the building, PPE was provided at the
construction site. The students were wearing safety glasses,
hard hat, safety vest. First, we were touring the site in two
separate groups. the tour last approximately for one hour, from
10:30 to 11:30. The professor plan to meet in the breezeway
between Neuberger hall and SMSU. There was an engineer
instructor that were touring the students. His name was Steve.
There were 5 floors in the building and 2 elevators. The 5th

10. floor was only for the storages, not much going on, there is also
a fire department in the 5th floor. 4th floor has a 4 big
skylights. The 3rd floor has a fire tabs, rebuilt new skylight,
and also we can look the skylight from this floor. It also has the
language department. On the second floor, there are 5 general
classrooms, new floor covering, lights, conference room, his
office was in this floor, student launch art department in the
middle, math lab, painting classes, drawing classes, 3 court
classes, dark room for photography memory. The first floor
going to be for the student’s success, office register, finance,
OIT health move from smith building, concrete to glass
brodway facing, staircase. The basement has a fire water,
staircase, OIT department, OIT class drop in class, AV systems,
math lab 85 seat, electronic room, left tunnel to smith building.