The Day Begins

7:00 AM – Coffee? Mandatory. Inbox? Already overflowing. Phone? Ringing before the laptop is even fully awake.

Welcome to life as a telecom Construction Manager.

By 9:00 AM, the team has already jumped between calls with contractors, utility companies, project managers, clients, and internal teams. Somewhere in the chaos there are construction drawings to review, materials to track, start dates to confirm, permits to follow up on, and site issues that somehow became everyone’s emergency overnight.

From 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM—and sometimes beyond—the day shifts between spreadsheets, project trackers, and conference calls, and hands-on work in the field, including site walks, construction troubleshooting, and coordinating real-time solutions.

Managing the Unexpected

Constant and often unpredictable change means that a significant part of the job is being ready to problem solve:

  • Utilities are delayed
  • Materials are missing
  • Fiber routes need adjustments
  • Weather impacts schedules
  • Someone forgot to send the update everyone needed
  • Birds built another nest on the cell tower… again

Yes, that last one is real. Telecom construction occasionally involves waiting on birds to vacate a tower before work can continue. And apparently, they rebuild faster than contractors.

Despite all of that, the goal stays the same: keep the project moving forward.

The Tools of the Trade

Laptops, cell phones, Microsoft Teams, Google Earth, giant Excel trackers, construction drawings, tape measures, range finders, field gear, and an insulated coffee mug that quickly becomes part of the uniform.

What It Takes to Succeed

The role takes patience, initiative, communication, adaptability, attention to detail, and the ability to stay calm when things get chaotic. One team member summed it up perfectly:

“This job is basically like herding cats.”

Teamwork Keeps Projects Moving

What makes the Construction Management team successful at Coal Creek is the teamwork behind it. Everyone jumps in where needed, helps solve problems, and works together to keep projects on track when things inevitably get hectic.

At the end of the day, Construction Managers help turn dozens of moving parts into completed wireless sites that keep people connected and that’s something this team takes a lot of pride in.