Ali Alshami

Ali Alshami joins Andy as the young site engineer's voice in the foundational cohort, recently graduated from Auckland University civil engineering (ranked 36th in the world for civil engineering at the time), originally from Jordan, following his father's footsteps as a contractor engineer. Ali's central frustration is unflinching: unbuildable designs are a "very common occurrence" on NZ sites, site engineers spend their time proving designs don't work in real life and going back-and-forth with designers. The conversation lands a sharp critique that partial BIM is worse than no BIM: "people refer to BIM as a 3D model or clash detection, it's so much more than that. It's a way of organising data to drive data-driven decisions." On NZ projects so far, BIM has never been fully implemented, partial implementation means you invest in 3D modelling but still end up "standing below the floor plate with 2D drawings doing old-school coordination." The university-to-industry gap also surfaces strongly: "everything I learned at uni is good, but in real life the story is different", engineering degrees train your mind to think a certain way (which sets you up for success) but practical application comes only on site. Ali calls for better linkage between universities and current construction needs. The episode closes with the site-supervision-vs-site-engineering distinction: supervision is operations + leading contractors; engineering is addressing design conflicts + coordinating with designers + solving real-life implementation problems. Functionally complementary to Ep 06 - Martin Edwards (services-coordination from methodology side) and Ep 07 - Jordan Hetet (incomplete-design from senior site supervisor side).

Key Topics Discussed

• Unbuildable designs are common. Andy: "Is unbuildable design a common occurrence?" Ali: "It is, it is." Site engineers spend their time proving designs don't work in real life. Constant back-and-forth with designers. "There's always that real life versus design gap."
• BIM and Services Coordination, partial BIM critique. "People refer to BIM as a 3D model or clash detection, it's so much more than that. It's a way of organising data to drive data-driven decisions." Partial BIM = invest in 3D modelling but still end up standing below the floor plate with 2D drawings doing old-school coordination, worse than full commitment either way.
• University-to-industry disconnect. "Everything I learned at uni is good, but in real life the story is different." Engineering degrees train your mind to think a certain way (sets you up for success) but practical application comes only on site. Wants better linkage between universities and current construction needs. Same theme Ep 70 - Katherine Hall (ConCove + degree apprenticeships) addresses institutionally.
• "How am I going to use this?" hindsight. "You understand how you should have studied more after you got into the industry rather than when you're actually doing your degree."
• Auckland Uni civil engineering. Ranked 36th in the world for civil engineering at the time of Ali's degree (2016-17 start). "Reputable, very stressful and hard to get through. But worth it."
• Site supervision vs site engineering. Two distinct roles often conflated. Supervision: operations + leading contractors. Engineering: addressing design conflicts + coordinating with designers + solving real-life implementation problems.
• Following his father into engineering. Father is a contractor engineer in Jordan. Ali went to NZ for civil engineering after seeing the trade growing up. Career pattern: family-business → industry-degree → site-engineering → grow into contracting.
• Data-driven decisions = the actual point of BIM. Andy and Ali align: BIM's value is data-organisation enabling data-driven decisions. The 3D-model-and-clash-detection framing is reductive. Same thesis Andy returns to verbatim on Ep 44 - James Braddock / Ep 85 - Anna.

Notable Quotes

Ali: "Is unbuildable design a common occurrence? It is, it is."

Ali: "There's always that real life versus design gap."

Ali: "People refer to BIM as a 3D model or clash detection, it's so much more than that. It's a way of organising data to drive data-driven decisions."

Ali (on university): "What your engineering degree gives you is it trains your mind to think a certain way, that sets you up for success."

Ali: "Everything I learned at uni is good, but in real life the story is different."

Ali: "You understand how you should have studied more after you got into the industry rather than when you're actually doing your degree."

Guest Background

Ali Alshami, originally from Jordan; followed his father's footsteps (contractor engineer in Jordan) into construction. Civil engineering degree from Auckland University (started 2016-17; ranked 36th in the world for civil engineering at the time). At time of recording: started as a site supervisor, progressed to site engineer on the contracting side. Young-engineer perspective complement to Jordan Hetet (senior site supervisor) and Martin Edwards (vertical-buildings methodologist).