Sometimes you get a task that is impossible to achieve based on the information provided, the space provided, or restraints given. This is something to remember when you feel you are spinning your wheels. If something isn’t adding up, it may not be you doing anything wrong. It may not be possible. It is good to know when to ask for help rather than pulling out your hair.
I had someone reach out to me about their task on another project and working on the stairwell. Everything they were doing was correct but there physically wasn’t enough space to fit all the clearances needed at the floor levels, door swing clearances, and so on. I brought up an example from another project and suspected there wasn’t enough room to complete the task. It was a good way to show what the stairwell should look like in the end. This person needed to go back to their team to discuss making the new stairwell larger to fit the required clearances.
What they did:
They worked on stair options for so long that they became stressed. There was no possible solution based on the space provided, and the necessary requirements. They became worried about the project manager being disappointed that the task wasn’t complete yet.
What they SHOULD have done:
They did the right thing about asking someone but they should have done so earlier before they became stressed. This also takes up valuable time for them spinning their wheels on an impossible task. It is good to do a gut check from time to time if something seems off or taking you a lot longer than you expected.
The bonus of them asking me, I also noticed that the walls of the stairwell were not modeled correctly and that they needed to talk to the team about that as well. Sharing with them on how it SHOULD be modeled and explaining that the team needs to determine the wall construction for this specific project.
Written by
Katelyn Rossier, AIA, LSSBB