Joe Fello, PE is one of the many skilled GAI professionals who help clients create better communities, transportation infrastructure, power generation and delivery, and more from our office locations throughout the United States. Today we will find out a little about Joe—the background, motivation, and methods that he brings to the table every day for GAI and GAI’s clients.
Q: Please tell us a little bit about your specialization and what drew you to it, and give us an idea of the work you do at GAI.
Joe Fello: My area of specialization is civil engineering for community infrastructure. I was drawn to this field from a young age and always had an interest in creating spaces for people to live in. I remember one summer while I was growing up, a friend from the neighborhood and I dug roads underneath the pine tree in my parents’ front yard for our GI Joe figures to use. Now I design roads and spaces for real people.
The projects I typically contribute to can include utility replacements, commercial developments, residential developments, construction alterations for Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance, and more. I prepare the construction drawings that are used by municipal and state agencies for project permitting—these drawings are what the project contractors use to prepare their bids and what they work from when a project goes into construction. It’s great to see something that my team created on paper get brought to life.
Q: What do you find most rewarding about your job, and why do you feel that GAI is a good place to put your expertise to work?
Joe: I really enjoy working with new technology like our Civil 3D software—the power we have for creating computer-based models of our project sites would have been unthinkable a few decades back. As I mentioned earlier, I gain a lot of personal satisfaction from contributing to projects that provide places for people to live that are designed to help protect them from dangers ranging from tripping hazards to floods.
My work at GAI has given me the opportunity to collaborate with a wide variety of talented project partners, which benefits my clients’ project goals as it helps me raise my game as an engineer. Also, I’ve gone from living as a bachelor to being a married man with a family since I started at GAI almost 15 years ago—and I believe that the company’s support for my career development helped make that a reality.
Q: What does your typical day at work look like?
Joe: I usually wake up early enough to hit the gym before work. This helps me improve my focus during office hours and leaves me time to spend with my family after work.
In addition to concentrating on my individual work, I spend my day collaborating with project partners to make sure our various projects are on track. Those partners can include clients, reviewers, subconsultants, or designers. Team collaboration has come a long way from the years when I first entered the industry, when we would stop into the cubicle next door (or yell over the cubicle wall!) to communicate. Microsoft Teams conference calls with screen sharing and a strong agenda to keep a meeting on track is more efficient in our present technological landscape, and, in my experience, facilitates and improves workflow, communication, collaboration, and productivity.
Q: How do you think the job you do benefits the community and how do you measure your success?
Joe: As well as helping provide safe and comfortable living spaces, I can point to GAI’s contributions to a series of ongoing small-diameter water main utility replacement projects throughout the Pittsburgh, PA area. Through this work, we check the pipes that connect water service to residents’ homes so that old lead pipes can be replaced with non-toxic copper pipes. So, I’m pretty gratified by helping provide people with clean water, which is a significant contribution to community well-being.
Repeat business is the ultimate proof of success, and GAI has earned a reputation for delivering superior work to satisfied clients again and again.
As for gauging success, getting a simple ‘Thank you for your hard work’ is a much-appreciated measuring stick, but the best indicator is winning another project from a client. Repeat business is the ultimate proof of success, and GAI has earned a reputation for delivering superior work to satisfied clients again and again.
Contact Joe Fello, 412.399.5514, for more information about GAI’s civil engineering services —message GAI and start the conversation about how our multidiscipline professionals can meet your unique project needs.
Joe Fello, PE specializes in civil engineering for residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional land development projects. With GAI since 2010, Joe is proficient in design of green stormwater infrastructure and post-construction stormwater management. He has significant project experience designing erosion and sediment control facilities, site grading, roadways, and utilities.
