At just 16 years old, Mohammad Alslaysil moved from Kuwait to the United States to pursue a mechanical engineering degree at Arizona State University. Upon completing the program in 2020, 23-year old Mohammad moved back to his home country of Kuwait to take on a construction role in oil and gas refineries. As soon as he began to do hands-on construction projects in this role, he fell in love with being able to bring visions that were planned on paper into the real world, and since then, he hasn't looked back.
Aside from finding his calling, the year in Kuwait helped Mohammad gain critical skills such as roofing, landscaping, HVAC, energy management, and risk management, all of which he applies in professional settings on a daily basis. Equipped with a refined set of skills and inspired by the owner of the company he worked for, Mohammad wanted to become a leader in construction to have an impact on end users and the teams he collaborates with.
Ready to push himself further, Mohammad returned to the United States, but this time, it was for a master's degree. In just one year, he secured a master's degree in construction management from Florida International University. Building on the hard skills he learned in the field in Kuwait, this educational opportunity added things like construction safety management, construction cost analysis, and financial management of construction organizations to his toolbelt. He also worked as a teaching assistant for a class titled "Principles of Construction Scheduling," which gave him supervisory experience as he guided students through lectures, projects, and hands-on training.
His first opportunity after finishing his master's degree was one that many building project engineers would struggle to manage, but for Mohammad, managing a $50 million project felt natural. He worked with the client, engineers, subcontractors, and the project manager to identify project obstacles and resolve them in a timely manner. He managed schedules, operations, drawings, and specifications as the project moved from start to finish. Mohammed was the owner of project reporting, meaning that he prepared regular updates for project stakeholders, managed budget constraints, and reported any missed targets throughout the project.
Currently a project engineer at Messam Construction in Miramar, Florida, Mohammed works on school-focused construction projects, often managing multiple strategic projects at once. Estimating the quantity of materials needed, along with associated costs, helps set baseline expectations for projects before they are underway, and this step is very important. Without the hands-on construction experience from previous roles and the construction financial management exposure from his master's degree, Mohammed wouldn't be as successful in this role today.
Walking into higher-level roles means that responsibilities grow and shift, and this time, managing people is one of Mohammad's many responsibilities. He works with multiple subcontractors to complete projects, as well as oversees several workers. The importance of collaboration among these individuals cannot be overstated, but with a level-headed and thoughtful approach, Mohammad creates an environment where things run smoothly, and people work seamlessly with one another.
As a construction project engineer, Mohammad has coordinated projects ranging from $500,000 to $50 million. While that is a wide range, many of the fundamental components of a project's success stay the same. Mohammad's drive to continuously learn, paired with his eye for detail and an emphasis on teamwork are the skills that set him apart in the industry. Sure, he can eyeball measurements with near-perfect accuracy and get the foundation of a structure erected in less than a week, but it's his people skills and way of thinking that he relies on to bring projects to completion. Mohammad is a hard worker, but he's an even better leader and visionary, and residential and commercial clients alike rely on him for the unique perspective he brings to the table.
While working in construction, he realized how green construction is crucial for the future of humanity and he is always eager to promote green construction material, indoor environmental quality and energy conservation to his clients. His next project is to develop his own green construction company. While sustainable buildings tend to cost more, the return on investment is very significant not only for the owner but for the health of our planet.
