Serving As An On-Call Engineer
By Felicia Jackson
The first time I heard the term on call, I was about six years old. I was walking through a shopping mall with my mom when I noticed a strange black device clipped onto a man’s belt. I asked what it was, and she told me it was a pager and that he was probably a doctor who used it to be reached in case of an emergency. This was long before cell phones.
It was not until I was around ten or eleven that I began to understand the weight of that word. Both of my mom’s sisters were hospital nurses, and during nearly every family holiday, whether the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, or Christmas, one or both were on call. I remember them stepping away to return a page, sometimes resolving things over the phone, but often heading into work.
As a child, I did not like it. It felt like they were missing out. I did not yet understand the responsibility and care that came with that role.
Today, as a consulting design engineer serving public agencies, I understand it clearly.
The Consultant’s Role in On Call Service
As consultants, we are not agency staff, but we serve alongside them. We extend the capacity of public works departments, utility authorities, and transportation divisions that are responsible for maintaining essential infrastructure with limited staff and demands that continue to grow.
Being selected for an agency’s on call list reflects demonstrated competence and trust. Public agencies do not place firms on these contracts lightly. When we are awarded an on-call contract, it signals that the agency trusts our technical judgment, responsiveness, and ability to represent their interests when conditions are uncertain. In many cases, we act as an extension of their engineering staff, making recommendations that carry public safety, financial, and political implications.
When infrastructure fails, agency leaders must balance operational response, regulatory compliance, public communication, and budget constraints, often at the same time. That is when the phone rings and we step in as trusted technical advisors.
The call may be routine, involving an aging sewer line needing replacement or erosion along a channel threatening infrastructure. Or it may demand immediate action: a water main break at 2 a.m., a collapsed storm drain during a major rainfall event, or, as two of my colleagues recently experienced, a collapsed steam tunnel beneath a primary roadway and downed power lines caused by an ice storm. In every case, our clients count on our responsiveness and expertise.
A Changing Infrastructure Environment
On call engineering contracts have evolved from supplemental services into essential tools for managing risk for public agencies.
Many communities have underground infrastructure that was installed 40 to 60 years ago. As these systems deteriorate, failures occur more frequently, especially in older sewer systems, and shallow water lines are vulnerable to soil movement and temperature fluctuation. In addition, storm systems designed under decades-old hydrologic criteria are being overwhelmed by more intense rainfall events.
At the same time, public expectations have shifted. Communities expect rapid mobilization, clear communication, and visible progress. On call engineering today requires not only technical expertise, but readiness.
A Disciplined Response
Being on call means responsibility does not end at five in the evening. It means accepting that the infrastructure we design and help maintain is critical and that when something fails, someone must step forward.
At CEC, we approach on call as a disciplined process rather than a reaction.
When a call is received, our teams initiate a structured rapid assessment. We evaluate immediate public safety risks, traffic impacts, utility conflicts, regulatory considerations, and long-term design implications. We then develop a concise summary of findings, recommended next steps, and a clear path forward.
Our internal standards emphasize safety, communication, and documentation. We establish a single technical point of contact and define update intervals so our clients always know what’s happening and when.
Preparation begins long before the call. Our engineers are trained to assess field conditions rapidly, identify the cause of failure, and provide constructible repair solutions that support agency staff in making informed, timely decisions. Our senior engineers mentor younger staff through real time decision making, reinforcing judgment that balances technical accuracy with constructability and cost realities.
Equally important are the lessons learned after resolution. Every emergency becomes an opportunity to identify root causes and to translate those findings into proactive planning. The goal is not simply to repair failure, but to strengthen resilience.
On call consulting is not just about availability. It is about partnership, preparation, and trusted leadership when conditions are uncertain.
A Quiet Commitment
Much of the work engineers perform for public agencies remains invisible until something goes wrong. When it does, expectations are clear: respond quickly, respond confidently, and restore stability.
There is no question that being on call can interrupt dinners, weekends, and rest. However, it also carries deep purpose. It means we are trusted not only to design infrastructure, but to safeguard it when it matters most. We help public agencies protect the infrastructure their communities rely on every day.
In many ways, I now understand what my aunts were doing all those years ago, quietly stepping away because someone needed them.
The public may never see when we adjust plans at a moment’s notice. But they experience the impact when safety is restored, systems are stabilized, and daily life continues uninterrupted. That is the privilege of our work. If answering the call at unexpected hours is the cost of keeping our communities protected, then it is a responsibility we willingly embrace because this is what it means to Get Stuff Built Right.