It depends a lot on middle-management climate, but one {by no means fast-paced} approach in larger organizations, as a maintenance electrician, is to comment—a little at a time; later by formal invitation—on locally generated specifications and drawings that involve a project that you will “inherit” after construction. Start simply with very basic statements on simpler aspects that you find to be clear inconsistencies that will likely end up costing more money over the life of whatever is being built; {id est, you may have to deal with on a daily basis that will clearly cost your employer money to address potentially decades after final construction signoff.} Be prepared to carefully detail, reference and justify your reasons why something on paper doesn’t add up, and if left unmodified will turn into long-term heartburn for your employer {and you.} The Prime Directive should be convincing managers and engineers/designers that a little money spent now will save a lot more in the future. Keep your input as technical as possible and minimize anecdotes and emotionally based “justification” as much as you can.
A good place to start is finding built-in NEC violations At The Design Stage that will usually show up as bloodthirsty insistence on a change order by the construction contractor. {Sometimes, construction foremen live and breathe for the “quick cash” that may be “required” for curing engineering goofups.} Don’t forget that it works both ways—if you work for/as a contractor, on-the-job ideas that can simplify and improve the finished product and make it more profitable are key to gaining respect and advancement in your job.
It is important to organize and file [by whatever means works for you] your comments and supporting notes so that you may be able to easily re-address your input a decade down the road, if necessary. You have to be prepared, at times, to be ‘shot down’ and accused of having half-baked ideas, but there’s always next time—where new information you find or simply a clearer restatement of ideas can be applied.
This is one way to limit the “I get no respect” treatment that can be associated with the trades.
