Cognitive Processes of the Construction Engineer: Planning and Decision Making in Production and Safety

In recent years, in the construction industry, facing the limitations of behavioral approaches, the approach to cognitive aspects has been considered an alternative to improve production and safety. The goal of this article is to understand the cognitive processes of the construction engineer that allow them to anticipate problems in several Levels of Anticipation of the construction process, planning, and decision making in production and safety. To achieve this goal we use, interacting with the ethnographic study, the methodology of activity analysis and, in particular, what is called approach of the course of action. Thus, the cases presented make it possible to understand how the construction engineer, using information available in the Levels of Anticipation of the construction process, manipulates resources—personal (tacit and explicit knowledge, skills, etc.), material (designs), and social (relationship with his team)—when he perceives problems. By understanding their fortes, we can better foment their cognitive process. Thus, the theory is relevant and contributes to describe and explain the processes of human problem solving, decision making, and planning.