Dishonest and unscrupulous workmen have many tricks to get by the inspector. These tricks are best learned by experience as no academic list can impress them properly on the memory. The position of the inspector is not always enviable. He must hold the respect of the workmen, of the contractor, and of the engineer. To do this he must not be unreasonable or arbitrary in his decisions, but when a decision is once made he must be firm in following up its enforcement. He must be careful not to give directions whose fulfillment he cannot enforce, nor for which he cannot give adequate reason to his superiors. His integrity must never be questioned. He must not allow himself to become under obligations to the contractor by the acceptance of favors he cannot return except at the expense of his employer, yet at the same time he must not appear priggish by the refusal of all favors or social invitations. In brief he must be friendly without being intimate, independent without being aloof, and firm without being arbitrary.
The engineer must support his inspectors in their decisions or discharge them if he cannot.
=121. Interpretation of Contract.=—In interpreting the contract, specifications and drawings, the engineer is supposedly an impartial arbiter between the interests of the city and the contractor. His decisions, as to the meaning of the contract, must be founded on his engineering judgment, and should aim to produce the best results without demanding more from the contractor than, in his honest opinion, it is the intention of the contract to demand. However conscientiously he may attempt to remain impartial, and in spite of the honesty of the contractor, his position, as an employee of the city will almost invariably cause him to favor the city in his decisions on close points. The experienced contractor knows this and fixes his bid accordingly, the personality of the engineer sometimes acting as an important factor in the amount of the bid. The situation arises through the character of the contract, and not through a lack of moral integrity on the part of anyone concerned.
=122. Unexpected Situations.=—When unexpected or uncertain conditions are encountered in construction the engineer should visit the spot at once and should advise or direct, according to the terms of the contract, the procedure to be followed. Such conditions may be the encountering of other pipes, quicksand, rock, etc. Each case is a problem in itself. Water, gas, telephone and electric wire conduits can be moved above or below the sewer being constructed with comparative ease. Other sewers, if smaller, may be permitted to flow temporarily across the line of the sewer under construction and finally discharge into the completed sewer, or one sewer must be made to pass under the other, either as an inverted siphon or by changing the grade of one of the sewers. Rock, or other material for which a special rate of payment is allowed, must be measured as soon as uncovered in order to avoid delaying the work or losing the record of the amount removed. When quicksand is met special precautions must be taken to safeguard the sewer foundation and to insure that the sewer will remain in place until after the backfilling is completed. These precautions are described in Art. 135.