My father was a civil engineer, and ever since I was knee-high to a grasshopper I became aware of “the site visit” as being an integral part of one’s work activities.  Granted, in those days visiting a road construction camp in the far-flung corners of Namibia or Kwazulu Natal, where communications were radio-based and decidedly patchy, was the only way to be sure of the status of the project at hand.  Today I work mainly in IT infrastructure project management, and communication of progress and status should be easier, but it is often not.  It is a foolish PM (or any manager for that matter) who does not occasionally go “onsite” to get a real feel for where things stand.  This could mean giving the beta application or new software tool a try, visiting the data centre to see the server, cables and switches being installed, or connecting to the test wifi network with your smartphone.  Do it!  You will be amazed at the things you learn and the value it brings to your job!