Engineering Commons^™

Feasibility Of Collaborative Alliance Association For Non-Competitive Small Business Contractors, Brody Allen Gill

Construction Management

Small business construction contracting firms around the country struggle with growing their business successfully. This is a result of unknown results from new business practices and few resources to initiate programs that can improve productivity and efficiency. A simple solution could give small business construction contractors the opportunity to share ideas, compare company analytics and promote professional networking in a non-competitive, collaborative alliance. The goal of this project is to determine if a collaborative alliance association using data benchmarking would be an effective solution for non-competitive small business contractors to grow their businesses. Thereafter being proven effective, is such an …

Means And Methods Of Residential Construction And Design In Remote Areas Of Southeast Alaska, Joseph Anthony Masters

Construction Management

Building in the remote locations of Southeast Alaska is currently an unexplored area of construction that has been avoided due to the complications that accompany such projects. Many property owners in the Southeast Alaska region face challenges due to a lack of common practices that would simplify the construction process, particularly those deprived of road access and utility services. These potential residents must rely on sustainable techniques and alternative modes of material transportation, creating an abundance of planning concerns. Additionally, while code restrictions are limited due to the uniqueness of these properties, certain codes regarding the Alaska Department of Natural …

Increasing The Accessibility Of Bim Training Within The Aec Industry, Xavier Caldera

Construction Management

At the turn of the 21^st century, the rise of new technology has helped modernize the AEC industry. Architects, engineers, general contractors, and foremen can build, collaborate, and communicate more efficiently using BIM to help facilitate the building process. The benefits of BIM have been proven through increased coordination, risk mitigation, and cost optimization. However, with the increasing use of BIM, there is a growing education gap between construction workers and BIM technology. Currently, there are three main avenues to learn BIM: in-house company training, attending college, or paying to learn independently online. The foundation for a BIM learning …

The Impact Of Education On Career Growth In The Construction Industry, Luis F. Rodrigues

Construction Management

A construction management degree and an apprenticeship are the two educational routes for a career in the construction industry. There are divisions within the workforce that reflect these educational pathways. Ideally, an alternative education would allow individuals without access to a university education to develop their career from an entry level position. However, if education has a long-term career impact, then limiting factors on education are consequently limiting on career growth. In examining if there is a ceiling on career growth relative to educational backgrounds, both education and experience were identified as key variables. In the case study presented, the …

Shell House Demo, Cameron Tilmont

Construction Management

The Shell House demo was recommended by the Associate Dean of CAED as a potential senior project for students. Built decades ago it had deteriorated over time. The purpose of this project was to clean up Poly Canyon Architecture Graveyard, making it a nice, safe place to visit. This project interested the author because it was something different and was geared more towards heavy civil.

To get started, a permit had to be submitted to the CAL POLY building department. This process took longer than expected. The permit wasn’t released until an environmental impact test was conducted, resulting in asbestos …

On-Site Design Of A Water Filtration System In Rural Ghana, Donald Eugene Long

Construction Management

Agbokpa is a rural community in southern Ghana with no access to clean or running water. Villages without access to water face significant hurdles in obtaining an education and developing their communities’ infrastructure and economy. In August of 2019 Cal Poly students Eugene Long, Fletcher Podosek, and Mason Nolan traveled with professors Paul Redden and Dr. Nathan Heston to Agbokpa to fix this problem. The team spent three weeks living in the village and constructing a water tower, pumping system, and filtration system that communally serves the village. The team worked with local craftsmen and sourced nearly all equipment and …

An Analysis Of Single Family Residences And Townhomes In Los Angeles As An Investment, Maggie Lai

Construction Management

Purchasing a home has long been one of the most important financial decisions and big purchases one makes in their life. However, recently rising market prices and a large influx of people moving to large cities, such as Los Angeles, has driven housing prices far beyond many people’s budgets. In fact, affordability is going down at such a rapid rate that currently only 30% of LA County residents actually own a home. Additionally, Los Angeles is currently ranked as the fourth most difficult market for first-time homebuyers to delve in to. Many LA County residents have decided against ever purchasing …

A Case Study: The First Coastal Nuclear Decommissioning Project In California, Willie Aaron Quiros

Construction Management

San Onofre Nuclear Generating System (SONGS) is one of two nuclear power plants in California. Since the shut down in 2012, there is only one actively remaining, Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant, which is set to shut down in 2024. This paper will examine the decommissioning of SONGS thus far; the first coastal nuclear decommissioning project in California’s stringent permitting process. This project was awarded as a joint venture to AECOM and Energy Solutions, both having experiencing in the field of nuclear decommissioning. This paper will outline what nuclear decommissioning challenges have been in the past; general steps of decommissioning …

Interdisciplinary Studio Pavilion [Isp] 2019, Rhett Turner

Construction Management

The Wine History Project of San Luis Obispo (the “WHP”) has been collecting and presenting viniculture artifacts from the last two centuries. With the need to display and maintain important artifacts comes the need for a structure that can fulfill such criteria. The purpose of this project was to design a pavilion that could entertain individuals while also displaying artifacts for the WHP. Additionally, the project’s design followed the recently trending method of integrated project delivery, which included the Architecture and Architectural Engineering departments. From the beginning, the design was influenced by its value propositions while still working within the …

Interdisciplinary Studio Pavilion [Isp] 2019, Gannon Van Sickle

Construction Management

An Interdisciplinary studio involves different knowledge disciplines who work together to achieve a common goal. This project engages this idea with three different majors. Our objective was to create a Pavilion to display wine history artifacts from the central coast. The project teams consist of architecture, construction management, and structural engineering majors. Each group was tasked with designing a portable pavilion that would achieve the desired objectives of the clients. At the end of the quarter the client will choose which project to be built. The roles of the different disciplines overlap, creating a project viewed at from many perspectives. …

Cal Poly Construction Management Student’S Main Determinants For Potential Employment Opportunities: A Guide For Employers, David Joseph Van Buskirk Ii

Construction Management

California Polytechnic State University’s Construction Management department has an excellent reputation. This reputation, boosted by a 100% placement rate, attracts an abundant number of recruiters, a number that continues to grow every year. With the large number of recruiters coming to campus, students often find themselves in the fortunate situation of having multiple offers and having the opportunity to select amongst various companies. To be competitive, employers would best serve to cater their recruitment process to suit the needs of the students they are trying to hire. While plenty of research has been conducted to investigate and determine how recruiters …

Feasibility Of Reclaimed Lumber In Construction, Ernest Michael Banchero

Construction Management

As sustainable building becomes more and more prevalent in the construction industry, builders and homeowners are experimenting more with different kinds of building materials. The focus of this paper is on reclaimed wood. One can find reclaimed wood almost anywhere, in an old barn, lumber yards, basically any place that has valuable wood that is not being used. This wood is then taken to a mill and cleaned up. Imperfections are removed, nails are taken out, and any finish that will be used is applied. Reclaimed wood has grown in popularity in construction projects over the last few decades. The …

Interdisciplinary Student Competition For California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo, Forest G. Gobble

Construction Management

Cal Poly has a reputation for producing some of the best qualified graduates in their respective fields of study. While this is very important, curricular activities involving collaboration between students within the same college are limited (excluding same major). Beyond that, collaboration opportunities across colleges are even more rare. When graduates enter the workforce, many are thrust into highly collaborative environments across various disciplines. Industry professionals have shown a strong desire for young people who have had exposure to realistic problems and experience working with other professions outside of their own field of expertise. The question needing answering is, would …

Implementing Weekly Work Plan Lab Into Cm 214 - Residential Construction, David Maslan

Construction Management

A schedule is one of the primary components of any construction project and can determine the success of a job. Schedules most often contain high-level line items and lack the details it takes to actually implement daily work in the field. Subcontractors, as the specialists, understand the myriad of smaller tasks that a master schedule omits. It is the job of a superintendent to extract this information from subcontractors during pull plans, to build precise schedules, called weekly work plans (WWP). At Cal Poly it is expected that students receive a well-rounded curriculum in how to build various types of …

Stem And The Skilled Labor Shortage In The United States, Nicolo Tetsuo Hoshizaki

Construction Management

There is a growing shortage of skilled labor in the United States construction industry. As the baby boomer generation prepares to leave the workforce, this problem is getting exponentially worse. As Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics programs have become the U.S. Department of Education’s top priority, more young adults are pursuing higher education and entering the STEM workforce. Using quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, this paper provides an explanation as to why a logical method to assuage the labor shortage in construction is to employ vocational programs that prepare young adults to enter the industry similar to how STEM programs …

Implementing Ti Construction Into Cal Poly's Construction Management Curriculum, Ryan Donald Strong

Construction Management

No abstract provided.

Comparative Case Study: Understanding Why Clients Hire A 3rd Party Construction Manager, Brandon Ivan Perez

Construction Management

Many construction management students are unfamiliar with the project management for fee industry and the relationship between a construction manager and a project owner. Construction Management programs typically teach their students the variety of project delivery methods available to a client for their project. The Agency-CM project delivery method is not the most common project delivery method, and students have expressed interest in learning more about this side of the construction industry. This senior project will illustrate (3) different real-world projects where former clients chose to hire Cumming Corporation as an 3rd party construction manager and what factors drove them …

Online Platform For Construction Management Internship Reviews, Erica Zetterquist

Construction Management

This paper discusses the process I went through to develop a website for Construction Management students to review their internships. The scope of the project was to create an online platform similar to “Polyratings” and “Rate My Professors” for Cal Poly Construction Management students to review internships. Reviews from peers would be accessible to students to help them through their job search process. Relative information such as salary, company culture, and other information collected in my survey allows peers better context of the internship experience. Part of the creating process of my website included research into web design sites like …

Cal Poly Women In Construction Youth Outreach: Girl Scouts In Construction Program, Katherine I. Love

Construction Management

Construction is, historically, a predominately male-dominated major, but today, countless efforts are made to change this. Girl Scouts in Construction was created to help the Cal Poly Women in Construction Club increase their youth outreach. This event was hosted to give a positive-hands on construction experience to increase construction exposure to girls at a young age. Through organizing this event, the connections between the Cal Poly Women in Construction Club and the Girl Scouts of California's Central Coast, National Association of Women in Construction, Cal Poly Construction Management Department, and a few general contracting companies were all strengthened. At this …

Interdisciplinary Studio Pavilion (Isp) 2019, Louis Joseph Rampone

Construction Management

The Interdisciplinary Studio Pavilion 2019 was designed for students the in the majors of architecture, architectural engineering, and construction management to be split into teams to design a pavilion for the Wine History Project. The 8 teams were tasked with designing a pavilion that was able to be easily transported, assembled, and disassembled for the purpose of being moved around to various locations within San Luis Obispo County. This was done by combining each team members individual skillset and knowledge to design the pavilion with these factors in mind.

Interdisciplinary Studio Pavilion 2019, Andrew Jacob Cumpian

Construction Management

The Wine History Project of San Luis Obispo is an organization aimed to preserve the wine making history of the Central Cost of California and share regional viticulture artifacts collected throughout the region. This interdisciplinary pavilion project required design exploration, form development, and constructability review execution to generate a design for a mobile wine-artifact pavilion that will be exhibited throughout the SLO county and beyond. Designing the mobile pavilion required coordination with both architects and architectural engineers to aid in the creation and design a pavilion that was not only visually appealing and functional, but also met the constructability requirements …

Interdisciplinary Studio Pavilion [Isp] 2019, Alex Beaubien

Construction Management

The Interdisciplinary Studio Pavilion 2019 was designed for students within architecture, architectural engineering, and construction management to be placed into eight interdisciplinary teams and design a pavilion that reflected the narrative for the Wine History Project of San Luis Obispo (the “WHP). Its curricula emphasized aesthetics; fabrication methods and techniques; ease of assembly, reassembly and transportability; and function. Deliverables for each team's structure focused on these curricula that required numerous design refinements and construction feasibility studies. This required each team member to contribute their respective knowledge about architecture, structural engineering, and construction to create a pavilion that fulfilled WHP’s goals. …

The Need For A Real Estate Development Capstone Course, Will Robert Kieckhefer

Construction Management

Cal Poly has extremely well-known programs in Construction Management, Business, Engineering, and Architecture. All of these programs have contributed multiple leaders to the building industry every year yet have neglected to integrate the different disciplines that overlap within the industry. The research the author has collected to support the need for a real estate development capstone course included in-person interviews, online research, personal experience, and team surveys. The research concluded the need for a real estate development capstone course that would integrate students from the school of Business, Architecture, and Construction Management. In order to build a successful project, all …

Interdisciplinary Studio Pavilion [Isp] 2019, Albert J. Gutierrez

Construction Management

Historically Cal Poly’s motto has been ‘Learn by Doing’ and the College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED) is one of the leading examples of this. Many students gain valuable hands-on and real-world experience through collaborative projects and assignments. Through this learn by doing philosophy and collaborative learning approach Cal Poly construction management, architecture and architectural engineering students worked together in 8 separate studio teams to design and construct a portable pavilion for the Wine History Project of San Luis Obispo County. Acting as a client they requested that we design a portable pavilion space that will be used to …

Financial Feasibility Of Leed Certified Buildings For Developers And Investors, Erik P. Henriksen

Construction Management

This is a case study on a small to mid-size private equity firm that deals with real estate development as well as investment to find out the financial feasibility of LEED certified buildings in today’s building climate. Interviews with two investment analysts at this firm who are versed in LEED certification about how it is looked at in their company as well as the broader industry will give insights into the feasibility of developing or investing in environmentally friendly buildings. This impacts the real estate and construction industries due to the fact that developers and investors are often times a …

Nonpayment Analysis For San Luis Obispo's Small Construction Firms, Connor D. Sullivan

Construction Management

The role of the small subcontractor often goes under-represented and over looked in the construction world, despite the high portion of the industry that is employed in this sector. This paper attempts to bring a problem that the small subcontractors face, non- and under-payment by its general contractor or owner. At what lengths will a small subcontractor with a very limited resource set go to receive missed payments? How often will they involve attorneys in disputes? Is the continued use of collections agencies worth the commission they charge? The number of subcontractors who will leave large sums of money un-contested …

A Case Study On The Feasibility Of Shipping Container Homes As Housing For Disaster Victims, Devin C. Cameron

Construction Management

This case study is designed to examine the feasibility and possible implementation of the use of modified steel shipping container units, as temporary relief housing for victims of natural disasters. In this study we will analyze an on-going shipping container project being constructed in Santa Rosa, CA as well as use previously constructed research on this type of construction. The point of this research is to develop and analyze areas in which shipping container projects like this one could be more expeditious and more cost efficient in the future. In short, my findings proved modular shipping container home construction, as …

Site Safety In San Luis Obispo County, Crystal Becerra

Construction Management

Site safety is a key determinant in a project’s success. In order for a site safety plan to be effective it needs to be implemented and enforced from management all the way down to the laborers on site and it must be site specific. The goal of every safety plan is to identify potential hazards and to have zero accidents throughout the project’s construction. An accident on the jobsite can cause a project to be delayed, increase overall cost, and can even cause a fatal accident (Randle, 2018). This paper will investigate the factors affecting the lack of safety compliance …

Inception Through Inspection: Quality Control In The Simspon Strong Tie Materials Demonstration Lab, Allyson G. Forster

Construction Management

The purpose of this senior project is to create a quality control program in the Simpson Strong Tie (SST) Materials Demonstration Lab using BIM 360. The goal of this program is to help streamline the building process of the six-foot by eight-foot tiny home in Residential Construction Management. The SST laboratory activities have been developed in the true spirit of “learn by doing” and serve as a way for Construction Management (CM) students to interact with the building process directly. Students in the CM department are taught that quality begins at the inception of a job and should be monitored …

Cost Impact Of Converting A Fleet Of Diesel Concrete Mixer Trucks To Compressed Natural Gas, Shea Fredrick Blackman

Construction Management

Sustainable practices in the built environment are becoming more and more sought after. With LEED gold and platinum becoming the new standard in commercial construction, contractors in all areas of construction are looking for ways to build more sustainably. When creating a strategy for achieving sustainability, transportation has been identified as an area of the construction industry that can help significantly reduce carbon footprint, especially concrete mixer trucks. One question presents itself: Will the cost impact of converting a fleet of concrete mixer trucks from diesel to compressed natural gas outweigh the environmental benefits? This case study will examine the …