Construction Engineering and Management Commons^™

Noise Induced Hearing Loss Accountability On Jobsites Within The Construction Industry, Joseph O. Lamphere

Construction Management

Noise induced hearing loss is a major issue on jobsites within the construction industry. Every day workers are exposed to hazardous levels of noise, but they are not being properly managed to mitigate this issue. Workers have misconceptions about the topic, but more surprisingly are sometimes indifferent to the effects; believing hearing loss is inevitable, or it can be cured with a hearing aide. Construction has inherent dangers that workers have to deal with every day. Hearing loss might not be on the top of their lists, but the effects are permanent, and they cannot be cured with a hearing …

Growing Grounds Nursery - Outdoor Plaza And Education Space, Keenan Brekke

Construction Management

This paper describes the planning, both design and financing, as well as the construction of an 800 square foot outdoor plaza area and education space. After six months of Planning and Fundraising, the scope of work included clearing and grubbing, relocation of irrigation lines, site grading and footing excavation, forming and pouring four architectural board form concrete benches and a planter, installing a perimeter French drain for site drainage, and installation of serpentine rock retaining walls, steel planters, a sail shade structure, outdoor string lights, a koi pond, and all significant landscaping. The author, over 100 volunteers, and various industry …

Analysis Of Student-Athletes And Summer Internship Experiences In The Construction Management Department, Amanda Rose Sandoval

Construction Management

Summer internships are a valuable way for implementing practical knowledge in the construction industry. Students can apply what they have learned during the school year and visualize the reality of how construction is managed. This project will research what student-athletes typically invest their time in over summer and the construction company’s connection to the student-athlete department. The analysis will identify if there is a need to propose a program that can improve the relationship between the construction management and student-athlete departments. Two surveys were conducted to collect information about student-athletes summer activity history and their perspective of internship experience, as …

Scraper Productivity, Cost, And Size Selection Generator, Zach Rege

Construction Management

In the construction industry we are timelessly looking to increase productivity and find the most cost-efficient way to finish a given project. Like any other sector of the construction industry large earth moving contractors look to find the most advantageous way to move dirt and at the cheapest cost per cubic yard. To obtain this goal of calculating and imagining the best way to move dirt, I have created a prototype program that analyzes scraper productivity and cost comparisons through excel sheets. These excel sheets allow a contractor to enter information such as cycles times, load calculations, and costs to …

Hard Hat Safety By California Contractors, Jonathan G. Hernandez

Construction Management

The hard hat is the quintessential item of PPE, and yet it often gets overlooked when ensuring safety standards are being met. We all expect our hard hat to protect us, but many never inspect it to ensure that it is properly fulfilling its purpose. This disregard to inspection and maintenance can lead to serious injury or death in the event of an accident. While organizations such as OSHA and the hard hat manufacturers themselves post information on this topic, it is unclear if this information is actually being received by the people involved in a construction project. This research …

Improving Ductility Of Slender Reinforced Concrete, Luke M. Ostrom

Construction Management

The Sylmar earthquake of 1971 caused significant damage to slender, non-ductile reinforced concrete (RC) shear wall buildings in California. A later survey by the Concrete Coalition in 2011, under the guidance of members of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), indicated that there are over 3000 vulnerable concrete buildings in California [8]. This led to City of Los Angeles (LA) Ordinance 193893 enacted in 2015, which requires mandatory upgrades to these concrete buildings by 2035. Current practice to meet the requirements of this ordinance, with respect to RC wall buildings, involves adding new shear walls to the building plan or …

Investigation Of Setting Time And Compressive Strength Of Ready-Mixed Concrete Blended With Returned Fresh Concrete, Negasi N. Gebremichael, S. Mahmoud Motahara Karein, Moses Karakouzian, Kazem Jadidi

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Returned fresh mix concrete (RFC) is a problem with both economic and environmental impacts. Therefore, investigators have recommended various ways to decrease the amount of RFC in manufacturing facilities. Among the most common procedures are dumping concrete in landfill, recycling it, using the aggregate, and using it to produce concrete blocks. In this study, the authors investigated the behavior of various proportions of RFC mixed with ready-mix plain and retarded concrete. The authors also studied the influence of aging by producing specimens after one, two, three, and four hours. In addition, the researchers investigated controlled and uncontrolled environments by mixing …

Habitat For Humanity: A Student-Led Service Trip To Thailand, Amber Reiff

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Amber Reiff started volunteering with Habitat for Humanity in high school and joined the Purdue Student Chapter as a freshman in 2014. During her sophomore year, she became more involved and held the position of Vice President of Development. While serving in this role, she planned on-campus advocacy events and recruited volunteers for Saturday site builds. In 2017, she traveled to Lampang, Thailand, over spring break with a group of like-minded students striving to make a difference. In this article, she shares her experiences on this trip and explores the impact of her participation. Beyond this trip, she has continued …

Toward Building Resilient, Sustainable, And Smart Infrastructure In The 21st Century, Aly Mousaad Aly

Faculty Publications

In recent years, as a result of significant climate change, stringent windstorms are becoming more frequent than before. Given the threat that windstorms bring to people and property, wind/structural engineering research is imperative to improve the resilience of existing and new infrastructure, for community safety and assets protection. The Windstorm Impact, Science and Engineering (WISE) research program at Louisiana State University (LSU) focuses on creating new knowledge applicable to the mitigation of existing and new infrastructure, to survive and perform optimally under natural hazards. To achieve our research goals, we address two imperious challenges: (i) characterization of realistic wind forces …

Fall Safety Perspective Of The Construction Professionals In Miami-Dade And Broward Area, Saurav Pokharel

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The main purpose of this study was to understand the fall safety perspective of the construction professionals by analyzing their attributes, workplace safety knowledge, behavior and conduct, and identifying trends in their fall safety opinions. The study involved analysis of the survey data of the 847 construction professionals who participated in the fall training program conducted in the Miami-Dade and Broward County area. About two-thirds of the participants felt that they had adequate safety knowledge, and about half of them said they encountered fall hazards on a daily or weekly basis. The study also found that vulnerability of fall hazards …

Bs News November/December

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Analysis Of Student-Athletes And Summer Internship Experiences Int He Construction Management Department, Amanda R. Sandoval

Construction Management

Summer internships are a valuable way for implementing practical knowledge in the construction industry. Students can apply what they have learned during the school year and visualize the reality of how construction is managed. This project will research what student-athletes typically invest their time in over summer and the construction company’s connection to the student-athlete department. The analysis will identify if there is a need to propose a program that can improve the relationship between the construction management and student-athlete departments. Two surveys were conducted to collect information about student-athletes summer activity history and their perspective of internship experience, as …

The Subject Librarian Newsletter, Engineering And Computer Science, Fall 2017, Buenaventura "Ven" Basco

Buenaventura "Ven" Basco

No abstract provided.

In-Situ Mechanical Characterization For Compacted Aggregates, Douglas Cortes, Paola Bandini

Publications

The evaluation of compacted unbound aggregate layers is perhaps the most common undertaking in transportation-related projects. The assessment of compaction compliance in engineered fills, subgrades, subbases, and bases in roadways and railways is central to ensure longevity of ground transportation infrastructure. In many cases, premature failures in roadways that originate in the unbound aggregate layers can be traced back to inadequate compaction. These failures are preventable, provided the problem areas can be identified by a suitable field test during construction. The most widely used method for compaction assessment during construction is the nuclear density gauge (NDG) test. While the device …

Rheological Performance Of Bio-Char Modified Asphalt With Different Particle Sizes, Ran Zhang, Qingli Dai, Zhanping You, Hainian Wang, Chao Peng

Michigan Tech Publications

To improve the performance of petroleum asphalt, bio-char was used as a modifier for a petroleum asphalt binder, in this study. The rheological properties of bio-char modified asphalt binders were compared with different particle sizes and contents, with one control and one flake graphite modified asphalt binder. Specifically, the bio-char modifiers with two particle sizes (ranging from 75 μm–150 μm and less than 75 μm) and three contents of 2%, 4%, and 8% were added into the asphalt binder. A flake graphite powder with particle sizes less than 75 μm was used as a comparison modifier. The Scanning Electron Microscopy …

The Adoption Of A Design Build Approach In Retrofit Projects – A Descriptive Case Study, Lloyd Scott

Conference papers

The delivery Design Build projects across the built environment in Ireland has begun to take significant shape. There are many examples of the traditional are moving towards more collaborative practices. There exists support for the integration of a design build project approach in the retrofit realm where designer, client and developer can work collaboratively. As with the regular design build process the intent behind this collaborative approach is to encourage those associated with the built environment to consider how retrofit design and construction can contribute positively to addressing elements of climate change and the design build process. The opportunity to …

A Comparative Analysis Of Key Elements Of The Strategic Decision-Making Process Across Construction Professional Services Firms: Evidence From The Irish Construction Industry, Oluwasegun O. Seriki, Roisin Murphy Dr

Conference papers

The Irish construction industry is experiencing a well-established growth phase following a prolonged recession. While the economic impact has been well documented, there remains less emphasis on discipline-specific studies pertaining to strategy within construction firms in Ireland. Additionally, evidence regarding strategic management within the construction sector is predominantly concentrated on contracting organisations, with less emphasis on highly knowledge-intensive professional service firms (PSFs). As the construction sector in Ireland continues its sustained growth, there have been increased calls within the industry for further collaboration between key stakeholders. However, exploring collaboration within project-centric firms without understanding the individual strategic decision-making processes within …

The Role Of Digitisation In The Strategic Planning Process Of Irish Quantity Surveying(Qs) Practices, Michael Adesi, Roisin Murphy, Dermot Kehily

Conference papers

Digitisation is important to the transformation of many aspects of the construction industry such as strategic planning process in QS practices. Quantity Surveying (QS) practices largely apply digital technologies in construction project delivery, while neglecting the use of digital technologies in the strategic planning process. The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of digitisation in the strategic planning process of QS practices operating in Ireland. The study adopts a quantitative research methodology which is the first phase of an ongoing research project, by administering survey questionnaires to senior management of QS practices in Ireland. The findings of …

What You Don’T See, Brent Sturlaugson

Architecture Faculty Publications

Follow the supply chains of architecture and you’ll find not just product manufacturers but also environmental polluters and elusive networks of financial power and political influence.

Bs News September/October

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Advancing Bridge Technology, Task 10: Statistical Analysis And Modeling Of Us Concrete Highway Bridge Deck Performance -- Internal Final Report, Omar Ghonima, Thomas Schumacher, Avinash Unnikrishnan, Adam Fleischhacker

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Concrete highway bridge deck repairs represent the highest expense associated with bridge maintenance cost. In order to optimize such activities and use the available monies effectively, a solid understanding of the parameters that affect the performance of concrete bridge decks is critical. The National Bridge Inventory (NBI), perhaps the single-most comprehensive source of bridge information, gathers data on more than 600,000 bridges in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Focusing on concrete highway bridge deck performance, this research developed a nationwide database based on NBI data and other critical parameters that were computed …

Development Of Self-Healing Mechanisms For Asphalt Pavements, Max Abelardo Aguirre Deras

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Self-healing mechanisms, such as microcapsules or hollow-fibers, filled with an asphalt rejuvenator present an emerging technology that would enhance an asphalt mixture’s resistance to cracking damage caused by vehicular and environmental loading. The objectives of this study were to: (a) Evaluate the effects of asphalt rejuvenators on hot-mix asphalt mixtures in order to test its effects on the fundamental engineering properties of the mixtures at high and intermediate temperatures; (b) Develop a synthesis procedure for production of microcapsules and hollow-fibers containing an asphalt rejuvenator; (c) Evaluate the self-healing efficiency of double-walled microcapsules and hollow-fibers filled with an asphalt rejuvenator, through …

Selecting The Most Effective Energy Modeling Tool Based On A Project Requirement, Sodiq Akande

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Building energy usage can be derived and controlled by performing building energy modeling. BEM can be performed using numerous software tools such as DesignBuilder, OpenStudio, EnergyPlus etc. These modeling tools can be sorted into three different modeling categories: Black-box, Gray-box and White-box. It is important for a modeler to be able to quickly select the proper tool from the proper category to meet the need of the project. To validate the method of categorizing tools, the three models generated using tools from each category and the modeling outputs required were compared. Each model was designed to estimate the amount of …

On Thermal Bowing Of Concrete Sandwich Wall Panels With Flexible Shear Connectors, Fray Pozo

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Thermal bowing, often referred as bulging or out-of-plane wall deflection, is a common issue on sandwich panel walls caused by a temperature differential between a building interior temperature and the environment. The stresses caused by temperature changes in concrete members are widely known in the practice of bridge design, but not on sandwich wall panels. For sandwich wall panel applications, it is common to have non-composite panels when the designer expects a high temperature gradient, what yields a less economical design, but reduces the bowing.

This project aimed to validate current assumptions regarding the heat flow in sandwich wall panels …

Evaluation And Development Of Cpt Based Pile Design In Nebraska Soils, Alex Silvey

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Cone penetration testing (CPT) is a well established geotechnical subsurface investigation technique commonly used for site characterization and soil classification. The CPT gives real time end resistance, side friction, and pore pressure readings. Axially loaded piles also share these two resistance mechanisms, suggesting the cone can be considered similar to a miniature pile. This study focused on evaluating eight CPT methods prediction of pile bearing capacity. The Nebraska Department of Roads (NDOR) conducts dynamic load tests (PDA) of driven pile to verify pile capacity for bridge foundations. 91 comparisons of CPT logs and PDA data were evaluated. CPT prediction methods …

Decision-Making Framework For The Selection Of Sustainable Alternatives For Energy-Retrofits, Amirhosein Jafari

Civil Engineering ETDs

Buildings are major consumers of energy worldwide. On the other hand, over 60% of the US housing inventory is over 30 years old and a large number of these homes are energy inefficient. Therefore, it is essential to target the existing building stock for energy efficient interventions as a key to substantially reduce the adverse impacts of buildings on the environment and economy.

Building energy retrofitting has emerged as a primary strategy for reducing energy use and carbon emissions in existing buildings. An energy retrofit can be defined as a physical or operational change in a building, its energy-consuming equipment, …

My Catalyst, Gabrielle Gambino Lyon

Celebration of Learning

Over the course of my internship and shadow program with Pepper Lawson Construction and Ziegler Cooper Architects, I was able to explore the various career paths involved in the design, construction, and civil engineering fields. My work on the construction site of a high-rise apartment building located in the heart of Houston, TX allowed me first-hand experience working and learning alongside project engineers, contractors, building developers, and the construction team.

This project was the perfect confluence of my main areas of interest: structural, mechanical, civil, and environmental engineering, as well as architecture. My daily work consisted of on-site walk throughs, …

Measuring And Evaluating Safety Maturity Of Construction Contractors: Multicriteria Decision-Making Approach, Ali A. Karakhan, Sathyanarayanan Rajendran, John Gambatese, Chukwuma Nnaji

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Evaluating the safety maturity of construction contractors before awarding the contract is an effective strategy that many owners have started to implement. Given the importance of workplace safety, awarding the contract to safer contractors can enhance project performance outcomes in terms of safety, quality, cost, and schedule. Safety maturity is one quality of a construction organization encompassing interdependent factors that can be used to evaluate expected safety performance. However, there is no formal decision-making framework available in literature that owners can use to evaluate contractor safety maturity. The present study aims to bridge this gap in safety knowledge by proposing …

Bs News July/August

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

Logistics And Funding Plan For The Simpson Strong-Tie Lab Crane, Arya Ghourchian

Construction Management

In the recent years, there has been interests regarding an overhead crane to be erected inside of Cal Poly Simpson Strong-Tie Lab (Building 187). This under-running single girder crane system will be used for construction classes and to lift heavy equipment. The installment of this 2-ton indoor crane will be crucial to provide modular pieces, for whom that lost their homes due to the California fires. Additionally, there has been previous senior project researches; reference SST Preconstruction Services and Structural Analysis of SST Lab. I am in charge of collecting information regarding: Bid Estimate Comparison, Advertisement Strategy, Permit Compliance. This …