The Utilization Of Ai To Improve Efficiency In Construction Management,
2025
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
The Utilization Of Ai To Improve Efficiency In Construction Management, Sam Balestreri
Construction Management
The construction industry is undergoing a technological transformation, with artificial intelligence emerging as a tool to enhance efficiency, communication, and decision-making. However, the industry has been slow to adopt these advancements due to challenges in integrating new technologies with traditional workflows. This research examines the potential of AI to improve construction management by automating processes such as submittal logs and scope of work documents. The study evaluates ProjectEngineer.ai, an AI-powered co-pilot, to determine its impact on workflow efficiency, writing enhancement and precision, and project outcomes. An analysis of AI-assisted document management methods was conducted in CM 411 Specialties Construction Management, …
Bike Lane Improvement Proposal On Foothill Boulevard,
2025
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Bike Lane Improvement Proposal On Foothill Boulevard, Victor Wan
Construction Management
This project focuses on improving bike lane safety on Foothill Boulevard, a critical commuter route in San Luis Obispo. Outdated and unprotected lanes pose serious risks to cyclists due to high vehicle speeds, faded markings, and a lack of physical separation. This proposal introduces safety improvements, including steel bollards and armadillo humps for protection, high-visibility thermoplastic lane markings, and concrete refuge islands at key intersections. The study evaluates engineering challenges, material selection, installation methods, and cost implications to enhance cyclist safety and promote sustainable transportation.
Investigating The Viability Of Voucher Payments As A Development Plan,
2025
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Investigating The Viability Of Voucher Payments As A Development Plan, John Stapakis
Construction Management
California currently has a shortage of affordable housing, and Housing Choice Vouchers, also known as Section 8 housing, are one state funded solution to it. However, even once those in need of affordable housing are approved for vouchers they can have trouble finding suitable housing at a fair market price due to stigmas associated with voucher renters. This project investigates whether developers and property managers can actually use the voucher programs to their advantage to make a profit, or if that stigma is warranted. Developers can design their units in a way that appeals to these renters, and then accept …
Analyzing Steel Supply Chain Factors With Analytic Hierarchy Process,
2025
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Analyzing Steel Supply Chain Factors With Analytic Hierarchy Process, Edilberto Urena Jr
Construction Management
The global steel supply chain is a critical component of construction and manufacturing industries. It is a fundamental pillar supporting infrastructure development, economic growth, and technological innovation. However, disruptions in supply, price volatility, and logistical challenges necessitate an in-depth evaluation of key factors affecting the steel supply chain. These uncertainties can pose significant risks to project timelines, cost efficiency and sustainability. This study employes the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), a multi-criteria decision-making approach to systematically rank and prioritize factors influencing the supply chain. A literature review identified critical variables, which are then structured into a hierarchical model after the opinion …
Early Mechanical Coordination For Gateway Decathlon,
2025
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Early Mechanical Coordination For Gateway Decathlon, Benjamin Nunes-Dyer
Construction Management
This senior project focuses on finding an efficient mechanical system for the Gateway Decathlon prefabricated house unit. As a collective group, students working on the project decided to focus on using mass timber for the construction of the housing unit. Over the past year, the layout and design of the housing unit has been in the planning stage. Once drawings were made, the next step was to focus on the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing system. Research and professional help allowed for a team of students to come together and design these systems. Choosing the equipment for the mechanical system was …
Assessing Experiences Of Women In Mep Field And Project Management Roles,
2025
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Assessing Experiences Of Women In Mep Field And Project Management Roles, Lily K. Brown
Construction Management
Despite increased enrollment of women in construction education programs, the industry is not seeing significant gains in the percentages of women, especially in field and project management roles. This study looks specifically at the experiences of women in the Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) sector working in field and project management. Women in different career stages were interviewed to gain perspective on the state and climate of the industry from a woman’s perspective. The interviews were analyzed for recurring themes and three primary themes that emerged were: 1) women see themselves as able to bring about better team synthesis than …
Satisfaction And Retention Analysis Of A 4/10 Workweek In Construction,
2025
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Satisfaction And Retention Analysis Of A 4/10 Workweek In Construction, Daniel C. Choy
Construction Management
The traditional 40-hour workweek, structured as five 8-hour days (5/8), has been a long-standing standard in the American workforce since Henry Ford implemented it in 1922. However, in recent years, many industries, including construction, have begun reevaluating this model to determine whether alternative schedules could offer better efficiency and employee satisfaction. One of the most discussed alternatives is the four-day, 10-hour workweek (4/10). This research examines the potential advantages and challenges of adopting the 4/10 schedule, particularly for specialty contractors, through an employee survey conducted at Western Specialty Contractors in Seattle, Washington. The study explores how this schedule affects worker …
Augmented Reality In Construction,
2025
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Augmented Reality In Construction, Brendan Trinh
Construction Management
This research focuses on how augmented reality (AR) technology could assist construction projects by increasing quality control, efficiency, and collaboration. AR tools, such as Revizto, overlay 3D models into real-world construction sites, allowing the project teams to test installations and discover issues before they occur. This study aims to determine how AR affects project costs, the construction schedule, and quality. To further understand this, interviews were conducted with McCarthy Builders' Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) employees. They discussed their experiences with AR on active job sites, including its benefits, limitations, and potential improvements. Studies from an internship with McCarthy Builders …
Cal Poly Gateway Decathlon: Cost Estimation And Planning For A Sustainable Mass Timber Home,
2025
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Cal Poly Gateway Decathlon: Cost Estimation And Planning For A Sustainable Mass Timber Home, George Stasinos
Construction Management
The Gateway Decathlon is an international collegiate competition that challenges university teams to design, build, estimate, and operate innovative and sustainable housing solutions. Cal Poly SLO’s entry to the competition is a mass timber single family home addressing sustainability, energy efficiency, and climate change issues in California. The research of this paper focuses on cost estimation and project planning concerning equipment and labor specifically. The aim is to create a feasible and accurate construction budget. While previous efforts have been conducted on this project, design changes and new scope additions require a comprehensive reassessment of the material, labor and equipment …
Vendor-Managed Inventory: A Case Study,
2025
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Vendor-Managed Inventory: A Case Study, Blake Elijah Hanson
Construction Management
This research project examines the effectiveness of Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) within the context of electrical subcontracting, using a case study based on a recent summer internship at Cupertino Electric Inc (CEI). Employing qualitative research methods, including interviews with industry professionals and personal observations, the study identifies several key factors contributing to the success of VMI and pinpoints areas for improvement. It focuses on material organization, labeling, vendor coordination, and foreman involvement, assessing their impact on job site efficiency and operations. The findings reveal that while VMI helps streamline inventory management and reduce procurement workload, its full potential is often …
Examining Construction-Phase Challenges In Mass Timber Projects: Insights From Industry Professionals,
2025
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Examining Construction-Phase Challenges In Mass Timber Projects: Insights From Industry Professionals, Cole Polly
Construction Management
Mass Timber has emerged as an innovative structural alternative in the construction industry, based on its sustainability advantages and comparable level of performance to traditional materials such as steel and concrete. This engineered wood, including Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT), Glue-Laminated Timber (glulam), and Nail-Laminated Timber (NLT) is characterized by its ability to scale up for large format projects and lower environmental impacts. However, there are practical challenges that happen during the construction phase of mass timber projects. This research aims to explore specific challenges that contractors, architects, and structural designers have encountered during their past or current experiences working with mass …
Proof Of Concept: Using Uas Technology To Accomplish Aerial Roof Inspections,
2025
Air Force Institute of Technology
Proof Of Concept: Using Uas Technology To Accomplish Aerial Roof Inspections, Madison R. Fanning
Theses and Dissertations
With the growing use of simulation across industries, the digital twin remains an underexplored research area, particularly in emergency management and response. Its real-time updating capability is often overlooked due to the misconception that "digital twin" is merely a complex term for simulation. This paper highlights its distinctiveness through an evasion exercise involving two independent entities in a collocated environment. Using a highly integrated virtual environment (HIVE) and internet of things (IoT) devices, we link the physical system with an analytical simulation, demonstrating the impact of lag times in high-pressure scenarios. The computational model leverages agent-based modeling (ABM) and discrete-event …
Molecular Scale Investigations Of Interactions Between Pfas And Concrete,
2025
Air Force Institute of Technology
Molecular Scale Investigations Of Interactions Between Pfas And Concrete, Eric E. Keeler
Theses and Dissertations
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), widely referred to as “forever chemicals,” exhibit high environmental persistence and potential health risks due to their robust carbon-fluorine bonds. These substances are prevalent in aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF), used in industrial and military applications, and are known to contaminate environmental surfaces, including concrete. This study aims to characterize the molecular-level interaction energies of six PFAS species—PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFHxA, 6:2 FTS, and PFBS—with calcium silicate, a key component of concrete, using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Change in Gibbs free energy (ΔG) was determined for each of the interactions, revealing negative ΔG values for …
Quantifying The Impact Of Highly Corrosive Environments On Fsrm Budgets And Infrastructure Condition At Air Force Bases,
2025
Air Force Institute of Technology
Quantifying The Impact Of Highly Corrosive Environments On Fsrm Budgets And Infrastructure Condition At Air Force Bases, Justin M. Weber
Theses and Dissertations
The Department of Defense (DoD) faces significant challenges in maintaining mission-critical infrastructure within highly corrosive environments, with annual costs exceeding $22.5 billion to combat corrosion. This thesis investigated the interplay between environmental severity, sustainment funding, and infrastructure performance. This research utilized Facility Sustainment, Restoration, and Modernization (FSRM) funding data, statistical analyses, and regression modeling, to evaluate how Environmental Severity Index (ESI) categories influence Base Condition Index (BCI) trends and the efficacy of the Facility Sustainment Model (FSM). The analysis revealed that installations in higher ESI categories required significantly greater investment per square foot to achieve comparable improvements in BCI. The …
Calibrating Airfield Pavement Asset Management For A Changing Global Climate: A Case Study At Fairchild Air Force Base,
2025
Air Force Institute of Technology
Calibrating Airfield Pavement Asset Management For A Changing Global Climate: A Case Study At Fairchild Air Force Base, Emily L. Worthy
Theses and Dissertations
Military airfields and civilian airports serve as foundational nodes in the global transportation network, enabling travel, economic growth, and the projection of national security. This study investigates the relationship between climate variables projected through climate change and pavement degradation, with a focus on Fairchild Air Force Base (AFB). Using principal component regression (PCR), the research integrates historical pavement condition index (PCI) data with climate variables, including snowfall, precipitation, freeze-thaw cycles, solar irradiance, and wind speed to develop a predictive model of pavement performance under future climate scenarios, Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 and RCP 8.5. These models, for both Portland …
Cal Poly Gateway Decathlon Workplan: Transportation Development,
2025
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Cal Poly Gateway Decathlon Workplan: Transportation Development, Jessie A. Santos
Construction Management
This paper outlines a detailed work plan for the transportation logistics of pre-packaged modular home components, developed for Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's participation in the 2026 Gateway Decathlon competition. The project focuses on the safe and efficient transport of mass timber panels and associated modular elements from the university campus in California to the competition site in Missouri, utilizing standard packaging procedures. This document details a comprehensive strategy for loading and securing the pre-packaged components, emphasizing a systematic approach to mitigate potential risks during transit. Key aspects of the work plan include a thorough material checklist, a breakdown of …
Case Study: Cal Poly Housing Program (Cphp) - Student Housing Project At California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo,
2025
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Case Study: Cal Poly Housing Program (Cphp) - Student Housing Project At California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo, Aidan Michael Toole
Construction Management
Full volumetric modular construction is a building technique that involves the off-site prefabrication of three-dimensional modular units, which are later transported and assembled on-site. California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo and general contractor, Whiting-Turner, are building new on-campus student housing by utilizing full volumetric modular construction techniques. The buildings will be produced in modules that, when put together, reflect the identical design and intent of a site-built building. This paper will analyze the effectiveness of modular construction on a large-scale project and look at the project cost, schedule, and waste impacts from choosing this approach. The main driver …
Modular Construction And Integrated Project Delivery: Cal Poly Slo’S Student Housing Expansion,
2025
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Modular Construction And Integrated Project Delivery: Cal Poly Slo’S Student Housing Expansion, Nikita Taktarov
Construction Management
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is addressing the increasing demand for on-campus housing through an innovative modular dormitory project. This project, which adds approximately 4,000 new beds, marks a shift from traditional construction methods to a more efficient and collaborative approach using the Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) model. Unlike traditional CSU contracts that place most of the risk on contractors, this model promotes shared responsibility between the university, architects, and builders, leading to better cost control and project efficiency. A key feature of this program is the use of prefabricated construction, where building components are assembled off-site and then transported …
Cal Poly Construction Spanish Class,
2025
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Cal Poly Construction Spanish Class, Josue E. Basilio
Construction Management
This project develops a Construction Spanish & Communication course for Cal Poly’s Construction Management program to address the growing need for bilingual communication on job sites. The course equips students with essential Spanish language skills for safety meetings, work instructions, and team coordination, improving job site efficiency and inclusivity. Deliverables include a detailed course outline in preparation for the semester conversion, curriculum, course catalog entry, and a first-day lecture presentation. The course blends lecture-based instruction with hands-on activities like role-playing, translation exercises, and real-world simulations. Assessments include scenario-based quizzes, a reflection essay, participation grading, and a final exam to ensure …
An Analysis Of Factors Affecting Retention Of Skilled Trades Workers At Construction Companies,
2025
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
An Analysis Of Factors Affecting Retention Of Skilled Trades Workers At Construction Companies, James R. Walsh
Construction Management
Construction trades are going through a difficult time in recruiting right now and have been for the past 5 to 10 years. More tradesmen and women from the baby boomer generation are retiring and the rate of replacement by younger people is not enough to keep the workforce at the numbers that would be ideal for a healthy construction industry. This paper delves into what companies can do to make work a place that employees want to be and aims to provide strategies companies can use to retain a quality workforce.
