Engineering Commons^™

A Case Study On The Use Of Drones On Heavy Civil Construction Projects, William Devers

Construction Management

Even though the construction industry is known for being behind the curve in adopting new technologies for change, construction professionals are constantly striving for ways to save money and improve efficiency. The emergence of drone technology in recent years has sparked new interest among these professionals for those exact reasons. These flying machines offer numerous benefits to construction companies such as bypassing traditional surveying methods, using photogrammetry to create 3D models used for estimating quantities, improving team communication, ensuring worker safety, increasing owner satisfaction, among other benefits. In this case study, personal interviews will be conducted on a single construction …

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 …

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 …

Poly Canyon Observation Deck, Harrison James Woods, Anthony Joseph Pellegrini

Construction Management

This senior project paper will delve into the background, setbacks and triumphs that where undergone during the course of this project based senior project- The first permanent structure in Poly Canyon in 15 years. Built in true “Learn By Doing Fashion” in the experimental, hands-on lab that some may better know as “Architecture Graveyard.” The project was one of extreme adversity, from fundraising difficulties and a condensed schedule, to unique site conditions and lack of manpower. The students involved in this project showed a strong sense of purpose and determination to see this structure through to completion.

Process Of Adopting And Implementing Bim Technology: A Case Study, Andy J. Stone

Construction Management

On any relatively large construction project, coordination between stakeholders, project managers, superintendents, subcontractors or any other entity becomes vitally important to the project’s success. Building Information Modeling (BIM) creates a virtual design model of a building, which helps construction managers increase efficiency in terms of cost, schedule and overall quality. By connecting 3-D models to coordination and clash detection software’s, construction managers can solve issues quicker or prevent them from happening in the first place. This case study aims to analyze the implementation and use of BIM technology by Shawmut Design and Construction. This study will also focus on the …

Liquidated Damages: An Analysis Of Their Use And Effectiveness, Alfredo N. Aragon

Construction Management

A construction company’s success and/or failure is dependent upon project completion with respect to time and budget. Failure to meet the contract completion date results in a loss of profit for owners and contractors alike. In order to help mitigate project delays, liquidated damage clauses have been included into construction contracts. Incorporating provisions within the construction contracts in the form of liquidated damages aims to help shift the financial burden when there is a failure to meet contractual obligations, hopefully offering quick compensation for delays. Unlike general or actual damages, liquidated damages are pre-defined and agreed upon prior to entering …

Advanced Concrete Course For Cal Poly Construction Management Department, Dante N. Feliciano

Construction Management

This senior project provides a solution to the Construction Management Department at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo whose curriculum lacks an individual Concrete course. With Concrete being one of the most used building material worldwide, this course will help immensely. The goal of this project is to fill the gap with an Advanced Concrete Course that is prepared and ready to be introduced to future students. The course has an emphasis on outside research learning – where the student gets to become the instructor. Carefully thought out and executed lecture materials are included in the course. Lecture slides give background …

Development Of A Topics Course For Construction Management, William Harrison Wygal

Construction Management

The Cal Poly Construction Management program has been proven to produce some of the most prepared graduates heading into new careers in every facet of the construction industry. Speaking with faculty member Tom Kommer, we have concluded that there is a need for an increased focus on construction risk management within the curriculum. In order to develop a course which would suitably educate Cal Poly Construction Management students in the topic of risk management, I performed a literary review during which I determined which risks are most prevalent within the construction industry and how firms in the construction industry manage …

A Framework For Bim Model-Based Construction Cost Estimation, Michael Clark

Master's Theses

This thesis presents a framework to conduct a quantity take-off (QTO) and cost estimate within the Building Information Modeling (BIM) Environment. The product of this framework is a model-based cost estimating tool. The framework addresses the cost uncertainty associated with the detailed information defining BIM model element properties. This cost uncertainty is due to the lack of available tools that address detailed QTO and cost estimation using solely a BIM platform. In addition, cost estimators have little experience in leveraging and managing information within semantic-rich BIM models. Unmanaged BIM element parameters are considered a source of uncertainty in a model-based …

Calibrating Cii Rt283s Modularization Critical Success Factor Accomplishments, Jin Choi, James T. O’Connor, Young Hoon Kwak, Rajarshi Ghimire

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Modularization is a well-known construction technique where sections of the job are moved from on-site to a fabrication shop. Previously, the researchers identified the 21 most influential Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for successful modularization and quantified the degree of each CSF’s accomplishment by conducting a survey with 19 subject matter experts, and a case study with three modular projects. Through this methodology, the findings relied on the experience of experts. However, still missing from the understanding of modularization CSFs is a validation of the current degree of each CSF’s accomplishment by examining actual modular projects using a sufficient number of …

Investigating Stakeholders' Perceptions Of Feasibility And Implications Of Modular Construction-Based Post-Disaster Reconstruction, Pedram Ghannad, Yong-Cheol Lee, Jin Ouk Choi

Civil and Environmental Engineering and Construction Faculty Research

Natural Disasters cause major adverse social and financial effects by destroying homes and infrastructures. For example, Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 damaged over 214,700 homes in New Orleans and forced over 800,000 citizens to live outside of their homes due to flooding. Thus, these disasters require a quick and efficient response to post-disaster housing issues and provide resources for temporary houses for short-term disaster relief and reconstruction of destroyed and damaged housing for full rehabilitation. Reconstruction of permanent housing for disaster victims is one of the most time-consuming activities in the post-disaster recovery process. However, time is a critical factor …

Statistical Viability Analysis Of United States Air Force Estimating Cost Factor For Sustainable Construction, Philip A. Ramsey, Diedrich Prigge, Torrey J. Wagner, Alfred E. Thal Jr.

Faculty Publications

Varying legislation and executive orders coupled with needs for energy resiliency have led the United States Air Force (USAF) to pursue sustainable construction. However, the limited understanding of initial costs to implement these changes have contributed to poor project cost estimating, resulting in 62 percent of USAF projects experiencing more than 5 percent cost growth. After reviewing 1628 USAF Military Construction (MILCON) construction projects in 922 category codes (CATCODEs), a twotailed t-test for populations with unequal variance was accomplished on the final normalized contract cost for 340 projects in 16 CATCODEs executed between 2002 and 2017. This analysis provides a …

A Comparative Study Of Insertion Loss Of Traffic Noise Barriers In Georgia, Pablo Giraldo, Jidong Yang

Master of Science in Civil Engineering Theses

In this paper, three types of traffic noise barriers, interlocking steel panels, precast concrete panels, and Paragon panel 23-T, were evaluated in terms of insertion loss. Field test was conducted for the noise barriers recently installed as part of the Northwest Express Project in Georgia. The noise insertion loss was measured as noise difference in A-weighted decibels (dBA) immediately before and after the barriers. The insertion loss was then evaluated by correlating with noise barrier types and other influential variables, including the separation distance of barriers from traffic, the level of traffic, wind speed, and pavement types. The results showed …

Auto-Calibration Of Wim Using Traffic Stream Characteristics, Johnson Baker

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This project evaluates the performance of Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) auto-calibration methods used by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT). Typical auto-calibration algorithms compare the WIM measured weights of vehicles from the traffic stream to reference values, using five-axle tractor-trailer configured trucks for comparisons, e.g. Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Class 9. Parameters of the existing algorithms including the Front Axle Weight (FAW) reference value, the sampling frequency required to update the calibration factor, and thresholds for Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) bins were evaluated. The primary metric used to estimate algorithm performance was Mean Absolute Percent Error (MAPE) between the WIM and static …

Airport Taxiway Traversal And Safety Optimization Using Combinatorics, Thore Groenlund Rasmussen

Theses and Dissertations

The demand for air travel has increased dramatically in the last decade, putting large strain on airports and their limited resources. Expanding the available resources at an airport is not always an option either due to location, budget or time. This forces the administrators of an airport system to use the limited resources as efficiently as possible. This thesis proposes a tool for air traffic controllers and pilots that can be used when planning taxiway systems. Taking inspiration from Dijkstra’s Algorithm, an algorithm is proposed to safely move aircraft from the terminal to the runway. Applying constraints to the algorithm …

Turbulent Effects On Building Pressure Using A Two-Dimensional Finite Element Program, Jonese Woods

Civil Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Much of the knowledge about building aerodynamics today was obtained from physical testing like wind tunnel testing. Physical testing is time-consuming and very expensive. As a result, computational methods like the finite element method are being explored for use in building aerodynamics. Despite several years of research, there is still not a clear understanding of the peak pressure on buildings due to turbulence. Many of the research thus far has focused on comparing different computational methods. However, much work is needed in understanding the capability of the individual methods. In this work, a two-dimensional finite element program is used to …

Bs News May/June

Building Services Engineering

No abstract provided.

The Professional Constructor, Full Issue, Volume 44, Number 01

The Professional Constructor

No abstract provided.

Reliability-Based Shear Rating Of Prestressed Concrete Bridge Girders Considering Capacity Adjustment Factor, Alaa I. Chehab, Christopher D. Eamon

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Research Publications

In this study, the reliability of prestressed concrete (PC) bridge girders in the shear rating process is quantified, where the use of a simple procedure to enhance the accuracy of shear capacity evaluation for rating is evaluated. It was found that the approximate methods used in code-based procedures to develop shear resistance used for reliability calibration of the AASHTO Bridge Design Specifications and the Manual for Bridge Evaluation result in larger discrepancies in reliability than previously assumed, as well as substantially conservative shear capacity evaluation in most cases. To examine the effects of using a more accurate shear rating process, …

Bridge Deck Delamination Segmentation Based On Aerial Thermography Through Regularized Grayscale Morphological Reconstruction And Gradient Statistics, Chongsheng Cheng, Zhexiong Shang, Zhigang Shen

Department of Construction Engineering and Management: Faculty Publications

Environmental and surface texture-induced temperature variation across the bridge deck is a major source of errors in delamination detection through thermography. This type of external noise poises a significant challenge for conventional quantitative methods such as global thresholding and k-means clustering. An iterative top-down approach is proposed for delamination segmentation based on grayscale morphological reconstruction. A weight-decay function was used to regularize the reconstruction for regional maxima extraction. The mean and coefficient of variation of temperature gradient estimated from delamination boundaries were used for discrimination. The proposed approach was tested on a lab experiment and an in-service bridge deck. The …

Analysis Of Military Construction Cost Growth In Major Defense Acquisition Programs, Emily E. Angell

Theses and Dissertations

This study is an exploratory analysis combining military construction (MILCON) data from the Selected Acquisition Reports (SAR) of Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAP) with the associated Automated Civil Engineer System project actual costs. The analysis uses both descriptive and inferential statistics to identify cost growth of MILCON at the programmatic level as well as to bridge the gap between SAR estimates and actual project costs within those program-level estimates. Overall, programs experience more negative growth (cost savings) in MILCON estimates on SARs, typically less than 0.2% of the total program cost implying minimal impact to program decisions. Estimates got more …

Application Of Computational Tools To Spaghetti-Based Truss Bridge Design, Jin Xu, Jiliang Li, Nuri Zeytinoglu, Jinyuan Zhai

ASEE IL-IN Section Conference

Application of Computational Tools to Spaghetti-Based Truss Design

Statics and Strength of Materials are two foundational courses for Mechanical/Civil Engineering. In order to assist students in better understanding and applying concepts to a meaningful design task, SolidWorks and theoretical calculation were used for a spaghetti-bridge design contest with the constraints of given maximum weight and allowable support-material weight. As the first step of this iterative designing process, both extrude feature and structural member were introduced to model planar bridge trusses. Then SolidWorks’ Statics module was used to run FEA analysis of the structural performance in efforts to optimize the …

Rough Roads Ahead!?, Sarah Reed, Brooke Thomas, Jim Hellmann

Purdue Road School

Have you ever found yourself in the public's cross-hairs when it is time to implement a few roadway improvements? Are you handicapped in your ability to describe the true value of community planning and economic development planning? Come hear from one dynamic trio with the ability to identify issues and opportunities that others might not see and work to uncover even more ways tin which we are better together.

Latex Modified Concrete - Very Early Strength, Bobby Steele

Purdue Road School

INDOT came out with specifications for a very early strength concrete to use on bridge deck overlays. This concrete is fast setting, which allows overlays to be performed over a weekend and benefits the traveling public with a short duration of traffic interference. Cure time to reach the strength requirement is 3 hours. E&B Paving performed the first application with the new spec on August 26, 2018. Many changes were also made to the INDOT Specification Section 722.

Construction Tools, Equipment And Safety Signal Identification Implemented Into Heavy Civil Lab, Brian F. Keane

Construction Management

The purpose of this project is to begin the development and implementation of a teaching module for commonly used construction tools, equipment, and safety signals into the Construction Management department’s Heavy Civil lab. Using knowledge gained from former and future employers, past construction management classes, and online research I found the most commonly used tools, equipment, and hand signals used on construction sites and created visual representations and descriptions of them. Many graduates of the Construction Management program will find themselves on construction sites and there is no question that workers in the construction field are subject to life threatening …

Aei Student Design Competition: Value Engineering & Design Build, Vincenzo Paolo Guidi

Construction Management

The Architectural Engineering Institute puts on a yearly student design competition that features interdisciplinary teams from colleges across the country. The project for the competition was the Jack H. Miller Center for Musical and Performing Arts on the Hope College campus in Holland Michigan. The main challenges in the problem statement address acoustics, using mass timber, and add alternative roof top space. Through a collaborative process, our team created a proposal that addressed the challenges and why we were the best fit for the job. I worked with a fellow construction management student, Shannon Wheeler, to produce our portion of …

A Continuation Of The Women In Construction Club’S Industry Mentorship Program And A Measure Of Its Effectiveness, Alexa S. Heien

Construction Management

The Women in Construction Club’s Industry Mentorship program at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) is nearly a year old, yet the only data collected on the program was taken directly after it was created. The creation of the Industry Mentorship program, and subsequent data collection, were a previous senior project. But there were no measurements on how effective the mentorship program was, or if there was a benefit for the students involved. Because this program has the potential of creating long-lasting relationships and connecting women in a men-dominated field, knowing if the mentorship program needs to …

Insight To An Asbestos Laborer, Eduardo Delgadillo

Construction Management

Asbestos laborers are often overlooked and not cared for much in construction projects. While they are often forgotten in the construction industry, they play a big role in most remodels or demolition projects. Abatement workers are exposed to the dangers of asbestos on a daily basis. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are the federal agencies that regulate asbestos. The EPA regulates the use, transportation and disposal of asbestos, while OSHA sets the standards for work involving asbestos minerals. OSHA has regulations that demolition and/or abatement contractors must comply with since asbestos is considered …

The Skills Students Coming Out Of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Lack To Become Effective Superintendents, Armando Pulido-Melendrez

Construction Management

The construction superintendent plays a very important role throughout the construction process in order to deliver a successful project. This paper analyzes the skills Cal Poly SLO graduates lack to become effective superintendents. It does so by first analyzing quantitative research on papers that state which skills are important. Several interviews were conducted with professionals in the construction industry. These interviews provided input regarding what makes an effective superintendent. From this research, an effective superintendent must have an understanding of scheduling and sequencing of construction processes. Additionally, they must have the strength and stamina for construction supervision in the field …

Building Homes And Hopes In Bangalore, India, Sherry S. Saroufeem

Construction Management

Habitat for Humanity Global Village is an organization that continuously sends volunteers to work on construction projects around the world. My team and I were chosen to go to a village in Bangalore, India, where we dug and poured home foundations for three families in need. Given the opportunity to combine my love for construction and my passion for helping those in need, I was certain that this was the senior project for me. I wanted the capstone of my college educational experience to reflect a hands-on approach, where I had the opportunity to make a difference and see an …