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Construction Engineering and Management Commons™

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2021

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Full-Text Articles in Construction Engineering and Management

The Benefits And Challenges Of Automation In The Modular Construction Industry, Allen Le Jun 2021

The Benefits And Challenges Of Automation In The Modular Construction Industry, Allen Le

Construction Management

Modular construction combined with automation technology such as robotics presents benefits and challenges associated with it. Modular construction takes on the traditional building methods and has streamlined the production of modules making it safer, efficient, and productive. Along with innovation and cutting-edge technology such as automation, it offers an alternative building method to the modular construction industry that enhances productivity, worker safety, and efficiency. This research presents an investigation on factors that may be benefited from the adoption of automation but also addresses the challenges in modular construction. Qualitative interviews with designers and consultants in the modular industry were conducted …

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Analyzing The Causes Of Labor Shortage In The Commercial Carpentry Trades In The San Francisco Bay Area, Jack Crayne Jun 2021

Analyzing The Causes Of Labor Shortage In The Commercial Carpentry Trades In The San Francisco Bay Area, Jack Crayne

Construction Management

Skilled labor is vital to the success of any construction project, and no contractor would be able to operate without the skilled laborers that they employ. The construction industry has been subject to a shortage of skilled labor for the last two decades for many reasons, including the poor image of construction workers among the public, inadequate training measures, and an aging workforce. Reviewing the literature on the matter shows that the leading cause of shortage is low pay and increasing age of the workforce overall, while the demand for labor grows at a faster rate than the supply of …

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Sustainability In Residential Construction: Homeowner Input On Sustainable Features, Samuel Bina Jun 2021

Sustainability In Residential Construction: Homeowner Input On Sustainable Features, Samuel Bina

Construction Management

Recently, sustainability has become extremely popular in construction, and in particular residential construction. Regulations for sustainable construction have increased over the years and have begun to increase in popularity amongst homeowners. This report dives further into the importance of sustainability in residential construction, in particular working with homeowners to identify the best methods of increasing sustainability in their homes. Currently, little information has been published regarding homeowners’ perspectives on sustainability and the types of features they would be likely to incorporate into their homes that are not mandated by codes. This report serves to provide information to both the construction …

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Addressing Mep Labor Shortages And Methods To Attract Young Adults Into The Trades, Hernan Garcia Alonso Jun 2021

Addressing Mep Labor Shortages And Methods To Attract Young Adults Into The Trades, Hernan Garcia Alonso

Construction Management

The mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) fields require a large skilled workforce. In recent years, companies have experienced shortages of skilled employees. These shortages arise from many causes, a root cause identified is the decrease of young adults pursuing MEP careers. This project focuses on the reasons young adults are reluctant to enter these careers, such as misconceptions or lack of knowledge on MEP careers. A pool of twelve MEP companies was surveyed regarding their experiences with the causes of labor shortages and the short-term mitigation methods used. They were also asked about their perspective on the lack of young …

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Terra Nova High School Outdoor Development, Amanda J. Kaesler Jun 2021

Terra Nova High School Outdoor Development, Amanda J. Kaesler

Construction Management

This paper describes the preconstruction planning of an outdoor space at Terra Nova High School in Pacifica, Ca. The project involved the production of three separate proposals at a high, moderate, and low-cost point. Each proposal included a conceptual design, takeoff, estimate, and model renderings. To create the conceptual designs and estimates, several programs and outside sources were utilized, including Revit, Bluebeam, RS Means, and Precision Estimating Services. The end designs include varying combinations of outdoor picnic seating, site boulders, raised planter beds, and a concrete stage. The resulting proposals outline the expected project costs for each design as well …

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Value Of Smart Home Devices And Cost Of Implementation, Danny Liu Jun 2021

Value Of Smart Home Devices And Cost Of Implementation, Danny Liu

Construction Management

A home to many is a comfortable and safe place to enjoy their leisure, a getaway from the world around them, and something they truly appreciate acquiring. A smart home can contribute to the comfort, efficiency, and value of a home to certain individuals. Upgrading a home from a traditional aspect to a smart home can be done as an easy do-it-yourself project on a weekend or several, depending on the number of upgrades desired. Major brands have and continue to release new products for smart homes that are simple and easy to use. The estimate sheet provided gives homeowners …

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Journeyman International: Third Lens Ministries Development In Jonestown, Mississippi, Josh Riley De Mattei Jun 2021

Journeyman International: Third Lens Ministries Development In Jonestown, Mississippi, Josh Riley De Mattei

Construction Management

Jonestown, Mississippi has been known to be a place of poverty and in need of infrastructure. A nonprofit, Third Lens Ministries is developing housing for the people of Jonestown, Mississippi. Over the last 9 months, an architect Margy Maher, an engineer Autumn Wagner, as well as myself, a construction management major, have all collaborated in order to design, engineer and plan the perfect Dwelling for the people of Jonestown, Mississippi. While the scope of the project includes community centers and housing, our team’s scope was to focus on the residential development and site work. As the construction manager, my deliverables …

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The Relationships Between Personality Types And Project Management Team Satisfaction, Patrick Moran Jun 2021

The Relationships Between Personality Types And Project Management Team Satisfaction, Patrick Moran

Construction Management

This research studies the relationships between personality types in Project Managers and Project Engineers and how they relate to project team satisfaction. Goals this research set out to accomplish include: finding relationships between personality types and team satisfaction, determining if heterogeneous or homogeneous team compositions yield greater levels of satisfaction, and determining if certain personality types influence team satisfaction more than others. In order to answer these goals, a specific study was conducted comparing two project teams composed of PMs and PEs. These teams were instructed to complete the NERIS Type Explorer® along with a Likert Scale questionnaire to self-assess …

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Ways Of Going About Determining Backup Power Options For Homes In California, James G. Ziebell Jun 2021

Ways Of Going About Determining Backup Power Options For Homes In California, James G. Ziebell

Construction Management

In an ever-changing climate, California is becoming more of a wildfire prone state during fire season through recent years. With the increase in wildfires over the past couple of years, power shutoffs initiated by utility companies and power outages due to nature have been negatively affecting residents that are directly or indirectly affected by wildfires. As residents of California become more susceptible to being affected by these power shutoffs and outages, residents are looking for ways of powering their homes when the power is off. The most common backup power options for residents are gas as well as natural gas …

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Learn By Giving: Non-Profit Information For Future Senior Projects, Ryan H. Proctor Jun 2021

Learn By Giving: Non-Profit Information For Future Senior Projects, Ryan H. Proctor

Construction Management

This report details the processes, deliverables, and partnerships between various non-profit construction organizations to provide students with accessible information about non-profit construction companies for future senior projects. The information and deliverables of this senior project also to be found in the portal for the construction management preliminary senior project class (CM 460). One of the main goals of this senior project is to encourage students to sharpen construction skills while helping communities in need. This project consists of interviewing local, national, and international non-profit companies to compile information so students understand the different opportunities they have. The first deliverable that …

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Paso Robles Police Department Outdoor Training Facility Improvements, Nicolas A. Petri Jun 2021

Paso Robles Police Department Outdoor Training Facility Improvements, Nicolas A. Petri

Construction Management

This paper will outline the pre-construction and construction processes of the Paso Robles Police Department’s outdoor training facility improvements. The project, located in East Paso Robles, focuses on 12,000 square feet of a 24,300 square foot site owned by the city of Paso Robles. This is a group project done with Gavin Abraham and Zach Stellini that remodeled an existing outdoor training facility, including over 1400 square feet of concrete flatwork, underground utilities, 80 cubic yards of decomposed granite and various site civil improvements. The purpose of this project was to provide the Paso Robles Police Department with a cleaner …

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Skill Sets Of Students In Comparison To Their Preferred Route After College, Shay O'Laughlin Jun 2021

Skill Sets Of Students In Comparison To Their Preferred Route After College, Shay O'Laughlin

Construction Management

Many of the superintendents and project managers today come out of higher education instead of coming up through the trades. This creates a large need for universities to produce both quality superintendents and project managers to run jobs efficiently and effectively in the future. This research paper focuses on the skillsets of construction management students at Cal Poly in relation to their anticipated career path, to see if students are choosing their path based on the skills, they have self-assessed or another factor. The hypothesis is that students are tending to not choose their route based on skills but instead …

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Cal Poly Preschool Learning Lab Music Garden Design, Karl Heuchert Jun 2021

Cal Poly Preschool Learning Lab Music Garden Design, Karl Heuchert

Construction Management

Colleges, universities and other educational institutions are always looking to improve their learning environments in order to provide students with the best resources, so that they can get the best education. This idea of improving learning environments not only applies to higher education but should be applied to primary education, especially for younger children. Young children should have a learning environment that they can actively engage with that can help them become more creative. This project aims to create a new environment for preschoolers that can allow them to interact with to test their cognitive skills and to give the …

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Augmented Reality Use In Construction - A Case Study Of The Industry, Jonathan P. Lin Jun 2021

Augmented Reality Use In Construction - A Case Study Of The Industry, Jonathan P. Lin

Construction Management

The construction industry has been lagging in adopting technology applications but has begun to integrate them in the past few years. Augmented reality (AR) is an innovative technology that allowed for the visualization of virtual objects in the real world. Presently, it can be used for various activities and tasks in construction but does not yet have the accuracy to be relied on. This case study interviewed industry personnel to determine if AR should be implemented into practice based on their experiences in the field. Based on the responses, the majority believed that it was a potential technological tool that …

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San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden Amphitheater Bench Project – Concrete Formwork Construction, Kyler N. Cruz Jun 2021

San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden Amphitheater Bench Project – Concrete Formwork Construction, Kyler N. Cruz

Construction Management

This paper summarizes the efforts towards constructing formwork for 10 concrete benches. The formwork construction is a part of the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden amphitheater seating senior project. The project included the design, construction, and installation of precast concrete benches to create seating for 40 people. The project was completed by Kyler Cruz, Brandon Keefer, Sydnee Greer, Makenna Gitchell, Devin Barthmaier, and Anthony Masarweh. The concrete formwork consisted of plywood, 2x4 lumber for bracing, rebar cages, and foam inserts. The key considerations for this scope of work included: reinforcing rebar, the number of forms built, formwork failure, and the …

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Second Language Advantages To The Construction Industry, Heilam Wu Jun 2021

Second Language Advantages To The Construction Industry, Heilam Wu

Construction Management

The university is well known for its prowess in construction management. It is essential for construction management students to learn additional skills. The current trend in construction management predicts its expansion across international borders. A construction manager will have an added advantage working abroad if they can communicate using different languages. Knowledge of foreign languages is advantageous as it increases the chance of securing job opportunities and sharing effectively with others. However, this can only be attained by encouraging more students to learn to integrate their skills with at least one or two foreign languages. It is, therefore, essential to …

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Alternatives To Oil-Based Binders For Asphalt Concrete Paving In Northern California, Parker E. Jenks Jun 2021

Alternatives To Oil-Based Binders For Asphalt Concrete Paving In Northern California, Parker E. Jenks

Construction Management

Every day, millions of Americans travel along highways and roadways during their everyday lives. Many people do not understand the vital impact that this infrastructure has on their day to day activities and what goes into building these roadways. The traditional process of using paving a roadway requires the use of an asphalt binder that is typically an oil-based binder. With the environmental effects of manufacturing and producing these oils, as well as the effects on the environment when the asphalt is placed, there have been a few accounts of producing an alternative asphalt binder that does not use oil. …

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Construction Communication - A New Technical Elective Course At Cal Poly, Alex Trujillo Jun 2021

Construction Communication - A New Technical Elective Course At Cal Poly, Alex Trujillo

Construction Management

A new course, Construction Communication, was developed to be included in course offerings at California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) as a technical elective for Construction Management (CM) undergraduate students. The goal of this course is to prepare Junior and Senior level students for real life scenarios they will face in the industry upon graduation and to develop their soft skills. Effective communication is a skillset that is learned through years of experience. However, in this course that process will be jumpstarted, aiming to build a strong foundation of soft skills. Construction is a people business, and one’s …

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Pouring Concrete Benches For The Amphitheater At Slo Botanical Garden, Makenna Paige Gitchell Jun 2021

Pouring Concrete Benches For The Amphitheater At Slo Botanical Garden, Makenna Paige Gitchell

Construction Management

This paper will outline the logistics and construction processes for the construction of ten concrete benches for a new amphitheater area at the San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden. These benches will provide stadium-style seating for around forty guests that the botanical garden staff can utilize for special events, tours and outdoor classes. The overall project team was composed of 6 students broken out into a preconstruction (Anthony Masarweh, Sydnee Greer and Devon Barthmaier) and a construction team (Makenna Gitchell, Brandon Keefer, and Kyler Cruz). As part of the construction team, we were responsible for coordinating material deliveries, building the formwork, …

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Do Development Department Standards Deter Potential Affordable Housing In Los Angeles Areas? A Case Study, Adam Gonzalez Jun 2021

Do Development Department Standards Deter Potential Affordable Housing In Los Angeles Areas? A Case Study, Adam Gonzalez

Construction Management

Development department standards for constructing new buildings are put in place for the general well being of the community and its buildings. Using a case study of a recent Santa Monica Mixed-Use project, the paper can analyze the building standards, programs, and other requirements put in place. The purpose of the case study was to highlight challenges and issues to project start-up created by the city’s standards to gain insight as to how standards may deter construction containing affordable housing units in the Los Angeles Area. Qualitative research was conducted through e-mail correspondence with the VP and development partner of …

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Analyzing The Impact Of The Women In Construction Club, Reagan Milligan Jun 2021

Analyzing The Impact Of The Women In Construction Club, Reagan Milligan

Construction Management

The Women in Construction (WIC) club at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo provides a support network for all students, but specifically serves women pursuing an undergraduate degree in construction management. The club’s mission statement is to ‘recognize and empower all students in construction through change, collaboration, and leadership development by leveraging connections.’ This study was conducted to determine the types and levels of impact the Women in Construction club has had on undergraduate students at the professional, academic, and personal levels. The study evaluates the different types of events held by the club, networking opportunities provided for both …

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Home Builders’ Perception Of Virtual Inspections: A Case Study, Kyle J. Morse Jun 2021

Home Builders’ Perception Of Virtual Inspections: A Case Study, Kyle J. Morse

Construction Management

The COVID-19 pandemic created a new set of restrictions and safety protocols for the residential construction industry. Many jurisdictions began placing social distancing practices on inspectors, limiting their ability to visit the jobsite. The adjustment required many residential builders and inspectors to adapt to virtual inspections using videos, photographs, and recordings. As this new technology gains traction in the residential industry, questions arise regarding its benefits, drawbacks, and industry acceptance. This case study analyzes the perceptions and experiences of five separate homebuilders in Yolo County, California. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five residential general contractors, transcribed, and thematically analyzed to …

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Alternative Options To Diesel Fuel In Construction Equipment, Sheldon A. Maag Jun 2021

Alternative Options To Diesel Fuel In Construction Equipment, Sheldon A. Maag

Construction Management

The construction industry is a major contributor to the environmental emissions due to the extensive use of construction equipment, which is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions and harmful substances such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and particulate matter emissions. The goal of this paper is to analyze the current equipment and fuel used and to compare to the new fuels that are said to be better for the environment. There have been studies in which companies have employed a portable emission measurement system (PEMS) for real time measurement of emissions from construction equipment including carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), …

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Analysis Of Phasing Seismic Retrofits: A Case Study, Sydney I. Lee Jun 2021

Analysis Of Phasing Seismic Retrofits: A Case Study, Sydney I. Lee

Construction Management

Building performance and safety have always been a high concern in seismic areas, especially as certain building configurations and designs have proven inadequate and dangerous in large earthquakes. Building failures due to earthquake forces are combated by local seismic ordinances, which describe the types of buildings at risk and mandate when they are required to be seismically retrofitted. This paper investigates the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry and the necessity of seismically retrofitting buildings, particularly soft story wood frame, non-ductile concrete, and welded steel moment frame structures. This case study focuses on the voluntary seismic retrofit of a high-rise …

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An In-Depth Look At Career Paths, Keith J. Hackleman Jun 2021

An In-Depth Look At Career Paths, Keith J. Hackleman

Construction Management

Construction Management students are faced with a decision once they graduate college and start moving up in the work force. They must decide what career path they want to pursue, and they typically have very little information about each position to make their decision. Their information on the career paths typically comes from professor’s experiences, internships, and family experiences. The goal of this Senior Project was to allow for an unbiased look at each different career path, breaking it up into Project Managers, Superintendents, and Estimating/BIM Managers. The survey was focused on work-life balance, hours per week, and time spent …

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Testing Concrete Reinforcing Fibers To Reduce Surface Cracking, Shaina Marie Suanico Jun 2021

Testing Concrete Reinforcing Fibers To Reduce Surface Cracking, Shaina Marie Suanico

Construction Management

Concrete reinforcing fibers are a fairly new technology being used in the construction industry to replace reinforcing bar in various applications. In partnership with Largo Concrete, Master Builders Solutions, and Cal Portland, this action research-based project aimed to test how the MasterFiber 360FF synthetic reinforcing fibers impact plastic shrinkage cracking with various types of aggregate using the ASTM C1579-06 test. The end goal of this project is to provide a baseline for future construction management students to test plastic shrinkage using the C1579-06 apparatus that was built to produce further knowledge on the feasibility of concrete reinforcing fibers. The review …

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A Case Study On The Ucsf Transplant Center Renovation: Mitigating Covid-19 Risks And Tracking Cost Impact, Alec Steven Woodyatt Jun 2021

A Case Study On The Ucsf Transplant Center Renovation: Mitigating Covid-19 Risks And Tracking Cost Impact, Alec Steven Woodyatt

Construction Management

At the beginning of 2020, the world was turned upside down at the hands of the global coronavirus pandemic. Today, economies and business are counting the costs and wondering what recovery will look like – how to navigate and adapt to a new style of life after returning from government-mandated lockdowns. The question on everyone’s minds is, “how do we continue to work while keeping people safe?” This question is extremely relevant in the construction industry where, for most people, working from home is not an option. This case study will delve into how Dome Construction, along with their client, …

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Refurbishment Of Exterior Wooden Panels Of Simpson Strong Tie Building, Isidoro A. Amalfitano Jun 2021

Refurbishment Of Exterior Wooden Panels Of Simpson Strong Tie Building, Isidoro A. Amalfitano

Construction Management

This paper outlines the refurbishment of the exterior wood panels located on the Simpson Strong Tie Building on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus. This project focuses on the two large 50 square foot wooden panels that act as an exterior skin for the Simpson Strong Tie Building. This project is an individual project that was broken up into 4 phases. This paper will cover all 4 phases of the refurbishment process. These phases include the removal, sanding, staining and reapplication of wood panels onto the Simpson Strong Tie Building. Furthermore, this paper will go in depth about the …

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City Farm Slo - Walk-In Produce Coolbot Cooler, Connor Morinini Jun 2021

City Farm Slo - Walk-In Produce Coolbot Cooler, Connor Morinini

Construction Management

This paper describes the planning, financing, and construction of a commercial sized refrigerator for a non-profit urban farm in San Luis Obispo, CA, called City Farm SLO. Construction of the project occurred over a nine-month period from September of 2020 to May of 2021. The project involved building a Tuffshed, site grading, framing a room inside the Tuffshed, hanging a door, installing electricity inside the room, insulating the interior, painting the exterior, installing an air conditioner, and wiring the Coolbot to the air conditioner. The project was built to allow the non-profit organization to begin storing their agricultural crops in …

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Resequencing To Make Up Lost Time During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Case Study, Enzo Av Rienzi Jun 2021

Resequencing To Make Up Lost Time During The Covid-19 Pandemic: Case Study, Enzo Av Rienzi

Construction Management

Construction schedules are typically built by organizing activities according to trades as a whole. The entire foundation is poured, then the entire superstructure is erected, followed by interior framing, etc. However, for projects with an unchangeable finish date such as a school, other scheduling methods must be considered when the project is faced with uncontrollable, force majeure events which threaten to delay the project deadline. In order to examine the efficacy of alternative scheduling techniques, analysis of a $50 million school project will provide insight into how tasks can be safely overlapped to gain lost time in a schedule. This …

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