SIMULATING THE CONSTRUCTION SUPERVISION EXPERIENCE THROUGH COURSE INTEGRATION

Introduction:

The primary objective of the Building Construction & Contracting program at Purdue is to prepare students to be construction managers. Our goal is to provide an environment where young men and women can gain experience that will enable them to effectively manage men, materials, machines and money to construct build­ings, roads and others structures that modern society demands. In search of the most effective educational approach to provide this environment, one must cer­tainly ask, what are essential ingredients of a good construction manager?

The consensus among the faculty at Purdue is that entry level personnel in the industry need to have a solid understanding of the fundamentals of building construction. Future managers must be able to identify available resources and know how to use them. The ability of construction supervisors to gather those resources and apply the technical knowledge to related jobsite activities will enable them to plan, exe­cute, and control a construction project.

Through course integration this program maximizes the learning experiences related to jobsite supervision. As students cycle through the curriculum they perform as laborers, field engineers and job site supervisors. In all cases the students reinforce what they have learned in the classroom with the activities they perform in the construction lab. Integrating courses causes greater retention of knowledge and reduces "splinter learning." Students retain more because they are required to apply their knowledge more than one time and at more than one place.

Overview of the Integrated Process

Three buildings are constructed in the construction lab each semester; a single story wood frame residential building, a two story steel frame building, and a reinforced concrete building. The labor crews consist of students from BC 150, Construction Methods, the building align­ment crews consist of students from BC 212, Construction Surveying, and the lab is supervised by students from BC 355, Construction Supervision. All three courses present technical information in lectures, enhance this information with related homeworks, and offer the students the opportunity to gain experience by directly applying their knowledge and skill in the construction laboratory. The content of the integrated courses must coincide with each other and should sup­port the informational needs of the students at the appropriate times.

The purpose of this paper is to explain the development and implementation of the course integration which supports the students participation in the laboratory experience. The course objectives and major activities of the three integrated courses and the coordination between these courses will be reviewed. The scheduling of students and the facility requirements will be explained. The development of the curriculum for BC 355 Construction Super­vision will be discussed, including course objectives and major activities, samples of coursework and evaluation processes. To develop an in-depth understanding for this integration process, the course descript­ions, primary purpose, course objectives and major activities of the three courses need to be reviewed.

Course Descriptions of the Integrated Courses

BC 150 - Construction Methods

This course is a demonstration of the ele­mentary techniques employed to fabricate construction materials into a finished product according to project plans and specifications. Students will acquire base level skills in quantity estimating, blueprint reading, and project planning through hands-on experience with construc­tion materials.

The primary purpose of^, this course is to provide student activities that give per­sonal involvement in learning. The intent of this course is not to train students to be masons, carpenters or ironworkers (although they will learn some skills in these areas), but to provide a working knowledge of the construction process: how men, materials and construction methods are applied to accomplish an activity on the jobsite.

The objectives for the course are:

1. Divide a construction project into smaller work items.

2. Estimate the quantity of materials for a simple project.

3. Construct a project according to plans, specifications, and schedule.

4. Evaluate the relationship between working drawings and the student constructed structure.

5. Identify typical construction tools and equipment.

6. Identify typical construction materials.

7. Define a variety of construction terms.

8. Identify typical construction methods.

9. Define and evaluate productivity.

The major activities of this course are:

1. Construction of a one-story wood frame residential building.

2. Construction of a two-story steel frame building, including bar joists and metal decking.

3. Construction of panelized concrete wall forms for various jobsite applications.

4. Construction of a reinforced concrete building, including reinforcing steel and concrete placement.

5. A combination of weekly video-tutorial and homework assignments, which coincide with the laboratory construction activities.

BC 212 - Construction Surveying

Construction Surveying is designed for development of surveying skills relevant to the field of construction. Topics include layout of buildings, transfer of vertical control, route center-lines, lines and grades, earthwork calculations, slope stakes, triangulation, topographic mapping, and map preparation.

Construction layout or field engineering is often the first activity assigned by construction companies to new graduates of construction programs. The purpose of this course is to prepare students to be job ready and to be able to perform their first day on the jobsite.

The major activities of this course are:

1. Determine the accuracy and precision required for specific construction layout activities.

2. Utilize indirect leveling techniques to determine elevation in multi-story buildings.

3. Describe survey points by referencing techniques so that they may be relocated if lost.

4. Lay out residential, commercial, and industrial buildings.

5. Utilize Electronic Distance Measuring instruments to measure and layout distances in construction settings.

6. Use a utility laser to establish reference planes or lines necessary for construction control.

7. Utilize triangulation techniques to determine inaccessible distances and elevations on construction sites.

8. Calculate and layout horizontal and vertical curves.

9. Set slope stakes on a construction project.

10.Calculate volumes of earthwork on construction projects.

11.Use vertical alignment equipment to plumb structures.

12.Use handheld programmable computers to solve surveying calculation problems.

13.Test instruments for proper calibration.

BC 355 - Construction Supervision

A study of the duties and responsibilities of construction on-site supervisory personnel. Emphasis is placed on the methods and techniques used to ensure an efficient on-schedule operation.

The construction industry requires supervisory personnel who possess the knowledge and skills needed to evaluate all elements that effect productivity, including con­struction and project safety, project pre­planning, communication requirements, and construction methods. The purpose of this course is to develop these skills through activities in the construction laboratory and on the jobsite.

The objectives for the course are:

1. Identify the requirements and develop a jobsite safety program for a specific construction project.

2. Identify and define the types of communication needed to control the activities on the jobsite.

3. Develop and present a five minute jobsite safety talk on safe equipment operation or general safety awareness.

4. Identify the requirements and develop the materials needed for preplanning a specific construction project.

5. Evaluate the productivity of a construction activity and make recommen­dations for improvement.

6. Demonstrate effective leadership techniques during supervision of a construction activity.

The major activities of this course are:

1. Supervising the residential building.

2. Tool box safety talk presentation.

3. Supervising the steel building.

4. Jobsite evaluation on safety.

5. Jobsite evaluation on communication.

6. Supervising the reinforced concrete building.

7. Jobsite evaluation on productivity.

8. Construction Site Analysis/Video Tape.

Scheduling of Students and Facility Requirements

The BC 150 students attend a one hour common lecture every Monday and then participate as laborers once each week in a two hour lab. The program has eight labs scheduled each week, four on Tuesday and four on Wednesday. Maximum capacity of BC 150 course each semester is eighty students, ten students per lab. The BC 150 students are required to view video tutorial tapes and complete the related homework assignment before participating in the lab. This develops the technical knowledge needed to understand their role as laborers and to contribute to the performance of the labor crew.

The BC 355 students supervise a two hour lab period for each of the three buildings. A team supervision approach is used, assigning two students to supervise each lab and rotating the student team members throughout the semester. The course instructor schedules the students for supervising. There are two lectures each week, one and one-half hours each, that are used to discuss the planning process required to effectively perform as a student supervisor. This process requires the gathering of technical information and assembling a plan for supervising, which will be discussed in detail in the BC 355 curriculum development section of this paper.

The facilities required to support a program of this type are not limited to only the construction lab. If the students are required to develop knowledge

and understanding of the construction processes and methods before participation as laborers and supervisors, they must have the availability of audio-visual resources, related readings, technical information, safety requirements and other additional information. This program utilizes a audio-tutorial laboratory in conjunction with the construction lab. The A-T lab is equipped with video players, slide projectors, and other related equipment and materials for the BC 150 student, who are required to view the materials and complete a check-test before lab participation. The BC 355 students also need to view the material that relates to their scheduled supervision. This re-establishes their understanding of the construction processes and methods that they observed as a student laborer. The lab has technical information available, such as safety information, design manuals, installation references, and construction plans for the student to produce a preplan for the lab activity.

The construction lab was designed to include adequate floor area for the three types of buildings being constructed and allows for safe movement of materials and personnel during the construction phase. Material storage areas in the lab are classified as either permanent or temporary, and consideration was made to the type of equipment available for moving the materials.

The overall goal of this integrated program is to simulate a jobsite condition, therefore the portable and permanent equipment in the lab was selected to meet the material handling requirements and also represents current equipment used in the industry. During many of the construction activities several pieces of equipment are used concurrently which exposes the students to the problems incurred with productivity limitations when combining equipment operations.

Coordination of the Integrated Courses

The coordination of these integrated courses is essential to the construction laboratory simulation of the labor/supervision experience. A master schedule for sequencing the construction activities is established each semester. Each course structures their activities to coincide and compliment the master schedule. The lead time required to complete related homeworks and course assignments which contribute towards the preparation of the student for participation in the construction lab varies between the courses. To better define the lead times needed, a current semester schedule should be reviewed.

Week 1 - Orientation of course

Week 2 - Residential floor framing

Week 3 - Residential wall framing

Week 4 - Residential roof framing

Week 5 - Residential specialties

Week 6 - Residential demolition

Week 7 - Structural steel framing

Week 8 - Steel building alignment

Week 9 - Concrete wall forming

Week 10 - Steel building demolition

Week 11 - Concrete building framing

Week 12 - Concrete wall reinforcing

Week 13 - Mixing and placing concrete

Week 14 - Concrete building demolition

Since the construction^, activities in the lab change every week, the schedule for presenting technical information to the students in the lecture must also change at the same rate. Students in BC 150, Construction Methods, who are laborers in the lab, generally require one week preparation time to complete related homeworks and to view video-tutorial tapes of the scheduled construction activity. Students in BC 212, Construction Surveying, generally need two-three weeks preparation time to complete related homeworks and lab activities that prepare them for the layout and alignment of the steel building in the lab. Students in BC 355, Construction Supervision, frequently need two-four weeks preparation for their lab supervision, since they must gather technical information from the previous construction courses and from other avail­able sources to thoroughly plan their scheduled supervision. This procedure for planning and scheduling individual course lectures and activities may seem complex, but actually is easy to accomplish when a master schedule is prepared for the entire semester.

The examination of the schedule for one of the buildings constructed in the lab will expose the elements that contribute towards the integration of the course activities. For example, weeks seven through ten of the semester involve fram­ing, alignment, formwork and demolition of the steel building. This requires four individual units of instruction in BC 150, and the accumulation of several instruc­tional units in BC 212. Both of these courses need to complete the related units before lab participation, and more impor­tantly, must provide the students with the necessary proficiencies to build upon when the student is a BC 355 supervisor. It is therefore essential that the course objec­tives for BC 150 and 212 are periodically reviewed, and incorporated in the design of the BC 355 curriculum.

Development of the Construction Supervision Course Curriculum

A thorough review of all prerequisite courses on the student's plan of study was made when the curriculum was developed for BC 355, Construction Supervision. The prerequisite courses included eight build­ing construction courses, a technical graphics course, a computer science course and two math courses. The review focused on the course objectives and major activ­ities of the eight building construction courses. The instructors were contacted and conformation was made to validate the course content. The curriculum could then be designed to directly build upon these objectives and activities, with the assumption that minimal student proficien­cies were obtained in these prerequisite courses.

The supervision in the lab requires knowledge and skills gained from many of the prerequisite courses, but depends directly upon the specific objectives in BC 150 and 212. During weeks seven through ten of the semester, the BC 355 supervisors are involved with all aspects of constructing the steel building and are required to complete a preplan for their assigned activity that includes the following information.

1. General safety requirements.

2. Responsibilities of both supervisors. 3. Equipment requirements for the labors. 4. Sequence of activities of the project. 5. Working drawing of the activity.

6. Detailed instructions for supervising. 7. Checklist for quality control.

To develop the technical information for this preplan, the course curriculum must be designed with flexibility to identify the ability levels of the students and their proficiencies acquired from the previous courses. The process of identifying student deficiencies and developing the technical information needed to complete the supervising preplan is accomplished through the use of simple homework assign­ments. The homeworks that compliment the steel framing activities (week seven) include:

1. Define the safety requirements for the lab and the responsibilities of each supervisor.

2. Constructing a working drawing of the building, illustrating the column and beam locations and temporary material storage of the steel.

3. Developing a sequence of assembly that uses references indicated on the working drawing, shop drawings, and fabricator markings.

Learned objectives from BC 212, including leveling techniques, building layout, and vertical control; and learned objectives from BC 150, including equipment require­ments, sequencing the steel building, and understanding the relationship between working drawings and shop drawings are needed to complete these homeworks. The students preplan for supervising the framing of the steel building can be completed once the homeworks are returned and deficiencies are rectified.^, This integration between the learned objectives from BC 150 and 212, the completion of the related homeworks, and the assembly of the supervising students preplan changes each week to compliment the semester schedule. Therefore each student is involved with preparing a preplan and supervising an activity for each of the three buildings constructed in the lab.

Coordinating Courses Activities and Summary of Integrated Process

To further enhance the integrated approach to construction education, the students in BC 212 perform the duties of field engineers in the construction lab, assisting the BC 150 laborers and directed by the BC 355 supervisors. This integration of activities between the courses is scheduled several times each semester. The combination of structuring the supervision curriculum from previous learned objectives and integrating activities of the three related courses has developed a positive learning environment for problem solving. Students have the opportunity to work with other students, applying the knowledge and skills developed from the individual courses towards a common goal of constructing a building in the lab. With the semester schedule containing three types of structures, using different materials, tools, equipment, and construction methods, the students are exposed to cross-sectional view of the industry and the coordination required to complete the building process.

With the continued development and support of the integrated approach, there will be growth of this process with other courses that serve as prerequisites to BC 355 construction supervision. Future applications of this approach will be using the knowledge and skills obtained from construction supervision and directly integrating these experiences with lab and jobsite activities in senior level building construction courses such as project management and company management.