Redesigning the Senior Construction Management Capstone Courses At the University of Cincinnati

Introduction

The construction science department at the University of Cincinnati has been using a capstone project to prepare its graduates for the construction industry.  The capstone project is primarily focused on the commercial building segment of the construction industry.  During the past few years, several factors have produced changes in the skills and competencies that a successful construction management graduate must possess. Two important factors are the increased scope of services that a typical construction company is now providing and the increased utilization of information technology in the industry. 

Increased scope of services

In the past, owners usually hired construction companies as general contractors using a lump-sum project delivery system.  In this delivery system, the owner first selects an architect who prepares the design documents.  After the design documents are completed, several contractors bid the project and the lowest contractor is awarded the job.  Under this approach, the construction company is only involved during the construction phase.  It guides the entire construction process by coordinating subcontractors, administering the contract, procuring material and controlling cost, schedule, safety and quality.

Over the years, the traditional system has in some projects, demonstrated problems such as cost and schedule overruns, poor quality and an adversarial relationship between the owner, architect and contractor. As a result, several alternative project delivery systems have been developed.  These include, construction management, design/build and program management.  These systems together with the traditional design/bid/build system provide several alternatives that the owner can choose from to deliver his/her project.

In a construction management project delivery system, the owner contracts with a construction management firm before the design is complete. The construction management firm has significant input in the design process and performs various preconstruction services that include cost studies, scheduling, value engineering, and constructability studies.  The construction management firm also usually performs early planning, reviews design drawings and specifications, procures long-lead items, prepares bid packages, awards trade contracts, and seeks cooperation of building officials who might be reluctant to grant building permits based on incomplete drawings.  And like a general contractor, the construction management firm participates in the construction phase in the form of scheduling, cost control, procurement of material and equipment, coordination, contract administration, inspection for conformity to design requirements, progress payment, and final closeout of a project.

In a design/build project delivery system, the owner enters into an agreement with a single firm to be responsible for all planning, design, and construction activities.  The principal advantages of design/build contracts are the elimination of contractor claims against the owner resulting from errors in the plans or specifications and the ability to begin construction on each separate phase of the project as its design is completed. 

The program management project delivery system is usually utilized when the owner recognizes the need for complicated or multi-phase programs.  In these cases, a project manager is selected to manage the entire process from program through completion, and in some cases to manage the completed facility as well, all as an agent to the owner.  The project management company performs feasibility studies, prioritizes project phases and develops preliminary cost and schedule estimates.  It selects a variety of delivery systems for the design and construction of the various phases. 

From the discussion above, it is clear that the scope of services that a construction company is now providing has increased tremendously because of the alternative project delivery systems being used today.  Figure 1 compares general contracting to other project delivery systems.

Increased utilization of information technology (IT) in the construction industry

IT has changed and will continue to change the way construction projects are designed and managed.  Over the last decade many construction companies have utilized various computer systems to automate many of the business processes associated with the design, procurement and construction of projects.   These computer systems include computer aided design (CAD), structural analysis software, estimating, scheduling, accounting and facilities management software.  More recently, with the rapid growth of the Internet, many companies are exploring the potential of developing project specific websites for facilitating interaction among all parties and using electronic plan rooms to select projects for bidding.  A project website enables project teams to leverage the Internet to find, present, discuss, review, and track project-related information in real-time. Various types of information; e.g., CAD files, database queries, procurement documents, and others can be virtually published, and dynamically maintained on a project website (Capano et al. 2000).    

Old Structure of Capstone

In the past, when the traditional project delivery system was the system of choice in the building construction industry, the majority of our graduates worked for a general contractor upon graduation.  The skills they needed most were in estimating and scheduling and contract administration.  The “old” senior capstone project was completed in one academic quarter and was structured to provide them with these skills.  Students were given a set of plans and specifications and were asked to develop a lump-sum price and a completion schedule for the project.  They were also asked to identify how they are going to administer the project and were required to complete all documents needed for the construction administration process.

Redesign of the Capstone Project

At the start of the redesign process, the authors made several brainstorming sessions to identify the learning objectives of the capstone project.  Four main learning objectives were identified 

1. Understand the business processes encountered under the different project delivery systems.    

2. Understand the concepts of research and innovation and how to use them to improve a current business process.     

3. Understand how to put together a proposal for providing construction services to an owner.

4. Understand how to effectively use information technology in managing construction.

Each one of the above learning objectives is discussed in a separate section.  It should also be noted that because of the increased learning objectives, the capstone course duration had to be increased to two quarters.

Understanding construction business processes

The construction of a facility typically requires the application of many business processes.  As previously discussed, the number of processes that a construction company may perform has increased due to the increasing adoption of alternate project delivery systems.  Examples of construction processes include planning, sales, design, estimating, scheduling, materials management, contracting, cost control, quality management, safety management, human resource management, finance/accounting, general administration and research/development.   An important objective of the senior capstone project is for all students to be familiar with these processes and know their importance under different project delivery systems. 

To achieve this objective, the senior class is divided into several student teams, each containing 4-5 students. Each team is asked to form its own construction company and select a project delivery system that the team’s company likes to utilize. Each team is then asked to identify the business processes that are vital to its company and formulate standard procedures for carrying out these processes.  When formulating the standard procedures, student teams are required to search the literature and interview professionals to identify “best practices” methods and procedures. 

After developing its procedures, each team records them in a manual of construction policies and procedures.  The objective of the manual is to provide potential employees with a quick reference to the company’s procedures and philosophies. The manual contains what the students team believes is the best way of performing the various processes associated with managing a construction project.

Students are exposed to many of these processes discussed above in their academic careers.  The purpose of the capstone project is for them to review these processes and think on how to improve them.  Students have to think about the main issues that affect each of the processes and what can they do to resolve these issues.  For example, Figure 2 illustrates the issues that are critical to construction quality control process according to one team.

When proposing solutions to these issues, students are advised to group the proposed solutions based on when they should be implemented (i.e. conceptual phase, design phase, construction phase, etc.).  This help the students in understanding which solutions can be implemented under different project delivery systems.  Suggestions for improving the quality control process as presented by one team are shown in Figure 3.  Each team is graded based on the clarity of process description, the completeness of process discussion and the innovation of proposed methods to control the process.

The importance of introducing our students to the concepts of research and innovation in construction was realized early on during the brainstorming sessions.  Research and innovation is becoming more important in construction for many reasons that include:

To introduce students to the concepts of research and innovation, student teams are asked to investigate new technologies that can help solve some of the problems mentioned above. Each team is asked to demonstrate that its proposed technology or innovation is functional either by surveying experts in the field  or simulating the process. The team is also asked to perform a cost and benefit analysis to document the economic feasibility of the proposed technology.  Finally the team is asked to develop a plan for implementation, identify any implementation constraints and describe future research.  Students are required to present their findings at a technical exposition held yearly at the University of Cincinnati.  These presentations usually include posters, computer presentations, and videos.

Examples of ideas addressed in the past include:

Students are graded based on the completeness of their literature review, the innovation of their proposed technology, the correctness of the cost/benefit analysis and the overall quality of their report and presentation.

Develop a proposal for providing construction services to an owner

In the alternative project delivery systems discussed above, it is no longer sufficient for a construction company to submit the lowest bid to get the job.  A construction company now has to make a presentation (both written and oral) to any potential owner and has to convince the owner that it is the best company for the job.  As a result, presentation skills have become extremely important for our graduates.

After understanding the business processes associated with construction, students are given a set of project design drawings and specifications and are asked to make a proposal to an owner for building the project.  They are asked to discuss how their company adds value to the owner. Several potential areas of adding value include design review, value engineering and other preconstruction services, selection of subcontractors, development of bid packages, accelerated schedule, an efficient site layout plan, a good cost control system and a safe worksite. 

Both faculty and industry professionals evaluate the students’ final presentations.  A questions and answers session follow each presentation to evaluate the students’ understanding of the project delivery system they are proposing and their understanding of the various construction business processes.

Understand how to effectively use information technology for managing construction projects

During this past year, a team of four students was selected to conduct a pilot project by using latest Information Technology currently used in the USA Construction Market.  They obtained an account from an application service provider (ASP) company in Cincinnati named “iSqFt” that has an electronic plan-room. The firm gave the students an account to access an Internet plan-room for projects in Georgia, USA, about 800 miles away from Cincinnati. The Internet site gave the students access to plans placed by architectural firms and various owners.  The projects’ plans are organized by Bid Due Date, but can be sorted in a variety of forms. By clicking on the plans or specs of an individual project, the students could display the information on the screen and decide if they want to bid the project. The team used these electronic documents with special software developed by iSqFt, to directly estimate the project from the computer. The Plans were in TIF graphic file format, while the written documents and specifications were in PDF format.

After estimating the project, the students used electronic documents from the American Institute of Architects to draft proposals for bidding the project.  Next, the students used a project specific web site from another ASP to develop a communication and collaboration platform for their project. They obtained an account with www.Constructware.com that allowed them to electronically gather all information for the project, and communicate among each other for bidding and effectively planning the project.  The project information that was stored on the web site included project description, bid values, owner and designer contact information and information about the start and completion of the project.

Comments from the team involved with the IT pilot project were very positive. They felt that, upon graduation, they are better prepared to manage projects utilizing project management web-based applications. The student felt that the technology of transferring drawings with plan-rooms although expedient is somewhat inefficient. The Plan room is scanning paper drawings generated from electronic forms and then posting the scanned image in electronic forms. Designers’ drawings should and can be transferred directly in an electronic form (*.dwf) that can’t be altered through the plan-room.

Students also felt that two-dimensional drawings are the results of industry culture of antiquated manual drawing techniques that were converted to electronic techniques. For best applications, new three-dimensional (3D) drawings shall be completed by the designers and transmitted to the field. The 3D drawings will have much better quality of information, can have hyperlinks to specifications, manufacturers and suppliers and can be used directly to control materials and supplies for the project. The students also felt that using the take-off from the screen although expedient is not always possible with 17-inch or even 19-inch video screens. They had to print site plans for contour lines to be able to do an accurate take-off of cut and fill.

The students enjoyed learning Project Specific Web Site (PSWS) application. They felt that it enhances their collaborations and keep them attuned to the project. They felt however, that using PSWS is not all that intuitive and it requires training. It is important to start with a few tasks using PSWS then expand into more tasks. Finally, their recommendations to the faculty teaching Senior project is to give the student a special class in Information Technology prior to the Capstone Course experience.  This will speed-up the learning curve of the students and will allow them to use all the computer applications immediately for working on their project.

Conclusion

Rapid changes in business trends continue to challenge educators.  As new technologies, codes, project delivery systems continuously develop, academic programs must address these changes.  The paper presented the experience of the construction science department in redesigning their capstone project to provide students with skills necessary in today’s construction industry.  These skills include a clear understanding of all possible project delivery systems, an understanding of the business processes associated with the various systems, creative thinking and the use of information technology in managing construction projects.  Overall, students’ feedback has indicated that the new capstone experience has better prepared them for the challenges they face in their careers. 

References

Capano, C.D., D. C. Stahl amd M. McGeen (2000, February).  Educating Future Constructors Utilizing a Project Specific Website, Proc. Construction Congress VI, ASCE, Orlando, 234-244.

Elzarka H. (2000, July).  Introducing Business Process Reengineering Concepts In Construction Education, Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Technology Based Higher Education and Training, Istanbul, Turkey. 165-170

Dorsey, R.W. (1997). Project Delivery Systems for Building Construction. Associated General Contractors of America.