Schedule of Classes

Ethical and professional issues in the construction industry including an overview of applicable codes of ethical behavior and principles of professional conduct; introduction to ethical decision making; understanding of professional development opportunities; legal versus ethical responsibilities; written and oral communication practices and case studies.

Symbols, conventions, details of construction drawings, and blueprint reading. Emphasis on interpretation and communication of requirements of contract drawings.

Full-time cooperative education assignment for construction students who alternate periods of full-time school with periods of full-time academic or career-related work in industry. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory.

Survey of basic principles, methods, and equipment for building component systems related to human health and comfort. Introduces heating/cooling systems, electrical systems, plumbing, and lighting systems.

Introduction to soil mechanics and foundation construction. Soil index properties, classification, stress analysis, soil compaction, settlement, seepage, dewatering, excavations, and foundation construction.

Introduction to OSHA Construction Safety Standards. Design of a safety program, risk analysis of a company`s home office and field safety performance characteristics, potential problems, contingency planning, and safety audit analysis.

Introduction to construction law, bonding, insurance, DBE requirements, risk analysis and management. Types of contracts and contract content to include specifications, general conditions, and bidding requirements. Introduction to AGC, AIA and EJCDC construction contract documents. Regulations and types of potential claims and change orders and dispute resolution. Reasons and costs of change orders and claims. Global and emerging contractual and procedural issues. Dispute resolution. Case studies.

Economic considerations and tools of management: cost reporting; scheduling. Emphasis on network methods of scheduling: resource allocation and least-cost expediting. Introduction to computerized scheduling with emphasis on Primavera and MS Project.

Union and non-union activities in construction industry: history, analysis, organizing, bargaining, contract language, jurisdictional disputes, training, and restrictions on operating non-union.

Contractual obligations and funding of horizontal construction. Emphasis on estimating, environmental compliance analysis, excavation and earthwork operations, and safety of horizontal construction operations.

Overview of the basic principles of structural behavior and introduction to the analysis and design of steel and wood structural members. Formwork design and applications in other construction related problems.

Overview of materials used in concrete and masonry construction. Introduction to reinforced concrete design and basic concepts in concrete and masonry construction. Laboratory Experiments.

First of a two-semester course design project sequence. Discussions of the relationship between the owner, architect, consultant, superintendent, construction manager, general contractor, and subcontractors. Methods of project delivery, project concept through construction, design phases and project challenges. Leadership, ethics, public policy issues, LEED, and basic business management practices. Oral and written report of preliminary plan.

Application of construction principles to actual industry projects. Detailed estimate of the project, bidding strategies, site layout/development plan for construction staging, preparation of sample contracts using AIA and AGC formats, construction scheduling, project closeout plan, jobsite safety plan, and strategies to achieve LEED rating points.

Issues of the processes affiliated with the construction and engineering consulting profession: project delivery, conception through construction of projects, phases of design, and unique challenges. Case studies will be utilized.

Advanced techniques in taking-off quantities, pricing techniques, computer estimating, and bidding strategy models.