Commonalities in Construction

After visiting two seperate construction sites, it is clearly evident that there are both commonalities and differences in the operations of a job site. The first site we visited was the Basketball Practice Facility by Whiting Turner. The second site was the New Residence Hall by Branch and Associates.

After observing each site for several minutes, there were some explicit similarities. These similarities included: on-site parking for workers, on-site trailers, fencing, idle equipment, on-site mortar mixer, and safety practices.
There are also several noticable differences. These included: the type of building and the intended use, the amount of hokie stone used compared to precast constrete, the organization of the site, the types of roofing, the locations within the campus, and the number of floor of the building.

There are seven categories that are commonalities for each and every contruction project, no matter what the company or what the project. The categories include: Materials, State of Completion, Equipment, Site Layout and Utilization, Temporary Structures, Labor and Material Handling. These broad categories also have subcategories. For example, the Site Layout and Utilization category can be further broken down into fencing, parking, material laydown, access points, security, trailers, and housekeeping.The differences in construction lie within these categories. Each company or each project could have a different approach when it comes to these seven categories. A good example of this is Site Layout and Utilization comaprison of the two sites. It was much better on the Whiting Turner site than it was on the Branch and Associates site. At the Branch and Associates site, materials were unorganized and scattered throughout the site. Also, the parking was a more sporadic task, as cars where parked randomly around the site. A messy site can eventually lead to a decrease in productivity and an increase in costs. The amount of supervision on a site could possibly be a reason why some sites are more tidy than others.

Industry Day

On Tuesday, March 17 I visited Industry Day, directly after we were dismissed from our Building Construction class. When I first arrived, the companies were still setting up there booths and equipment.

The first activity I observed was the crane performing a pick of a HVAC unit and placing it on top of two existing metal stud partitioned walls. The crane operater was from Kiewit Construction. First, he described the procedures to properly and safely perform a pick. These steps include inspecting the rigging, know the radius and the amount of weight that radius can lift, and attaching a tag line to prevent dangerous swaying of the object once it is airborn. Next, he went over the various hand motions that are relayed to the Crane Operator, which included boom out, boom in, and rise. The man from Kiewit insisted that the responsiblility of the pick was the Crane Operator, and therefore if he feels uncomfortable with the pick, it should not be done. He also noted that a skilled Crane operator should rely on the hand signals and not look at the load while the pick is being done.

The next station we visited was Trimble Surveying, where they had surveying equipment displayed. The man from this station described the exciting new technology recently introduced. This technology focuses on the flow of real-time through the internet. He explained that a drawing could be uploaded onto the mobile computer located on the equipment, producing the appropriate numbers for the current elevation and the needed elevation. This information is then relayed to the bulldozers and graders, which will automatically adjust there blades. This technology improves the procision of grading. American Infrastructure is currently the leading company with this technology.

The third station I visited was the American Infrastructure crane operator simulator. This was a very popular activity and many of the students wanted to try. Apparently, making the pick in the simulator was extremely difficult and many of the students struggled in properly making a pick.

The fourth station I visited was the large grader brought by American Infrastructure. We were able to climb inside and pretend like we were moving this gigantic piece of machinery.

Overall, I really enjoyed my hour long visit to Industry Day. I was most interested in the crane operations, since I have never seen the process of making a pick. The employees that were around were very knowledgable and easy to talk to.

Pictures from Industry Day

This is a photo of a large grader. It is used for road surfaces and parking lots

This is a crane operator simulator presented by American Infrastructure

This is a man explaining new technology in surveying equipment

Employees from Kiewet along with Professor Mills, assembling the top portion and the bottom portion

The crane placing the HVAC unit atop the metal stud partition

the crane lifting the HVAC unit off the ground

Looping the ropes and preparing for liftoff

The crane beginning to pick the HVAC unit

A crane used by Kiewit

Professor Mills with the truck drivers from Chandler

Concrete truck from Chandler and a flat bed truck from Marshall Concrete Products

This is a very complicated section view of a drip pan unit located on the third floor of Bishop Favrao Hall. The materials in this drawing include HVAC piping, steel beams, metal supports, and metal decking.

This is a section view of an exterior wall in my dorm room. The cut takes place through a window. The materials in this drawing are Hokie Stone, CMU, window panes, and cast stone.

This is a close-up detail of the risers and treads in the starcase. There is a little amount of concrete set on top of the pre-formed steel staircase.

This is a section view of the mock up wall through the cast stone. This sits below the section view of the Hokie Stone. The materials in this drawing are styrofoam, cast stone, CMU, tie backs, and a waterproofing system