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.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
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.
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
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Stairway Section
This is a cross section of the stairwell is Bishop Favrao Hall. There are two landing, made of concrete. The stairs are concrete on top of steel formed stairs. The railings are also metal, with two handrails and mesh guarding.
Stairway Plan
This is a picture of a stairway plan. The dark, thick lines indicate the railings. The stairs are made from steel with concrete on top.
Landing Detail
This is a detail picture of a landing in a stairway. A concrete slab is supported by metal decking. The metal decking is supported by steel beams and bracing.
Door Section
This is a section view of an interior wall through a door. The door frame is metal, with CMU blocking above it. There is no bottom to the frame of the door, as it is simply tile flooring.Bedroom Floorplan
This is the floor plan of my dorm room in Vawter Hall. The walls are made out of CMU blocks, the ceiling in concrete, and the floor is tile. There is also a sink and small closets for me and my roommate.Thursday, February 26, 2009
Basketball Practice Facility Visit on 2/26
A worker was making concrete on site
A few workers were working on connecting new utility lines to the existing ones. This photo was taken along Washington Street, near the main entrance to the site is located.
Significant progress has taken place at the front of the site. The grand staircase is visible and in place. Workers were installing long metal strips near the staircase.
Workers were continuing to install hokie stone along the backside of the site.
This photo shows the storage of new materials delivered to the site today. The materials seemed to be windows and metal panels.
A forkflift takes the windows and metal panels off the flat bed truck and puts it into the appropraite storage location
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Estimating Blog Post
Total Assembly Cost
Unit Assembly Cost
Total Unit Cost
Unit Cost
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
My estimating for the price and quantity of concrete involved four different excel files. The concrete included in the estimate was the slab, the continuous footings, and the column footings. I used the website RS Means to find the costs for each item involved in the construction process for concrete. This included materials such as reinforcing steel, dowel rods, vapor barriers, and gravel. Using square feet, linear feet, or cubic feet, I was able to calculate the appropriate number of materials I would need for this project. The first step was to calculate the cost of a single quantity of material and the resulting cost, which is identified in "Unit Cost" and "Total Unit Cost". After that, I simply multiplied the price of one unit by the number of that material actually needed. This is represented by "Total Assembly Cost" and "Total Unit Cost". The interesting part of these take-offs was that the Assembly Cost was significantly more expensive than the Unit Cost.
Wall Assembly
My wall assembly is of a basic exterior wall. The materials in this wall asembly are CMU blocks, drywall, insulation, mortar, and brick
Link to site:
http://www.masonrymagazine.com/7-07/art/moistFigure1.jpg
Thursday, January 29, 2009
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