UTC Construction teams reach Top 5 in regional contest

Members of the UTC Construction teams.

In a recent regional construction competition, the UTC finished in the Top Five out of 13 universities who competed.

In the Associated Schools of Construction’s Region 2 competition held last month in Peachtree City, Ga., the UTC Construction team finished fourth. First place went to Virginia Tech, Auburn University came in second and the University of Florida finished third. About 300 students participated in the contest.

The UTC team consisted of 24 construction management majors and one graduate student in the Gary W. Rollins College of Business. The team was divided into four categories: Design-Build, Commercial, Heavy Civil and Risk and Finance. One UTC student also joined forces with five students from other universities to create a Shadow team that was given a construction project. The purpose is to add the pressure of team dynamics when strangers come together as a team to solve a construction problem.

Judges in the Design-Build category said the UTC team had the best design of a hotel in the competition, while Risk and Finance had the best overall presentation in its category, according to Paul Baggett, associate lecturer in the Department of Engineering Management and Technology and faculty representative for the competition.

Judges also said the difference between first and fourth was one-hundredth of a point on Design-Build and a few tenths of a point in Risk and Finance, Baggett said.

Members of three of the major construction companies who were judges said they always look for the “Mocs Power C” on their team shirts because they always interview well and have great resumes, Baggett added.

The specific projects were:

• Design-Build: Design and provide a cost estimate for a new 10-story, 260,000 square-foot hotel and conference center at the Chattanooga Airport. The team had design the project using building information modeling, provide an estimate for design and construction, a safety plan, project schedule and management procedures both the design and construction. It also had to incorporate energy-saving elements.
• Commercial: Design and build an 18,324 square-foot private jet terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport with a lobby area, pilot’s lounge, conference rooms, offices and aircraft support. The team had to present a cost estimate, project schedule, safety plan, logistics plan, communication plan and a management organization chart.
• Risk and Finance:  Provide a “Go/No Go” risk analysis for a set of structural steel rocket test towers for NASA’s next generation Space Launch System rocket program. The team also had to develop a cost for pre-construction services, project budget, controls for management of the project during construction, a logistics plan, a safety plan and a schedule. A twist were unexploded rocket launch devices that had to be removed prior to construction.
• Heavy Civil: ​Design an interstate interchange with exit ramps and bridge on Interstate 285 in Atlanta, Georgia.​ The team developed a bid package including cost estimates, schedule, safety plan, margins for risk, methods and procedures and management of labor and equipment use.
• Shadow: Design a highway bridge over a river with cost and quantity estimates for concrete and steel, a project schedule, safety plan and logistics plan.