Construction Education for Engineers and Technical

Professionals26 November 2007

• ESM status and support

• ESM and MBA

• Civil and Construction Engineering

• Construction Management

• Graduate Certificates

• Current Plan

• Need Advice and Support

Construction Management

• Demand for “construction managers”

• Many new programs

• Demand for “construction management education”

• How does that relate to UAF?– CEE?– ESM?

Engineering Management at UAF - History

• Founded at UAF in 1959– 6th Engineering Management Program in U.S.– John Hilpert ( Larry Bennett, 1971)

• Started Anchorage courses 1961– UAF faculty flew

• Added Science Management in 1960’s• What is Engineering Management?

Engineering Management is the art and science of planning, organizing, allocating resources, and directing and controlling activities which have a technological component. ASEM

1966 Hilpert Memo to Dean

• The Engineering Management Program was designed for graduate engineers who have sufficient experience to be ready for supervisory and managerial assignments.– To prepare engineers in Alaska for more

responsible jobs….– To improve management of engineering

operations in the State.

2002 Graduate Comment“The ESM program was great for me, because it filled in all the nooks and crannies that an undergrad engineering program typically doesn’t have time to cover, such as legal principles, accounting, a strong focus on project management, etc. One obviously has to have a solid engineering background, but you can’t succeed in an engineering firm without these other skills to round out your knowledge. “

Dilbert’s take

• 1961-1999, Combined UAF, UAA, NTU, two to four faculty, plus some admin– 560 masters degrees, 14.3 grads/yr

• 1990-1999, UAF, one full-time faculty– 5.2 grads/yr

• 2000 first Ph.D.– Lt. Col. Jim Buckingham

• 2001-2007, one half full-time faculty– 3.3 graduates per year

Chicken or Egg?

• Short of faculty leads to fewer students• Fewer students leads to fewer faculty• Consider engineering MS’s• General employment situation of engineers is

good – sellers market• Full-time MS does not pay for US Citizen

engineers• Evening courses are demanding• Lack one-to-one correspondence with $

Contrast ESM with MBA

• ESM and SoM have great relationship at UAF

• Engineers with MBA do well compared with EM degree

Courses, typical

EM MBA

Human Element Similar

Finance and Accounting - +

Project Management ++ -

Statistics, OR Similar

Non-mgt. Electives ++ -

Marketing - ++

Capstone Project Similar

Construction

• Major industry in Alaska

• Non-exportable

• About 1/3 CE graduates go into directly

• Most the rest are involved

Civil and Construction Engineering

• Both ABET curricula• CE must teach four major CE sub-disciplines:

– Structural– Geotechnical– Environmental/Sanitary– Transportation– Hydraulics/Hydrology/Water Resources– Surveying/Measurements– Construction

Construction Engineering

• proficiency in engineering design in a construction engineering specialty field*

• construction processes, communications, methods, materials, systems, equipment, planning, scheduling, safety, cost analysis, and cost control;

• economics, business, accounting, law, statistics, ethics, leadership, decision and optimization methods, process analysis and design, engineering economics, engineering management, safety, and cost engineering

Design Specialty?

• College One requires four steel and concrete design courses plus surveying

• College Two requires one course each in structures, geotech, transportation, environmental

• College Three requires structures and surveying

CE and Const E Overlap

• Construction Engineers will obtain PE as Civils

• Academically, most Construction engineering is part of CE department

• All Construction Engineers will study some (CE) design

• Some programs there is no real difference, Con E is just elective in CE program

CE with two electives

• CEE 481 Civil Engineering Project ManagementCivil engineering project management and administration, planning and scheduling, cost estimating and bidding strategies, financial management, quality control and safety, and computer applications.

• CON 496 Construction Contract AdministrationSurveys administrative procedures of general and subcontractors. Studies documentation, claims, arbitration, litigation, bonding, insurance, and indemnification. Discusses ethical practices.

Engineering and Construction Management

• Construction Management is not ABET• Gradient between Engineering and Construction

Management, no definite standards. • If the CM program is close to engineering, the

fewer construction-related specialized courses• Some are essentially liberal arts with some little

math and science, but construction-related courses

Undergraduate CM Classes

• 35-45 cr. General requirements

• 15-21 cr. Math, computer, and science

• 12-18 cr. General business

• 20-30 cr. Technical construction

• 3-6 cr. Estimating

• 9-12 cr. Technical management

Technical – not management

• Methods of building construction

• Civil technology

• Structural technology

• Safety

• Cost estimating

• Mechanical and electrical technology

• Codes and standards

General business

• Business law

• Economics, macro and micro

• Financial and managerial accounting

• Real estate and finance

Technical Management

• Construction Project Management• Project Planning and Scheduling• Construction Equipment Management• Principles of Construction Management• Leadership and Foundations of Construction• Construction Modeling and Data Structures• Law, Contracts and Specifications• Construction Documents and Quality Control

Graduate CM degrees MS

• Quite varied

• Three good schools

• One only has three required courses– Construction Productivity– Project Management– Construction Company Financial Control

Second has more general

• Construction Operations,• Managing Fabrication, • Construction, estimating, • Sustainable development, • Organizational design, • Managing engineering and construction

companies, leadership • Real estate.

Third has more technical• CE 798 Selected Topics in Construction [seminar]• CE 825 Project Management for Construction

CE 826 Construction Cost Estimating CE 827 Contracts and Specifications CE 828 Risk Analysis CE 829 Construction Operation Analysis - [scientific study of operations, modeling, productivity, work-motion] CE 830 Information Systems in Project Management CE 831 Engineering for Construction I: Methods and Technologies MG 601 Organizational Behavior

ESM CM

Human Element + + +

Finance and Accounting + + +

Project Management + + + + ++

Quantitative Decision Making

+ +

Non-mgt. (Engineering/Technical) Electives

+ + Large

Estimating + +

Construction Management Electives

+ Large

Capstone Project + None

So Far

• ESM is not MBA. CBNC– Leverage synergy

• CM is not CE or Const E, usually– CM is not design

• ESM is not CM– ESM lacks technical construction– Less technical management

CM possibilities

• Have associates degree in CM

• Could add Construction Engineering to Civil BS, would not be a large leap– But no advantage for students

• Would need resources to start CM MS– Smallest would be one full-time, if ESM was

fully staffed and with SoM.– Might not get the students to justify

Graduate Certificates

• Growth industry in engineering education

• Typically 12 to 15 graduate credits

• Generally acceptable towards MS

• Rolla indicates 11 of 29 departments have certificate programs

U. M. RollaAdmission Requirements • at least one year of post-BS professional engineering

experience• satisfaction of the prerequisites for any course taken in the program Program Requirements • Each individual certificate program consists of four

courses. To receive a graduate certificate, a student must earn a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better in the program.

The Option to Continue • Certificate program students will have non-matriculated status. If,

however, a student completes each of the four courses with a grade of B or better, the student can be admitted to a corresponding master's degree program. In this case, the certificate courses the student has taken will count towards the chosen master's program.

Stevens Tech, 21 certificates

• Graduate Certificate programs are generally four course, 12 credit programs geared to students who:

• Are interested in improving their current skills. • Are considering new career paths within

industry. • Have been out of school for sometime, and want

to resume their studies without committing to a full 30 credit Master's Degree program.

• Already hold an advanced degree, but wish to continue their studies in a new or related area.

Certificates Sell• (Many private universities are marketing)• Focused on narrow area• Get credential faster• Often marketed to industry, i.e.,

– Design of Pharmaceutical Facilities – Value Chain Enterprise Systems – Pharmaceutical Process Engineering

• Often distance delivered• Often don’t need MS to “complete” BS degree

Negatives ?

• Not research orientated

• Commercial rather than academic

• Does not fit academic mold/mould

• Extension School material

• (All these are only negative from academics)

AK DOT Classes

• Asked UAF to offer some construction management classes last spring

• UAF generated preliminary information

• Met with AK DOT to refine

• Gary Tyndall took plan to contractors, owners, AGC, etc.

Owners Wanted

• Focus on industry-identified needs

• Concentrate on human interactions, not design skills

• Avoid overlapping existing courses, such as TVC and AGC

Details

• emphasize management skills, more than technical skills.

• orient the program towards individuals who have engineering or technical bachelor’s degrees, and who have several (say 5 to 10) years of subsequent work experience.

• offer training sessions in short, concentrated modules, which can be completed and applied quickly.

• offer the training at times and locations that are convenient for individuals who are working regular, full time jobs, and during seasons that minimize conflict with construction activities.

UAF wants

• (I think)

• High academic standards

• Credit production

• No extra resources needed

• Not interfere with research

• Suspend the laws of thermodynamics– Perpetual Motion Machine

Student/employees Want

• Skills

• Advancement

• Confidence

• Money

• Sheepskin

First, Early, Draft of Certificate Program

Had Four Discipline Area

1. Human interactions and communications (4-6 credits)

2. Construction project management (4-6 credits)

3. Construction contract administration (4-6 credits)

4. Other Areas (3-4 credits total)

1.) Human interactions and communications (4-6 credits)

• Ethics and professional responsibility• Human resources laws and practice• Incentive, recognition, and reward systems• Labor relations• Training and development programs• Recruiting, selection, performance appraisal• Leadership• Delegation• Written communications• Oral communications• Visual communications• Negotiations• Proposal writing• Public involvement• Public/media relations• Personal skills/time management

2.) Construction project management (4-6 credits)

• Project life cycle• Construction project delivery systems• Project organizations• Project control, work breakdown structure• Project scheduling, CPM, programs• Controls systems• Managing (vs. preventing) changes, & changes

affecting professional seals and code requirements• Project initiation, coordination matrix, integration

management• Project/regulatory interaction, & inspections

by ‘others’ “Stakeholders”• Project termination• Project selection• Project Risk analysis and control

3.) Construction contract administration (4-6 credits)

• General law• Contract law• Public procurement law• Changes and substitutions• Claims• General estimating• Methods• strategies• Record-keeping, accounting management, and work acceptance• Construction equipment management and accounting methods • Financial statements and bonding• Insurance• Contract Administration, including

– Contractor Payments, Change Orders, Force Accounts, Claims Management, Project closeout, Specifications, Office procedures, Project safety issues, workers comp and record-keeping, Inspections and Quality Control

Other (3-4 credits total) 1. Asset and maintenance management2. Project economics and life cycle costing3. Risk analysis4. Emergency response5. Environmental law and permits/EIS6. Project Development and Envir.

Documentation7. Business practices including financial

statements

This Spring

• Offer six one-credit courses

• AK DOT will sponsor three of them

• All meet either Mon-Wed or Tue-Thru– 3:00 to 5:15 for six meetings

• At CDE Conference Room– Old Bowers Building

• The AK DOT courses are:– The Big Picture, systems thinking and

organizational dynamics (Dr. Herman) – Scheduling for Construction Administration (Dr.

Bennett)– Managing Risk (Dr. Perkins)

• The non-sponsored courses are:– Overview of Environmental Laws, Regulations, and

Permitting (Dr. Perkins)– Power and politics, effect on motivation (Dr.

Herman)– Construction Claims Case Studies (Dr. Bennett)

Distance

• Three of the classes will be delivered to Nome

• CDE direct to Nome campus– No parking problem

• Still looking for Anchorage anchor for other three– Need audio conference room– Could be other location

Administration

• UA Corporate Programs can collect from companies

• UAF Center for Distance Education can collect from individuals

• Plan to charge regular tuition to individuals

• Have a Workforce Development grant

Academics

• Approved “special topics” courses.

• Slides under radar

Questions to you

• Is this a one-time venture?

• Start of something new?– Graduate Certificate in Construction Mgt.

• Other certificates?– Pre-construction engineering– Transportation engineering– Environmental engineering– Others

Issues?

• Can’t find Ph.D.’s with construction experience

• Hard to hire non-Ph.D. for full-time appointment

• Don’t have faculty for ESM

• Adjunct funding is first to be cut

• Need sufficient students

• Need employer support

• Need Board of Regents approval for new degree

• Split zone between– Three credit course that is clearly academic– CEU-type class that is clearly not.