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Milestone II Report:

Modification of Escuela San Luis

Outdoor Covered Sports Facility

Costa Rica

Submitted to: Dr. James O’Connor

Date: 25 November 2013

Prepared by: Kevin Chen

Shelby Haverda

Guillaume Herve

Katelyn Knippa

Kyle Morris

Allison Rich

Fall 2013 Milestone II Report – Costa Rica 2

The Cockrell School of Engineering – The University of Texas at Austin

Table of Contents Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................... 2

History ....................................................................................................................................... 4

Milestone I Concerns .................................................................................................................................................. 4

Lessons Learned from Prior Teams ......................................................................................................................... 4

Project Description .................................................................................................................... 6

Project Objectives ....................................................................................................................................................... 6

Project Impact .............................................................................................................................................................. 6

RACI Matrix ................................................................................................................................................................. 7

Communications ..................................................................................................................... 12

Client Roles ................................................................................................................................................................ 12

Client Communication ............................................................................................................................................. 13

Partner Roles .............................................................................................................................................................. 13

Partner Communication ........................................................................................................................................... 15

Our Roles .................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Scope ........................................................................................................................................ 16

Schematic Diagrams .................................................................................................................................................. 16

Codes, Regulations, and Standards ......................................................................................................................... 16

Bleacher Design Overview....................................................................................................................................... 17

Steel Bleacher Design ............................................................................................................................................... 17

Steel Bleacher Literature Review ............................................................................................................................. 19

Concrete Bleacher Design ........................................................................................................................................ 19

Design I ............................................................................................................................................................... 19

Design II .............................................................................................................................................................. 20

Concrete Bleacher Literature Review ..................................................................................................................... 22

Roof Extension Designs .......................................................................................................................................... 23

Roof Extension Literature Review ......................................................................................................................... 26

Project Needs ............................................................................................................................................................. 26

Project Assessment Criteria ..................................................................................................................................... 27

Project Definition Rating Index .............................................................................................................................. 28

Fundraising .............................................................................................................................. 30

Student Costs ............................................................................................................................................................. 30

Project Costs .............................................................................................................................................................. 30

Estimated Budget ...................................................................................................................................................... 31

Fundraising Plans ...................................................................................................................................................... 31



Logistics ................................................................................................................................... 33

Transportation Plan .................................................................................................................................................. 33

Multi-year Plans ......................................................................................................................................................... 33

Implementation Schedule......................................................................................................................................... 33

Phase Milestone Schedule ........................................................................................................................................ 33

Reconnaissance Trip ................................................................................................................................................. 34

Future Plans ............................................................................................................................. 35

Holiday Work Plan .................................................................................................................................................... 35

Unanswered Questions ............................................................................................................................................. 35

Issues and Concerns.................................................................................................................................................. 35



History

Milestone I Concerns

During our last milestone presentation, we received commentary on several items that were

lacking in our presentation. These items are listed below:

Lack of community knowledge

Shallow work breakdown structure

Unclear role of community involvement

No technology literature review listed

Unclear performance objectives

Undetailed project assessment

Questions for reconnaissance trip

No critical issues and questions listed

No team education and training needs

Slow technical start

Through the course of our presentation in class and in this report, each of these concerns will be

addressed as they pertain to the subjects being discussed.

Lessons Learned from Prior Teams

Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea’s biggest problem arose with the late arrival of the pump required to

bring water from the underground water reservoir up to the water tank on the tower. Due to the late

arrival of a crucial component, the team was not able to see the completion of the project while they

were in country and had to wait until returning to see how their projected was finished. Our team

has been in constant communication with our in-country partners to continually assess the

availability of required materials in the region in which we are working. Because we will be using

resources that are commonly available in Carrillos, the late arrival of materials should be a non-issue.

We have also created a milestone schedule that places our final plans in the hands of Strong

Missions three months prior to our arrival to ensure not only permitting but material acquisition and

preparation will be completed.

Local communities in Papua New Guinea place a great amount of emphasis on meal times

and invited the visiting team to share in their meals every day. What was expected to be an hour long

lunch every day often turned into two or three hour long lunch sessions in which the team would

interact with the villagers who lived there. While this is an excellent opportunity to interact with the

community, these lengthy, unplanned lunches resulted in lost time on the project. In order to ensure

that our project stays on schedule, we have asked ahead of time how lunch hours tend to work in

Costa Rica and have been informed that they follow a relatively strict one-hour lunch policy.



Knowing this, we have created a schedule that reflects a work schedule that incorporates an hour for

lunch and will require us to interact with the community in other ways while we are there.

Ghana

The Ghana team that traveled in the summer of 2013 experienced many cultural differences

and expectations for which they were not ready. While working in the village, many of the girls on

the team were asked out on dates, set up with blind dates, and even proposed to despite telling the

community that they already had boyfriends back in the United States. The team was also sent to a

local elementary school to give health lectures and to lecture on sex education. Team Ghana did not

know what the students there were taught about sex and did not want to offend the members of the

community by going against the grain and so had to improvise a presentation. One member of

Team Ghana also mentioned that after spending time playing with the children of the community,

some of the mothers offered to let her bring their children home to raise them. While these

experiences do not interfere with our project, they are situations for which we need to be prepared.

We have been doing extensive research on the culture of Costa Rica and have been speaking to

Charlie and others who have traveled to Costa Rica to learn more about the customs and practices

there.

Ghana 2014 had been working earlier this semester and had trouble making progress with

their project. Jobs were delegated to specific members of the team, but often times, deadlines were

not met and the team had difficulty progressing forward. Our team, since the beginning of this

project has scheduled meetings outside of class time to meet. Every meeting begins with an update

on what has been done since the previous meeting and ends with the delegation of tasks to each

member to be completed by the next meeting or further in the future. By having these constant

updates and meetings, we were much more successful in holding each other accountable for the

various tasks at hand and as a result have seen progress in our project.

Costa Rica

Our team has already run into a few minor setbacks since the project started. The biggest

setback we have encountered thus far is in finding out that Strong Missions has sporadic

emergencies and traveling teams that place us on the back burner. Their latest emergency delayed

the obtaining of some local information by two weeks that would have been preferred at a much

earlier date. Now that we know that this is a common occurrence, we have begun to expect and to

plan for delays in the replies of Strong Missions. With the knowledge that we may not always get

immediate replies, we have to prioritize the information we need to know and act accordingly.



Project Description

Project Objectives

On the east side of the sports facility, Don Marcos, the school's principal, wants to create

safe seating for about 400 people. As it is an elementary school, it needed to be safe for children. It

must retain airflow for the sports court, as the temperatures can be in the 80s. Costa Rica is a

seismic zone, so anything added in the facility must be earthquake resistant. We also want to extend

the roof to protect the bleachers from the elements. Lastly, Don Marcos would like the additions to

be aesthetically pleasing.

Project Impact

Escuela San Luis is an elementary school located in the city of Carillos Bajo, near Alajuela. It

is the top regional school, with the kids ranking #1 in sports and music. For ten years, they have

wanted to make their sports facility a more collaborative space, and have extensive plans for it. With

this project, we intend to help create a collaborative space for the school and community. It’s the

only area in Carillos Bajo that will be large enough to hold large groups of people; for instance,

church camps and Boy Scouts. The school will have access to an assembly area, and the ability to

hold events such as fundraisers. It is part one of a multiyear project, with Escuela San Luis intending

to construct additions later.

RACI Matrix

PUC Student Team In-Country Contacts

Responsible, Accountable,

Consulted, Informed

Kevin -

Project

Manager

Katelyn -

Scope

Kyle -

Fundraising

Allison - Risk

and Quality

Shelby-

Communication

Guillaume-

Scope

Don

Marcos Charlie

Construction

Advisor

Rebecca -

Logistics

Advisor

Dr. O'Connor

/ SLAB

Communication

Write Emails to Various Costa

Rica contacts A I I I R I

I

Schedule Meetings and Calls to

Costa Rica A I I I R I

I

Develop Questions to Ask

contacts A R R R R R

I

Take Notes During Calls A I R I R I

I

New Learnings on

Stakeholders/Partners A I R I R I

I

New Learnings on Client

Community A I R I R I

I

Listing of Communications to

Date w/each Party A I R I R I

I

Roles & Expected

Contributions of Client A R R R R R

I

Roles & Expected

Contributions of Partner A C R C R C

I

Roles & Expected

Contributions of Stakeholder A C R C R C

I

Overview of Community

Impacts R R R R R R I C

I





Consulted, Informed

Kevin -

Project

Manager

Katelyn -

Scope

Kyle -

Fundraising

Allison - Risk

and Quality

Shelby-

Communication

Guillaume-

Scope

Don

Marcos Charlie

Construction

Advisor

Rebecca -

Logistics

Advisor

Dr. O'Connor

/ SLAB

Scope and Design

Research Building Codes C A C R C R

C C

I

Research Specific

Earthquake Codes C A C R C R

C C

I

Research Resources in

Region R A R R R R

C C

I

Determine Technical

Advisor A R R R R R

I

I

Outline Dimensions of

Project C A C R C R I I I

I

Determine Critical Issues R A R R R R

Schematic Drawing

Concept 1 C A C R C R

I C

I

Schematic Drawing

Concept 2 C A C R C R

I C

I

Concept Selection

Approach Methodology R A R R R R

I C

I

Scope Description R A R R R R

I

Detailed Work Breakdown

Structure C A C R C R

I C

I

Long-lead Resources C A C R C R

C

I

Learnings from Literature C A C R C R

C

I

Critical Issues for Detailed

Design R A R R R R

I

I

Overview of Specific

Project Objectives A R R R C R I C C

I





Consulted, Informed

Kevin -

Project

Manager

Katelyn -

Scope

Kyle -

Fundraising

Allison - Risk

and Quality

Shelby-

Communication

Guillaume-

Scope

Don

Marcos Charlie

Construction

Advisor

Rebecca -

Logistics

Advisor

Dr. O'Connor

/ SLAB

Language and Culture

Specific Region Culture R R R R A R

C

I

Learn Construction

Vocabulary R R R R R R

Learn Basic Spanish

Vocabulary R R R R R R

Risk & Quality

IPRA Analysis C R C A C R

I

Project Assesment Tool R R R A R R

I

PDRI Tool R R C A C R

I

Country Safety R I I A R I

C

I

Safety Regulations in

Country R R C A C C

C

I

Assessment of Codes I A I R I R

I C

I

Fundraising

Fundraising Plans R C A C C C

I

Research Potential

Companies for Donations R C A C C C

I

I

Create 1 Pager Summary R I A I C I

Fundraising

Accomplishments C I A I I I

I

I I

Status of Grant Proposals R R A R R R

I





Consulted, Informed

Kevin -

Project

Manager

Katelyn -

Scope

Kyle -

Fundraising

Allison - Risk

and Quality

Shelby-

Communication

Guillaume-

Scope

Don

Marcos Charlie

Construction

Advisor

Rebecca -

Logistics

Advisor

Dr. O'Connor

/ SLAB

Logistics and Cost &

Schedule

Travel Plan C C R C C C I C I C I

Contingency Plan R C A R C C I C I C I

Emergency Plan R C A C C C

C I

Destinations & Trips R C A C C C I I I C I

Distances & Travel Times C C A C C C I I I C I

Assess Travel Budget R C A C R C

C

C I

Assess Project Budget C R A R C R

C

C I

Cost of Destinations &

Trips R I A I R I

I I C I

Project Semi Detailed

Budget R R A R R R

I C C I

Multi-Year Project Plan R I A I R I I I I

I

Detailed Bar Chart

Schedule for

Implementation C R A R C R I I I C I

Milestone Schedule for Rest

of Year A R R R R R

I I I I

Holiday Team Work Plan A R R R R R

I

I

Plan for Recon Trip A R R R R R

I

C I





Consulted, Informed

Kevin -

Project

Manager

Katelyn -

Scope

Kyle -

Fundraising

Allison - Risk

and Quality

Shelby-

Communication

Guillaume-

Scope

Don

Marcos Charlie

Construction

Advisor

Rebecca -

Logistics

Advisor

Dr. O'Connor

/ SLAB

Administrative Tasks

Post Meeting Notes A R R R R R

Schedule Meetings A R R C R C

Keep Website Up-to-Date C C C A C C

Recap of Recommendations

from SLAB R R R A C C

I

Updating RACI Matrix C C C A C C

I

Relevant Lessons Learned

from Prior PUC C C C C A C

I

Specific Questions for Recon

Trip R R R R A R

I

I

Overview of Phasing Plan A C R C C C I C

I

Communications

Client Roles

Community Involvement

As part of a sustainable development project, the involvement and investment of the

community is a vital portion in the success of the project. Carrillos Bajo is a large community that is

composed of several thousand people and so it is impossible for us to meet all of the community

members. Escuela San Luis acts as a proxy through which we can interact with the community

during the duration of the project.

Currently, Escuela San Luis hosts many events for the community, including athletic classes,

martial arts classes, dance classes, health education, assemblies, and community meetings at their

sports court. This facility is the only space in the community large enough for members to gather in

large numbers. The school is also composed of students from the local community, Carrillos Alto,

and communities as far as a 20 to 25 minute drive from the school. These students, their parents,

and their families also compose the target community.

During project construction, we are planning on implementing various athletic, sports, and

health education programs of our own. We would like to bring to the table knowledge and

experiences that we have as well as activities that are fun for the community. Strong Missions has

been in communication with us regarding possible programs to introduce. We have also been

considering programs such as a World Cup watching party with the students and teachers, a

presentation on STEM education and robotics, and soccer sports camps. In the future, we will be in

constant communication with both Charlie Strong and Don Marcos regarding the possible programs

we can implement.

Work Area Security

As we will be working in an elementary school during the middle of their school year, there

will be small children running around and constantly present during the duration of construction.

Escuela San Luis will be assisting us in ensuring that the construction site is sealed off and

inaccessible to students to protect them. They will also be using their current security systems to

make sure that community members who are not working on the project do not come in to disturb

the work site or present a safety hazard to the students.



Client Communication

Listed below is a log of our communication with Escuela San Luis to date:

September 12: Initial contact

October 21: Follow-up email sent

November 5: Notified by Strong Mission about email failures

November 20: Alternate communication method proposed

November 20: First email response received

November 20: Surprise Skype session with Don Marcos

Partner Roles

Logistics

As part of the fees that we pay Strong Missions, their staff will be assisting us with all in

country travel. This includes all travel from the moment we land in country to the moment our flight

departs from the airport. Upon arrival, we will be picked up from the airport and dropped off at

Strong Missions by a taxi with which Strong Missions has a strong partnership. When in country, we

will have many opportunities for cultural immersion and excursions to see the beautiful country of

Costa Rica. When planning these trips, Strong Missions will be assisting us in finding travel agent

prices, cheap travel to and from the site, and cheap lodging once we are there. In the case of an

emergency, Strong Missions will provide transportation to and from local clinics and hospitals,

depending on the severity of the emergency. Transportation to and from the work site is

unnecessary, as Strong Missions is literally across the street from Escuela San Luis.

Manpower

When talking to Charlie Strong, we have identified a few ways in which the community can

be involved to take ownership of this project. The school and other organizations often hold bingo

nights and tamale sales for the purpose of fundraising events they want to implement. We could use

these methods by spending some of our funds to purchase materials and gifts to allow the locals to

participate in the fundraising and success of the project.

At the beginning of project planning, we also proposed the possibility of involving the

community by bringing in volunteers to assist in the construction of the bleachers and the roof.

However, numerous concerns were raised in regards to this plan of action. The first and most

important concern was for the safety of the students. By bringing in any member of the community

we wanted, there was no way for us to know if we were introducing any safety hazards to the

students in the school. Secondly, there was a financial concern regarding the insuring of the

volunteers. If members of the community chose to volunteer, they would have to be insured under a

plan that proved to be more expensive than most community members would be able to safely

afford. Finally, a time concern was raised. Carrillos Bajo is an agricultural community, meaning that

most members work six days a week and have Sunday off for church and family time. Most

community members would be unwilling to spend their day off for such a project.



The proposed alternative to the above problems is to hire the unemployed members of the

community. In this way, they could be insured through Strong Missions at a lower insurance policy

rate. By hiring people, we can also guarantee that they will be working at the project site every day

we are without having outside obligations to distract them. Hiring community members will allow us

not only to involve community members, but to give something back to the community and ensure

that those on the work site are safe to work there.

In addition to allowing us to hire locals through their organization, Strong Missions will also

be providing extensive technical expertise from their own staff. Alvaro, Charlie’s assistant is a

professional drafter in Costa Rica and will be assisting us in the design process. Strong Missions will

also be providing contractors, engineers, translators, and various other staff members as are needed

for the project. Charlie himself and Alvaro will be popping in to assist with project progress on a

regular basis.

Roof Construction

Due to the fact that students participating in UT PUC cannot work on structures higher than

12 feet above the ground, Strong Missions contractors and employees will be responsible for the

bulk of the roof extension construction. While students will be responsible for the design of the roof

extension, it is likely that we will have limited contribution to the construction of the roof extension.

Procurement

Charlie Strong has connections to local resource suppliers of steel and concrete. Upon the

completion of our design, we will be sending the plans to Charlie, who will begin the process of

procuring materials for the project. Strong Missions will also be assisting in any pre-arrival

construction and preparation necessary so that once we arrive in country, all of the parts that are

needed will be prepared for immediate construction.

Permitting

For us to be able to begin construction, we must first acquire permits to implement the

changes we desire. The permitting process in Costa Rica will take roughly two months from the

moment the plans are sent to Charlie Strong. We will be submitting our final drawings and plans to

Charlie roughly three months before our arrival in country so that he and Alvaro have plenty of time

to send the drawings to the appropriate government departments and offices necessary to obtain the

permits we need. The entire permitting process will be handled by Strong Missions including the

permitting fee.



Partner Communication

Listed below is a log of our communication with Strong Missions to date:

September 19: Initial contact

September 27: Skype conference #1

October 17: Email update

October 24: Skype conference #2

October 31: Hospital/Embassy information

November 3: Weekly update #1




Our Role

Our team will be in charge of designing both the bleachers and the roof extension, planning

our trip to the country and the work schedule in country, creating educational programming for the

community and school, updating stakeholders, partners, and our client on our status, and

constructing the bleachers.



Scope

Schematic Diagrams

Figure 1. Dimensions of land plot where roof extension and bleachers will be constructed.

We are working on obtaining an actual survey of the land with which we have to

work. Rebecca, the logistics manager of Strong Missions, went out and confirmed the basic

measurements taken on the summer recon trip and also measured the existing roof supports. This is

a top view of the plot of land with which we have to work. As you can see, the court is a total length

of 24.2 meters and is divided into four bays 5.9 meters long. The southernmost bay has cross beams

for structural support so we will be working with the other three bays. The entire strip of land is

3.77 meters wide. We were also just told that there is some sort of cable running underneath the

land on which we will be building. We are working on getting an exact location and depth of that

cable to ensure it doesn’t interfere with anything. Hopefully this information will come in with the

land survey.

Codes, Regulations, and Standards

We are in the process of receiving more Costa Rica specific information from Charlie.

However, we know that we need to get the bleacher and roof extension plans to him three months

before our implementation. We have already built in a buffer to that three month estimate. In the

meantime, we have been looking for general international codes so that we have a starting place, at

least for the bleachers. The International Code Council and the American National Standards

Institute both have standards for bleachers. However, we have to pay for access to them. The UT

library has an account with both of them but it is not working so we will check back with the

librarians after Thanksgiving break assuming Charlie does not get back to us by then.



Bleacher Design Overview

For bleacher construction, we came up with several different ideas and have not specifically

picked one method. Our initial conditions were a steel design, an aluminum design, and two

concrete designs. We had originally started looking at aluminum bleachers because that is what we

are the most familiar with. Before we dove into the detailed design of aluminum bleachers, we asked

Charlie about aluminum availability in Carrillos. He told us that since Costa Rica experiences so

many earthquakes, aluminum is not something that construction supply stores normally stock. We

decided not to pursue aluminum because we did not want to get to Costa Rica and not have

aluminum available. We have also been heavily cautioned about building something using

technology and materials that the community is not familiar with. However, Charlie said that steel is

the most common form of metal for structures and it is easily accessible in the area that we will be

working in. We also learned from the summer reconnaissance trip that concrete and prefabricated

pieces are what they normally build houses out of in the area so we developed two designs concrete

based on what the community already knows how to do.

Steel Bleacher Design

Figure 2. Steel bleacher design I.



This design is identical to our aluminum design, but constructed of steel. The basic form

resembles the bleachers we see commonly here in the United States. These bleachers are 3 meters

wide, so 6 will be constructed to fill the three bays.

Figure 3. Side view of steel bleacher design I.

The length of the bleacher base is 3.65 meters. Each row is 65 centimeters wide and 40

centimeters high. We have more flexibility on the height, so we can increase the raking of the

seating. This design allows us to have seven rows of seating. By giving each person 45 centimeters of

hip space, we can fit 40 people per row or 280 people total.

Since none of us have taken a class on structures, we are missing the cross braces from this

design. If we decide to pursue this design we would work with our technical advisor to add these

essential parts. This design also assumes that we will know how to weld and will have access to a

steel break. If we decide to pursue this design, we would have to redesign the seats so that they

would not need a break or so that we could just use wood for the seats. We may also have to

develop a better system to attach everything as we may not be able to be experienced enough in

welding within five months.



Steel Bleacher Literature Review

Resources used for the design of the steel bleacher design are listed below:

National Recreation Systems

o Side view drawings in English Units

o Specs including loads and materials

Similar bleachers at Anderson High School

Pictures from summer reconnaissance trip

Dimensions from Rebecca at Strong Missions

Concrete Bleacher Design

Design I

Figure 4. Concrete bleacher design I.

These bleachers were the team’s initial design concept, which seemed to be the easiest design

to create and implement. Due to high seismic activity, the majority of the design work would be on

designing reinforcement patters that would make this structure seismic resistant. Depending on the

design parameters chosen, these seats will seat between 200 to 360 adults total. To construct these



bleachers, we would need to set up wood forms, place steel rebar, and pour concrete into the wood

forms. Between each level, we would have to wait for the lower level to cure before proceeding on

to the next level. As a result, this design is a lengthy construction project.

Design II

Figure 5. Concrete bleacher design II.

This design is one recently sketched for us by our technical advisor, Joe Luke. By using

prefabricated blocks and benches, we create supports reinforced by rebar and held together by

concrete. Bleacher designs similar to this exist in the United States and are similar to Costa Rican

construction methods.



Figure 6. Three-side view of block connections.

This diagram shows a more detailed design of the structural support system that composes

the bleacher supports. The prefabricated bricks contain spaces and will be placed one on top of

another and next to each other. Lateral and vertical connections will be made with mortar while

internal connections will be made with steel rebar and poured concrete.

Concrete Design Comparison

In regards to design selection, the main details we care about are complexity, time to

completion, availability of materials, and airflow. Design II is far more complex, but we are

confident that with the help of Joe Luke, Design II is possible. Neither design is as complicated as a

steel design. Design II has more prefabricated items, therefore requiring less time to complete the

project. We know that all materials needed for Design I are available, but for Design II, we are not

sure if the blocks are available in Carrillos. Depending on availability of materials, the cost may

change, but we are certain that Design II will be less expensive due to the volume of concrete

necessary. Since this an outdoor, non-air conditioned sport court, airflow is vital. Design II allows

for a greater amount of airflow to be supplied to the court.



Work Breakdown Structure

Prior to student arrival, the prefabricated benches, prefabricated blocks, and concrete slab

with rebar should already be in place. The work breakdown for student construction is listed below:

Figure 7. Work breakdown structure for concrete bleacher Design II construction.

Concrete Bleacher Literature Review

Resources used for the design of the concrete bleacher design are listed below:

Intuitive knowledge

Joe Luke

Photos provided by Mary Lou

Dimensions provided by Rebecca of Strong Missions



Roof Extension Designs

Figure 8. Photograph of existing roof design.

Figure 9. Dimensions of existing roof design.

Shown above is a photograph of the roof structure currently at Escuela San Luis and the

drawings that detail the support the bracing. These drawings are not very detailed, but they were the

best we had to work with. We have asked Strong Missions for more specific as-built diagrams so

that we can ensure the design matches the structure currently in place. The lack of as-built and lack



of student knowledge have greatly delayed roof extension designs. As we waited for as-built

diagrams and a technical advisor, we began work on rough designs in SolidWorks, as reproduced

below:

Figure 10. Roof extension Design I – supporting extension from existing supports.



Figure 11. Roof extension Design II – supporting extension with new supports.



Figure 12. Roof extension Design III – tensile fabric design supported by existing supports.

Roof Extension Literature Review

Resources used for the design of the concrete bleacher design are listed below:

Intuitive knowledge

Design documents provided by Mary Lou

Photographs provided by Mary Lou

Bird Air, Inc.

Project Needs

Our team is lacking most in technical expertise right now, which is being remedied by our

recent addition of a technical advisor to our team. By working with him, we will obtain the technical

expertise needed to design this project. From the finalized design, we will know what skills are

necessary for us to learn in order to construct the specific design selected.



Project Assessment Criteria

Figure 13. Project Assessment Criteria breakdown and final score.

One of the methods we used to analyze our project was the Project Assessment Dr.

O’Connor showed us earlier in the year. The assessment weights different factors of feasibility,

impact and risk based on their potential impact on the completion of the project. Some of the

important impacts on our project are:

Feasibility of Project

We should be able to accomplish most technical objectives with ease, especially now that we

have a technical advisor. We have also been provided the option for Strong Mission to hire some of

the unemployed members of the community to assist with construction.

Impact on Community from Project

We will be impacting a large number of people. The school itself is 750 students plus their

families, not including the other communities in the area.

Project Risks

Project risks are negative impacts on the assessment score. Since none of us have personally

traveled to the site we only ranked ourselves as having moderate to high access to and familiarity

with client, work scope and site characteristics. We are also in a heavy earthquake region so the

likelihood of a major earthquake is always a factor and finally there will always be some likelihood of

site construction safety hazards which contributed to our project risk score.

The Project assessment score is calculated by adding the feasibility score and impact scores

together and then subtracting the project risk score. Our net total came out to be about 55 on a scale

ranging from -100 to 100.



Project Definition Rating Index

Figure 14. Project Definition Rating Index score compared to expected scores.

Figure 15. Project Definition Rating Index score breakdown and total score.



The second way we analyzed our project was by completing and discussing the Project

Definition Rating Index (PDRI). The PDRI is designed to be completed four times throughout the

project development process. This is the second time we have analyzed the project, putting us in the

“concept planning stage”.

The PDRI similar to the project assessment in that, each section consists of elements and

each element within the section is weighted based on the potential impact on the implementation of

the project. Ideally, a lower weighted score will provide the most successful projects.

The first section of the PDRI is the “Basis of Project Decision” and it includes elements

such as owner philosophies, project requirements and a business plan. The second Section is the

“basis of design” and it includes the project design parameters, equipment needed and site

information. The final section is the “execution approach” and it includes project procurement,

control and execution.

Each element is ranked on a 1 to 5 scale with 1 being Complete Definition and 5 being

incomplete or poor definition. The total score is calculated by multiplying the element score by its

weight and then summing all the weighted scores. Our total weighted score came out to be 445

which is around the typical minimum at the concept phase of planning.



Fundraising

Student Costs

Each student is responsible for their own personal pre-departure expenses. This

includes airfare, UT abroad insurance, the PUC travel deposit, UT study abroad fee, UT health

counseling, vaccinations, and any in-country excursions. Below is a spreadsheet detailing estimated

pre-departure costs per student:

In addition to pre-departure costs, students may be responsible for their personal in-country

expenses as well. However, this is dependent on fundraising. If enough money is donated, in-

country student expenses will be covered. If we do not raise enough money, these costs will be the

students’ responsibility. Below is a spreadsheet detailing estimated in-country costs per student:

Project Costs

Advisor costs will be fundraised for and include round trip flight, in-country lodging, food,

and taxi services. Below is a spreadsheet detailing estimated advisor costs:

Construction costs also fall under the project costs category. These costs have yet to be refined

as we do not have exact design dimensions or Costa Rican specific prices. A fee to Strong Missions



is included in our estimate; we are in the process of attaining a more detailed breakdown of this fee.

Below is a spreadsheet estimating construction costs:

Estimated Budget

We have created a minimum and maximum fundraising goal. The minimum goal does not

include in-country student costs. The maximum goal does include in-country student expenses. A

30% contingency was added to both estimates.

Fundraising Plans

To cover project costs we have applied for grants, scholarships, and are reaching out to

personal and corporate contacts. We have made significant progress in our fundraising efforts as the

semester has progressed - raising $10,795 (just over 25% of total estimated costs).

Most of our team members applied for study abroad scholarships through UT, but did not

receive any financial support. We also sought grants from the GM, Dell, Ford, and Mott

foundations. The GM and Dell foundations would not accept UT’s tax ID because it is not a 501

c(3) and letters of inquiry were sent to the Ford and Mott foundations. The Mott foundation

discouraged the submission of a full proposal and we are currently waiting for a response from the

Ford foundation.

In early October we began reaching out to friends and family for their support. We have

raised $795 through this effort. Many of these donors are also employees of corporations that



sponsor employee matching programs, meaning that this figure will increase as matching corporate

donations come in.

In early November we were informed that the Gethsemane Lutheran Church, located locally

in the Austin community, will be supporting our project with $10,000. Mary Lou Ralls-Newman was

instrumental in this process and it was through her efforts that we were able to receive this

contribution. The donation will go directly to Strong Missions to cover their administration fee as

well as a portion of project materials. Our fundraising manager has been in contact with the Pastor

of the church and is working to schedule a thank you presentation for the congregation. This will

likely occur early in the spring semester.

At this time we are beginning to reach out to corporations as well. We have drafted a

corporation letter template and have a list of companies we will seek donations from. Through our

personal connections we are attempting to get in contact with the correct employee who can help us

in this effort.

Our current list of corporations includes:

ExxonMobil

Linbeck Group, LLC

Tzu-Chi

BP

Jacobs Engineering

Rackspace Hosting

Cisco

Schlumberger

AGR

Page Southerland Page LLP

United Airlines

Our future fundraising plans are to continue sending corporate donation letters as we near

winter break, follow-up on these letters in early January, schedule presentations such as lunch and

learns for corporations, as well as develop ways to publicize corporate donors. We will also continue

reaching out to friends and family for their support.



Logistics

Transportation Plan

On May 25th, we will fly from Austin into the Juan Santamaria International Airport, in

Alajuela, Costa Rica. The flight is approximately 6.5 hours (1700 miles) and will cost us about $725

roundtrip. From the airport, Strong Missions is arranging transportation in the form of a 25 minute

taxi ride. We will be lodging with Strong Missions, and our lodging has both cell service and internet

access. Escuela San Luis is located two minutes away from Strong Missions, and we will be walking

to and from the worksite each day. For our as of yet undecided cultural immersion excursions,

Strong Missions will be connecting us with taxis.

For in-country emergencies, the nearest public hospital, Hospital San Rafael, is 25 minutes

away in Alajuela. The nearest private hospital, Hospital Centro Internacional de Medicina (CIMA) is

about 30 minutes away. However, various doctors' clinics are in the range of 5 minutes away from

us. The U.S. Embassy in San Jose is about 30 minutes away. If necessary, Strong Missions will

recommend reliable transportation, likely in the form of a taxi or bus.

Multi-year Plans

While Escuela San Luis has plans to add onto our project, making it a larger, more

collaborative space, this currently is not part of our scope. Depending on how elaborate the future

plans are, we could consider these projects for later PUC groups.

Implementation Schedule

After we fly in on May 25th, we will have a day for downtime. On May 27th, we have an

orientation day with Strong Missions, which will help acclimate ourselves to Carillos Bajo. The day

afterward, we will begin construction on the roof extension. June 5th, we will begin our bleacher

construction, and approximately two and a half weeks later on June 22nd, we will fly home.

Phase Milestone Schedule

While we hope to finish aspects of the project as soon as possible, we have scheduled

deadlines to ascertain that we stay on schedule. By January 17th, we will have a specific design to

focus on selected. By February 7th, we will completely finalize this design. By February 28th, we

hope to reach 100% of our funding. We need to have submitted our final design for permitting

purposes by March 7th. On March 21st, we will be procuring our materials for our project, and

finally, we will begin our implementation schedule by flying to Costa Rica.



Reconnaissance Trip

We currently don't have plans for a reconnaissance trip, as Dr. Janet Ellzey and Mary Lou

Ralls traveled to Escuela San Luis and provided all necessary information and contacts. If we raise

enough money, we will plan a reconnaissance trip during Spring Break, with two people going for

two or three days. The total cost would be $1,686. The focus of this trip would be community

engagement. We would meet people in the various communities (school, neighborhood, Strong

Missions, etc.), and question how we could involve them in the project. We would also ask the

parents in the community about what sort of after-school activities they would like for their child.



Future Plans

Holiday Work Plan

Over the upcoming holiday, we plan to continue the momentum we have gained in this past

semester. Our two focuses will be on fundraising and scope. We will be following up with various

corporations we have contacted and also will be sending more solicitation letters to companies with

whom we have contacts. Because our two scope managers both live in Austin, they will be meeting

with Joe Luke over the winter break to make progress on our technical design.

Unanswered Questions

Our most pressing unanswered questions are listed below:

What do the $4000 we pay Strong Missions pay for?

What is the depth and location of the underground power cable in our work area?

What is the availability and pricing of materials needed?

How invested is the community in this project?

Issues and Concerns

Our most pressing issues and concerns are listed below:

How much manpower will we have?

How much can students contribute to roof construction?

Who will do roof construction?

In what order to we construct the roof and bleachers?

Do we need to move the water drainage system?

milestone ii report - weebly

Documents