Colorado State’s Construction Management Teams Place Second in National Competition, First in Regional

Colorado State University’s construction management teams were recognized for their excellence at the Associated Schools of Construction’s 16th annual conference held recently in Reno, Nev. Five out of the six Colorado State teams placed in the top three at national and regional levels.

The ASC hosted competitions in six categories including mechanical and graduate-level construction at the national level and residential, commercial, design build and heavy categories at the regional level. Colorado State sent a team to compete in each category.

The mechanical team, led by Mostafa Khattab, professor of manufacturing technology and construction management at Colorado State, placed second nationally out of nine teams by developing a plan for a building expansion of a pharmaceutical warehouse. Isolated in a hotel room for 16 hours, the team analyzed and produced a construction plan, including a contractor’s schedule, productivity and labor rates, material unit costs, a contract and a bid form. Judges selected winners based on teams’ oral presentations, written plans, construction schedules and an overall understanding of the assignment.

The Colorado State team was commended for creating a unique solution to a real problem in the project The company needed to bring a tank into the building after all walls had been completed. The team proposed to arrange with the manufacturer to deliver the tank without installing the legs, reducing the height of the tank and making it possible to get the tank inside and then install the legs.

The judges also commented on the team’s use of the Internet to communicate information through a project Web site. The site included a quote by Vincent Thomas Lombardi, saying, "Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal." Judges stated that the mechanical team lived up to this philosophy.

The residential construction team placed first out of six other regional teams. Led by coaches Michael and Maryellen Nobe, the team prepared a construction proposal for a 193-acre residential development sponsored by Pulte Homes. The team was given 18 hours to provide estimates and a master project plan to complete the residential construction.

A 2002 report by the Engineering News-Record named Colorado State’s construction management program as having the largest student enrollment in the nation with 630 students. The report also mentioned that the program has the largest number of women graduates in the country and is listed as fourth in the number of organizations that recruit its students. The program is accredited by the American Council for Construction Education.

For more information about the Manufacturing Technology and Construction Management program at Colorado State, visit www.cahs.colostate.edu/mtcm.