Shawmut Design & Construction welcomes students on-site to observe and dissect the construction process as the new laboratories building takes shape

Rodrigues, Jill

Wilder, Justin

English

DOCS@RWU

Roger Williams UniversityDOCS@RWUFeatured News Story The Week at Roger12-3-2018Inside the Construction Operating Theater atSECCM LabsJill RodriguesRoger Williams UniversityJustin WilderRoger Williams UniversityFollow this and additional works at: https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_newsPart of the Higher Education CommonsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the The Week at Roger at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in FeaturedNews Story by an authorized administrator of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact mwu@rwu.edu.Recommended CitationRodrigues, Jill and Wilder, Justin, "Inside the Construction Operating Theater at SECCM Labs" (2018). Featured News Story. 393.https://docs.rwu.edu/weekatroger_featured_news/39312/7/2018 Inside the Construction Operating Theater at SECCM Labs | Roger Williams Unive…https://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/inside-construction-operating-theater-seccm-labs 1/8 News ArchiveInside the ConstructionOperating Theater atSECCM LabsShawmut Design & Constructionwelcomes students on-site to observeand dissect the construction process asthe new laboratories building takes shape12/7/2018 Inside the Construction Operating Theater at SECCM Labs | Roger Williams Unive…https://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/inside-construction-operating-theater-seccm-labs 2/8One of the SECCM Labs project managersexplains what's happening in this stage of theconstruction process as students in theConstruction Engineering course observe the work rsthand. Image Credit: Juan SiliezarDecember 3, 2018 By Jill Rodrigues '05 &Justin WilderBRISTOL, R.I. – With wide-ranging access to RogerWilliams University’s SECCM Labs constructionproject as a real-world teaching resource,construction management and engineeringstudents have their own “operating theater” toobserve and learn the construction processdirectly from industry professionals.Much like medical students witnessing open-heartsurgery, Roger Williams students don the tradegear of hard hats, yellow re ective vests,protective eyewear and steel-toe boots to wadeinto the middle of the active construction site. Aspart of the partnership between RWU andShawmut Design & Construction, the SECCM Labs12/7/2018 Inside the Construction Operating Theater at SECCM Labs | Roger Williams Unive…https://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/inside-construction-operating-theater-seccm-labs 3/8project is a “living laboratory” where students inthe School of Engineering, Computing, andConstruction Management (SECCM) are gettingbehind-the-scenes lessons on the intricatecon uence of the excavation, construction, andsystems work that goes into erecting the campus’snew three-story, state-of-the-art building.“There’s been a lot of synergy between the projectand the classroom,” according to Bill Seymour,RWU’s Director of Capital Projects who alsoteaches construction engineering courses. “In mycourse, students are using actual plans and specs,real-time schedules and change orders, as theyobserve this project. They’re taking away anunderstanding that what they’re learning in theclassroom mirrors industry practice, demonstratingthat the techniques and tools they’re employingfrom lessons are identical to those that are beingpracticed on the job.”Amid the start-up roar of a concrete mixer andbeeping backhoe lumbering into position on arecent Friday, students in Seymour’s Construction12/7/2018 Inside the Construction Operating Theater at SECCM Labs | Roger Williams Unive…https://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/inside-construction-operating-theater-seccm-labs 4/8Engineering course walked the SECCM Labs site,observing and dissecting each piece of the workunderway.“Look at the rebar,” Seymour instructed them.“Notice if it has the requisite cover anddevelopment length. Is it sized properly and laidout properly? The reinforcing bars incorporatedinto each footing get delivered tagged so the crewknow exactly where it’s going.”As students inspected the tags on the stacks ofsteel rods, they compared the information to thedetail plans in their hands. Then the groupwatched in awed hush as ironworkers andSECCM Labs: A Living Laboratory12/7/2018 Inside the Construction Operating Theater at SECCM Labs | Roger Williams Unive…https://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/inside-construction-operating-theater-seccm-labs 5/8concrete laborers worked in tandem to create thelayered concrete footings – pouring a layer ofconcrete, setting in the rebar framework andquickly moving down the line tying the rebartogether, and then loosing another slow-movinggush of concrete overtop and smoothing it withhandheld trowels to create the foundation.Taking the opportunity to educate the studentsabout a critical aspect of construction planning,Justin Bernard and Greg Curran, Shawmut’sproject manager and senior projectsuperintendent, led them to a gaping trenchwhere crews are preparing to install a drainagesystem. As they talked beneath the monstrous limbof an excavator, reminiscent of a dinosaur-sizedostrich with its head buried in the mud, Curranexplained the importance of “vertical control” toall elements of the project: the engineer comes in rst to provide a benchmark measurementestablishing the prevailing grade, and that createsthe standard by which all contractors use to planand implement their part of the job.12/7/2018 Inside the Construction Operating Theater at SECCM Labs | Roger Williams Unive…https://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/inside-construction-operating-theater-seccm-labs 6/8These site visits give the students an opportunity toask leading professionals about tools andtechniques, and how they respond to unexpectedchanges to the schedule. Back in the classroom,Shawmut’s senior professionals have alsodelivered presentations on scheduling andestimating while the students are covering thoseelements in their lessons.For Annelise Boylan, a senior civil engineeringmajor, the site visits and professional presentationsin the Construction Engineering course havebought her lessons to life.“This has been really bene cial to me, because thiswas the  rst time I’ve ever been on a full-blownconstruction site,” Boylan said. “In the course, weget the full contract specs and full detailed plans.We’re getting to see the planning that goes into it,how they use the terminologies and codes, andhow it’s a uniform code that everyone uses, sothen it can be applied to any job I go intoa erwards.”12/7/2018 Inside the Construction Operating Theater at SECCM Labs | Roger Williams Unive…https://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/inside-construction-operating-theater-seccm-labs 7/8Jay Cobleigh, senior civil engineering major,agrees that access to a real-world constructionproject not only helps him understand theclassroom lessons better, but also gives him aprofessional experience to share with potentialemployers.“I think this is a really important part of theeducation, because it allows students to getoutside the classroom,” said Cobleigh,emphasizing the importance of the hands-onlearning opportunity. “Not only do I have thebackground from my education, but also theexperiences that I’ve had. You get di erentperspectives on various projects before you evenapply for a post-graduation job opportunity.”At RWU, we develop Civic Scholars who believe incommunity-engaged work. That’s why we committo providing every student an opportunity thatempowers them to put their knowledge and skills tothe test solving real-world problems and creatingmeaningful change with community partners. Learn12/7/2018 Inside the Construction Operating Theater at SECCM Labs | Roger Williams Unive…https://www.rwu.edu/news/news-archive/inside-construction-operating-theater-seccm-labs 8/8more about the Civic Scholars program and how tohelp us reach our goal of every studentparticipating in civic scholarship.ACADEMICS CIVIC SCHOLARS LIFE @ RWUSCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, COMPUTING, &CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

Inside the Construction Operating Theater at SECCM Labs

HELIN Digital Commons

https://docs.rwu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1392&amp;context=weekatroger_featured_news

Inside the Construction Operating Theater at SECCM Labs

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

DOCS@RWU

HELIN Digital Commons