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Storage Shed Construction for Local Charity
Get PDFThis paper presents a project of the successful construction of a storage shed for Taproot Charities, a non-profit organization based in Templeton, California that aims to support young women furthering their education in Uganda. The project aimed to provide a storage solution for the organization\u27s supplies and materials. The planning phase considered the available donated materials to determine the shed\u27s dimensions and design features. This paper highlights the methods and materials used to build a storage shed and emphasizes the importance of communication during the construction process. During the construction process there were several weather-related project schedule setbacks which were effectively managed through communication with the client. The student gained a deeper understanding and respect for the demanding nature of field labor and the value of skilled labor, leading to the successful completion of the storage shed. The completion of this project successfully provided a local charity organization with invaluable storage space for the supplies and materials they store in order to support young women further their education in Uganda. The experience gained by this project has inspired the student to pursue more hands-on construction projects in the future to further expand their knowledge in the field
Disc Golf Throwing Robot
Get PDFDisc golf companies need better methods to test disc flight. The scope of this project is to create a disc throwing robot that can throw a disc golf driver 450-500 feet, with control over the speed, spin, and release angle. Research shows that multiple disc-throwing products exist; however, none meet the full requirements of this project. The Cal Poly senior project design team created a proof-of-concept machine. This prototype started as a two-wheel mechanism. Eventually, a third wheel was added, allowing for complete control over disc spin. The three-wheel prototype reached 62 mph when perfectly calibrated. The prototype is accurate, and repeatable; however, the wheels have a short lifespan of 30-40 max distance throws. Many improvements are necessary to increase usability, performance, safety, distance, accuracy, and lifespan. The prototype serves as a tool for creating larger machines capable of the proposed distance 450-500 feet (67-75 mph). A 9-wheel machine was designed, and partially fabricated. This design was halted for re-evaluation by the sponsor
Using Virtual Reality and Construction Software to Transform Construction Facilities
Get PDFThe objective of this project is to analyze construction jobsite facilities, specifically portable restroom facilities, and brainstorm how they can be redesigned to better suit the needs of women and individuals working on site. Portable toilets endure a great amount of weathering throughout the duration of the project and can become extremely unsanitary and often riddled with profanity. This can create an unclean and unwelcoming environment, especially for women working on the jobsite. The purpose of this project is to create a discussion around jobsite safety, starting with portable toilets. This is done using construction technology. Virtual reality was used to transform individuals into spaces showcasing unsanitary portable restrooms to incite a reaction. SketchUp was then used to model the ideal portable restroom and space for workers on site. Various SketchUp designs were created and analyzed to showcase the change that should be made to provide a better restroom experience. The overall impact of this project is to bring awareness to the issues surrounding sanitation and women’s safety on the jobsite and to inspire members of general contractors to take a stand for better facilities on site
Standardizing Hands-on Building Activities in Commercial Construction Management and Recommendations for Semester Conversion Adaptations
Get PDFCM 313 Commercial Construction Management at Cal Poly is an integrated lab course and one of the main hands-on learning experiences construction management students participate in. It is currently administered in the quarter system and as the university transitions to the semester calendar, the lab needs to be converted in order to accommodate this change. The main purpose of this project was to document existing practices and improve the process and experience for students, instructional students assistants, Simpson Strong Tie coordinator, and other professors of CM 313. This project included creating a builders guide to help the student assistants by developing a materials specification manual for the SST coordinator, a guidebook comprising each step of the construction process from formwork through reclamation and demolition. It includes materials, processes, and images. The SST coordination sheet is composed of all required materials for the CM 313 lab with quantities, location of purchase, purchase by dates, and image references. This project provided changes to the course as it converts to the semester schedule. The proposal for semester conversion includes recommendations for future location of a new strong frame, potential lab schedules, and potential changes to the class structure based on semester schedule constraints
Slab Extension at Woods Humane Society
Get PDFWoods Humane Society is an animal shelter that provides pet rehabilitation and adoption services to San Luis Obispo and surrounding areas. The Woods’ facility contains a number of kennels for dogs as well as numerous outdoor, fenced-in, concrete exercise yards. These yards give dogs the opportunity to play outside a few times a day allowing them to get vital exercise. One of these yards on the south side of the property had an exterior fence that was offset from an existing slab on the interior of the fence by one foot. This was an issue for the shelter as dogs would attempt to dig underneath the fence, and rodents would often come through the fence. It became apparent that a slab extension would be necessary to mitigate this issue. The extension consisted of a 49 foot long by 18 inch wide by 4 inch thick concrete slab. Construction activities included trenching on both sides of the fence; drilling into the existing slab; installing epoxied rebar dowels; forming and backfilling the trench with 2 inches of sand; laying and tying rebar; and pouring the slab. The student coordinated funding for the project, procurement of materials, and performed all construction tasks
Case Study: Uplifting the Interest of Santa Maria High School Students into the Construction Industry
Get PDFThe central coast of California, has not been a historically proclaimed region that produces large construction projects. The area is well known for other industries, such as the agriculture industry. It is an area that continues to grow interest and persuade these high school students into. Over the years, construction has been growing in the area and can be perceived through the development projects happening in the Central Coast region. Various general contractors have made a move into the central coast looking into expanding their company. This can potentially generate various employment opportunities. This qualitative case study aims to examine the interest Santa Maria High School students have in the construction industry. A structured interview was used to collect data from the eight guidance counselors at the high school. The data reflects the socio-economic structure of this particular school zone and how it impacts the knowledge gap negatively. With less education/knowledge about the construction industry, the demand to incorporate this industry into school curriculums, clubs, funding, internship opportunities etc. will be minimal. Thus, creating an ongoing cycle that is reflected within the students in Santa Maria High School according to the observations of the qualitative data gathered
City Farm of SLO Animal Feed Shed
Get PDFThe City Farm of SLO is a local nonprofit for San Luis Obispo that functions as an education center for individuals looking to live more sustainably. This organization teaches different aspects of farming such as planting crops, taking care of them, how to care for a wide variety of farm animals, and maintain the health of the farm. To achieve all these objectives, facilities must be in place to ensure the correct number of materials are available. One lacking feature of this farm is the space to store animal feed. Before this project the food was stored outside subject to the weather. After a meeting with the farm manager, Shane Lovell, a senior project to build a shed was created. An 8’ by 12’ shed was determined to be sufficient to provide space for all the animal feed. It took five months of planning and finding outside sponsors to fund the entirety of the project. From several sponsors $7,500 was raised in addition to donated construction materials. After funding was secured, construction began, which took just 2 months to build. This project was built under budget and without having to use any of the 12% contingency that was accounted for
Redesigning the Structure and Sanitary Aspects of the Portable Toilet
Get PDFThe purpose of this project was to address the lack of appropriate facilities for women in the construction industry, specifically regarding portable toilets and how they can pose health and safety risks. To do so, a hackathon event was organized with the goal of brainstorming solutions to improve the current design and functionality of portable toilets. This paper provides an overview of what a hackathon is and why it was chosen for this project, and the planning involved. The event took place in the Simpson Strong-Tie Materials Demonstration Lab on California Polytechnic State University’s campus on June 8th and 9th, 2023. Also outlined in this paper are the milestones of the event including a description and visuals of each logistics plan that was created, as well as a detailed summary of the day-of operations. The hackathon provided a platform for participants to use their creative minds and develop physical and digital models to present their solutions. The paper concludes by highlighting the importance of considering women’s needs in the construction industry and discusses further research opportunities, such as exploring other disparities that women face in the construction industry
Utilization of AGTEK in Construction Management Classes
Get PDFAGTEK Sitework 4D is a building information modeling program designed to conduct takeoff and estimating procedures for earthwork purposes. This program provides an opportunity for the construction management department to implement a building information modeling (BIM) program related to heavy civil construction. Nearly seventy percent of construction management students agree that the BIM programs that they have learned during their time at Cal Poly have been directed toward residential and commercial construction. AGTEK can provide students an opportunity to learn site planning, earthwork estimating, as well as cut and fill diagrams all through a new BIM experience geared toward heavy civil construction. This program can be implemented into either CM-239 construction surveying or CM-314 heavy civil construction management as both curricula involve topics that are included in AGTEK. Students showed a stronger interest in having the program implemented in CM-314 rather than CM-239. Interviews with the current lecturers of both classes yielded two potential learning strategies for learning AGTEK: synchronous and asynchronous. Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages but after review of the AGTEK license agreement the synchronous version would be the more optimal option