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Ferris Construction Management Student Teams Win at Regional Competition in Illinois

Construction Management WinnersFerris State University sent three student teams to the Associated Schools of Construction Region 3 competition in late October in Downers Grove, Ill., and two teams won their respective divisions while the third placed fourth in its division.

In the Commercial division, Ferris’ team consisted of Construction Management students Charlie Alm, Jake Aranki, Mike Kozakiewicz, Brett Lesiewicz, Greg Lowe and Brandon Rhodes, and faculty coach Lee Templin, an associate professor in Construction Technology and Management. The team received its plans and specifications at 7 a.m. and turned in its proposal by 11 p.m. that evening. During that 16-hour period, the team estimated the project cost, scheduled the project, developed a site safety plan, created a site logistics plan and evaluated the design for value engineering cost savings for a Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic in Walla Walla, Wash. The next day, the team prepared its presentation in the morning to present to a 10-person judging committee.

At next morning’s awards breakfast, Ferris’ “Warren Oak Construction” was declared the winner of the Commercial division. It marked the first time that Ferris had won a Region 3 student competition in the 20 years that the competition has existed.

Minutes later, Ferris’ “CKW Constructors” won the Design-Build division. For the team, five of six members were new and it was only Ferris State University’s third time competing in the Design-Build division. The team of Construction Management and Architecture students was allotted 16 hours to design a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver dormitory and site for 300-plus students, estimate it and schedule it. The project required formal written and oral presentations.

Construction Management students Michael Baldwin, Dave Bourgeois, Kevin Clark and Jake Herron, and Architecture students Will Hinkley and Courtney Parks, prepared for the competition with their advisor, Suzanne Miller, an assistant professor in Construction Technology and Management at Ferris. The inter-departmental effort required a blend of students from two academic programs with mechanical advisory assistance from HVACR’s Joseph Pacella, an assistant professor in the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration program. The team unseated the winner of the competition from the last nine years.                                                             

In the third division, Heavy-Civil, Ferris’ “Old Craig Construction” team finished fourth as it just missed a top-three finish. The Heavy-Civil Team consisted of Construction Management students Devin Dowling, Adam Gohs, Max Hilton, Doug Miller, Mike Reilly, and Andy Schilling, and the team was coached by first-year coach/advisor Dan Pratt, a Ferris assistant professor in Construction Technology and Management. 

The Heavy-Civil project consisted of estimating, scheduling, manpower loading and equipment selection for the erection of approximately half a mile of border fence in Texas along the U.S.-Mexico border. This project represented an extreme departure from projects in the past and forced the students to think outside of the box.