News and Media Relations contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu
MTSU Construction
Management contact: Dr. David Hatfield, 615-898-2781 or David.Hatfield@mtsu.edu
MURFREESBORO — Following
2012’s championship, an MTSU construction management team had another top-10
finish at this year’s national competition in Las Vegas.
Led by team leader Jason Harrison, the six-member MTSU Land
Development/Residential Building Construction Management team placed eighth out
of 31 teams in the Jan. 22-24 International Builders’ Show.
MTSU, which won in 2007 and ’12, has nine top-10 and seven
top-five finishes. Dr. David Hatfield serves as adviser and head coach, with
assistance by faculty members Duane Vanhook and Dr. Douglas Chelson.
“Being a part of the residential construction management
experience this year has been one of the most influential aspects of my college
career,” Harrison said after the competition. “… Although initially
disappointed with this year’s placement results, I am very proud of every team
member and am honored to say that I was the team leader for the 2013 MTSU
residential construction management team.”
In addition to Harrison, a Pittsburgh, Pa., native who lives
in Murfreesboro, other team members included Brad Johnson, a Madison, Ga.,
native who lives in Nolensville, Tenn., Andraus Hill of Nashville, Kelvin Owens
of Antioch, Tenn., Kyle Wix of Lafayette, Tenn., and Jared Newell of Nolensville.
Harrison and Johnson are the lone seniors; the others could
return for the 2014 competition.
“The competition
is designed to give students the opportunity to apply skills learned in the
classroom to a real construction project by completing a management project
proposal,” said Hatfield, professor and head of the land
development/residential building construction management and the electrical
construction management concentrations.
In this year’s competition,
students were given 118 acres, including an existing rock quarry, to develop on
the banks of Utah Lake in Saratoga Springs, Utah. The MTSU team’s project,
called The Banks at Pelican Point, was a mixed-use residential and commercial
development. It included a church and a pond that replaced the quarry.
The competition
was judged by a panel of four people with varied backgrounds in the
construction industry who were acting as potential project investors, Hatfield
said, adding that each team made a 15-minute presentation of their proposal
followed by a 15-minute question and answer session. The panel determined which
team had the most complete and financially viable plan.
On average, each
MTSU team member spent 300-plus hours completing the project booklet, Hatfield
said. The project booklet included financial figures, market analysis, sales
strategy, scheduling, estimating, infrastructure/house plans, sustainability,
cash flow and a management approach for the project.
“It is truly a tribute to our program and
our students to perform so well at the national level,” said Dr. Walter Boles,
chair of the MTSU engineering technology department.
“Our students did a great job at
demonstrating their knowledge and skills in estimating, scheduling, safety,
construction management, and building construction,” said Dr. Bud Fischer, dean
of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences. “This competition is a valuable
hands-on learning experience that allows our students to see how all of these
components come together as part of a construction management project.”
Local industry leaders David L. Hughes,
Mark Lee of SEC Inc. and Ross Bradley of TDK Construction applauded team
members’ efforts. Hughes serves as chairman of the land development/residential
building construction management concentration.
Harrison praised the coaches and industry
members who help prepare the team.
MTSU’s program
is affiliated with the Rutherford County Home Builders Association, Home
Builders Association of Middle Tennessee, Home Builders Association of
Tennessee and the National Association of Home Builders.
###
Photo caption
No comments:
Post a Comment