CEE 4100 - Georgia Institute of Technology

CEE 4100:
Construction Engineering and Management
Fall 2011 (Last Update: Sept. 28, 2011)
Instructor:
Office Hours:
Teaching Assistant:
Class Schedule:
Optional Course
Books/Sources:
Class Website:
Course Objectives:
Jochen Teizer, Ph.D.
Room 327, Sustainable Education Building (SEB)
Phone: 404-894-8269
E-mail: teizer@ce.gatech.edu
Monday and Wednesday, 9:45 a.m. – 11 a.m.
At all other times only by appointment.
Eric Marks
E-Mail: ericmarks@gatech.edu
Office Hours: TBA
Location: SEB 217
Monday, Wednesday:
8:00 a.m. – 09:45 a.m.
Mason 142
1) Construction Management by Daniel W. Halpin, 3 rd or 4 th edition, Hoboken, NJ: John
Wiley & Sons.
2) Construction Project Management. Hendrickson and Au at
http://www.ce.cmu.edu/pmbook/
Additional readings will be handed out for the appropriate course modules. It is
expected that assigned book chapter readings are done before the class lecture is given.
https://t-square.gatech.edu/portal
Fundamental concepts in planning, design, and construction of civil engineering
projects. Introduction to project scheduling, cost estimating, controls, procurement,
value engineering, quality assurance, and safety. The purpose of this course is to
introduce students to various topics concerning construction engineering and
management. Students will be exposed to the construction industry, the contractual
arrangements made between construction contractors and owners, project finance, tools
and techniques for managing construction projects, construction engineering basics such
as cost estimation and safety, and issues associated with special construction
circumstances (e.g., cold weather, ocean environments, etc.). The course is divided into
modules that correspond to these topics. Outside construction professionals (if
available) will give guest lectures on their experience in the construction industry. Upon
completion of this course, the student is expected to be able to:
1) Understand and discuss the complexity of the A/E/C industry, from an industry,
enterprise and project perspective.
2) Compare and contrast the various types of organizations; the different project
delivery systems and contract types the design, procurement, and construction
processes; and the principal issues surrounding construction labor, materials, and
equipment management.
3) Identify, describe and discuss the principal concepts and issues in construction
economics; construction project planning; construction cost estimating, scheduling,
and cost/time control; quality; productivity; and construction safety.
4) Based on a very general set of project data and information, understand and apply
the processes used in developing a project definition package, defining a project
execution plan, prepare a design package (plans and specifications), and prepare a
construction bid for an A/E/C project.
1

Course Outcomes:
Honor Code:
Homework Policy:
Exam Policy:
The School of Civil and Environmental Engineering has adopted a set of desired
outcomes for the undergraduate education program. This course is designed to meet the
following outcomes:
1) Understanding civil engineering solutions in a global, societal and environmental
context, consistent with the principles of sustainable development.
2) Solving engineering problems by applying fundamental knowledge of math,
science and engineering.
3) Identifying, formulating and solving civil engineering problems that meet specified
performance, cost, time, safety and other quality needs and objectives.
4) Working and communicating effectively.
5) Obtaining a solid understanding of professional and ethical responsibility, and
recognizing the need for and ability to engage in life-long learning.
Students are expected to perform class activities in keeping with standards outlined in
the Georgia Tech Academic Honor Code. Appropriate action will be taken towards any
student suspected of violation of the Honor Code. For any questions involving any
Academic Honor Code issues, please do not hesitate to consult Dr. Teizer or
www.honor.gatech.edu.
Homework will be assigned frequently throughout the semester and is an essential part
of understanding the lecture material. The homework will be collected at the due day at
the beginning of the class. Homework will be graded and returned. Solutions will be
discussed in class or handed out. Late homework is not accepted unless specific
arrangements are made with Dr. Teizer prior to the deadline. When working on
homework, you may work with other students in the class. Individual work is strongly
encouraged to practice already for exam questions. Should you collaborate with another
student(s), the name(s) of everyone you collaborated must be marked on the cover sheet.
Each student is responsible to submit her/his own homework. Homework 4, 5, and 6
will be group homework. Only one group submission is permitted. Only the group
submission will be graded. However, you must turn in a separate copy of your
individual homework with your name for homework 4, 5, and 6. You are also allowed
(and encouraged) to ask Dr. Teizer questions, although you should try to think about the
problems before asking. The instructor strongly encourages you to work on extra
problems from the book on your own. Please note that all assignments must be handed
in on the due date. Late homework will be graded for the benefit of the student, but no
credit will be given for late homework or assignments. Only medical reasons will be
considered for late assignments. You should receive the following message once you
submit your homework via T-square “You have successfully submitted homework X.”
The instructor has no control over the T-square software, thus should you not receive
this message after hitting the “submit button” you may contact the T-square staff or
simply resubmit your homework. It is always good to save your homework in digital
format.
Exams will cover material given in the textbook, in-class (lecture, notes, handouts,
overheads, etc.), homework, field trips, and projects. Exams are closed book and closed
note exams. Exam dates are listed in the Course Schedule and will not be changed.
Exams must be taken as scheduled. Only university excused circumstances will be
considered. A grade of zero will be assigned for missed exams. The final exam will be
given on the day assigned by the university and will be comprehensive. In addition,
personal trips must be scheduled around exams. Exams will not be rescheduled to
accommodate early trips home or any other trips of a personal nature. The final exam
will not be returned. Bring to exams only the required resources (pen, pencil,
ruler, calculator, etc.). Nothing else will be allowed, e.g. bags or cell phones are not
allowed with the person or underneath the table (they will need to be stored at the
front desk if brought to exam). Bring your Student ID with you to the exam. The
seating diagram needs to be followed during exams.
2

Attendance Policy:
Field Trips:
Construction
Video/Animated
PowerPoint
Presentation
Academic
Accommodations for
Students with
Disabilities:
Regular attendance is expected and encouraged. Each student is responsible for all
material and administrative instructions given during the lecture period. Instructions
will not be repeated outside of class. Attendance may be taken periodically throughout
the semester. Eating, chewing, sleeping, talking, cell phone use or working on other
assignments is inappropriate, discourteous, and inexcusable.
The instructor will arrange field trip(s) to experience a realistic construction project.
Instructions will be given in class.
Each student is assigned to a group. Each group will produce a maximum (!) 90 seconds
long video. Its main purpose is to highlight one important aspect of the construction
industry or construction safety. Rules that apply:
The focus area of this term is SKID STEER LOADER SAFETY and in
particular how to protect workers from being run over or crushed by heavy
equipment. Several websites can be consulted to understand the severity of the
problem, including the website of the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration – OSHA at http://www.osha.gov. Any video that does not
include this theme will be evaluated with zero points.
The filename must be “LastNameStudent1_LastNameStudent2.AVI” or any
other video format.
All videos must be in the format . MPEG, .WMV, .AVI, or similar. Videos that
require the CD or DVD to run, will be evaluated with zero points.
When you turn in your video, make sure the TA is able to run the video.
All video presentations need to be submitted no later than September 30, 2011
to e-mail: ericmarks@gatech.edu.
Do not copy/paste video clips from the internet. Produce your own original
material! Any video with existing video clips from the internet or TV will not
be reviewed and zero points will be given for this assignment.
The Georgia Tech library may assist in lending a video camera. You have to organize
your own personal protective equipment should you need some. All presentations will
be evaluated based on originality of the content, educational merit, and other criteria, for
example, creativity, appearance, and professionalism of the video. The instructor will
assign a final grade to each presentation based on the ranking of a peer review group.
The top five presentations may be shown in the final class.
Reasonable accommodations are provided to self-identified students with disabilities
who meet the academic and technical requisite to admission or participation in the
program of study. Incoming students with apparent course work deficiencies due to a
disability should contact the coordinator for Students with Disabilities at 404-894-2564.
Consideration may be given to the substitution or modification of certain course
requirements – within the limitations imposed by the accreditation criteria for the degree
program in which the student is enrolled – and to the extent that such substitutions or
modifications of the course or curriculum do not have a net effect of detracting from the
quality of the educational experience implied by the course or curriculum designation.
Such substitutions or modifications must be approved by the school chair, department
head, or college dean, and the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and/or the
Graduate Committee. Additional information can be obtained from the Access Disabled
Assistance Program for Tech Students (ADAPTS), Student Service Building, Georgia
Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0285 or call 404-894-2564 (voice), or 404-
894-1664 (TDD), or visit www.adapts.gatech.edu.
Grading Scheme: Percentage Grade
90.0 – 100.0 A
80.0 – 89.9 B
70.0 – 79.9 C
60.0 – 69.9 D
59.9 or lower F
3

MY GRADE
Criteria Weight My Score Total Points So Far
Participation, Preparation for Class, Attendance Required
Homework 1 2.5%
Homework 2 2.5%
Homework 3 2.5%
Homework 4 2.5%
Homework 5 7.5%
Homework 6 7.5%
Construction Video/Animation 10%
Midterm 1 15%
Midterm 2 15%
Final Exam 35%
Total 100%
CLASS SCHEDULE*
Weekday Date Class Content Book Chapter Homework
Monday Aug 22 Introduction to Construction Industry, History TBA in class TBA in class
Wednesday Aug 24 Stakeholders in the Industry
Monday Aug 29 Project Management Process and Organization
Wednesday Aug 31 Project life-cycle
Monday Sept 5 Official School Holiday
Wednesday Sept 7 Contracts, and Project Delivery
Monday Sept 12 Legal Structures, Construction Issues,
Wednesday Sept 14 Construction Law, Resolution, Surety Bonds
Monday Sept 19 Economic Decisions, Revenue Sources Dispute
Wednesday Sept 21 Interest/Equivalence, Present Worth, Cash Flow
Monday Sept 26 Depreciation, Accounting, Rate-of-Return
Wednesday Sept 28 Putting Together a Project Package, Case Studies
Monday Oct 3 Construction Methods
Wednesday Oct 5 Equipment Productivity
Monday Oct 10 Specifications and Drawings
Wednesday Oct 12 Midterm Exam 1: In class
Monday Oct 17 Official School Holiday
Wednesday Oct 19 Reading Plans**
Monday Oct 24 Quantity Take Off
Wednesday Oct 26 Bidding and Cost Estimation**
Monday Oct 31 Unit Price Estimates**
Wednesday Nov 2 Field Trip (Planned, Bring Construction Boots)* , **
Monday Nov 7 Critical Path Method (CPM)
Wednesday Nov 9 Gantt Charts
Monday Nov 14 Line of Balance (LOB)
Wednesday Nov 16 Work Task Optimization
Monday Nov 21 Midterm Exam 2: In class
Wednesday Nov 23 Productivity **
Monday Nov 28 Project Control and Monitoring**
Wednesday Nov 30 Safety, Workforce**
Monday Dec 5 Labor Law and Relations**
Wednesday Dec 7 Review Session** , ***
Wednesday Dec 14 Final Exam 2:50 P.M. to 5:40 P.M.
* Modifications are possible **Guest Lecture *** Extra reviews session(s) might be offered before the final exam
4