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If you had $1.4 million at your disposal, how would you spend it? This is exactly the question a team of University of Maine engineers had to answer from Nov. 11 to 14. The occasion was a regional engineering competition in Fairfield, N.J. After three days of competition, the team from UMaine placed second in the region in the “Heavy Highway” division.
The competition was intensive and involved many aspects of engineering and construction. Teams competed in writing and presented bid proposals for real projects.
On the first day, the teams received a binder full of the project details and then had until midnight to complete a bid proposal. The UMaine team’s project was to renovate a major urban subway station. The teams had to consider many constraints. For instance, in a subway there are space limitations that must be dealt with. Furthermore, there are time restrictions as the subway needs to be operational during the day. The scenarios were very real and true to life, according to Will Manion, one of the faculty advisors for the team.
“[It was] every bit as challenging as professional work,” Manion said.
During the course of the day the team also had to choose subcontractors for labor and materials, all the while keeping in mind their budget and the requirements of using such subcontracts.
For example, labor laws might require a certain degree of workplace diversity. This would dictate who they contracted with and how much money was required for such aspects of the project.
The bids from subcontractors came in throughout the day forcing the teams to adapt to changing situations. The basis of the scenario was a real project that is being built by Kiewit Construction Company.
After a full day of putting together the bid, the teams then had to present the proposed solution to Kiewit. The proposals were presented in a closed discussion forum, allowing Kiewit to “grill,” as Manion put it, the teams on their ideas.
Besides being a competition, the event served other purposes as well. The engineers are able to apply their skills to real-world problems in a practical setting. Manion explained that the engineers would most likely have to work under similar pressures and constraints when working on a bid.
“[It is] not unlike a typical bid process,” Manion said.
The event also serves as a job fair. At the competition, the engineers present to and get to know some of the leading construction companies in the country. The employers benefit as well since they get to meet the best and brightest engineers, Manion said.
The competition is organized by the Associated Schools of Construction. Sponsors include such companies as Kiewit Construction, Turner Construcion and Hensel-Phelps Construction. Even more firms are involved in the job fair aspect of the event. The team was sponsored locally by a donation from Eldon Morrison of CPM Constructors, Freeport, Maine.
Bangor Daily News