The Roofing Alliance hosted its fifth Construction Management Student Competition.
The teams gave oral presentations before a panel of judges (acting as the owner, general contractor and design team selecting a roofing company for the project.) This year’s panel of judges included Chris Baxter, Vice President and senior estimator for Rackley Roofing co., Inc., Carthage, Tenn.; John Geary, Chief Marketing Officer for Nations Roof, St. Charles, Ill.; Helene Hardy-Pierce, Vice President of Technical Services, Codes and Industry Relations, GAF, Parsippany, N.J.; Scott Kawulok, Vice President, B & M Roofing, Frederick, Colo.; Bob Pringle, Vice President, Evans Roofing Company Inc., Elmira, N.Y.; James Williams, Project Manager with Crain Construction, Inc., Nashville, Tenn. and Scott Wilson, Manufacturer Representative for Carlisle with Apex Group, Nashville, Tenn.
The teams were judged on the overall quality of their written proposals, project management and organization; feasibility of construction and program schedules; accuracy/feasibility of conceptual costs; quality of safety and quality control/quality-assurance plans; supplemental materials; overall quality of their oral presentations; feasibility of project management, organization and schedule; accuracy and completeness of project costs; and answers to questions.
Eleven teams competed in our 2018-19 Construction Management Student Competition—six of which are new schools.
Minnesota State University
First-place
Left to right: Brian Wasserman, faculty coach; Eric Dorsch, team mentor; Hunter Morsching; Jon Harrington; Shola George, Chase Olson; Hunter Campbell; Kyle Thomas.
A few elements that set Minnesota’s team apart from its competitors included a thorough understanding of the project; a well-prepared, articulate and concise presentation; and well-presented safety and quality control/quality assurance plans. The team was prepared and able to answer specific questions posed by the judges. It had a thorough understanding of site logistics and schedule, as well as a strong safety plan, which included planning, training and execution.
Meet the Minnesota State team:
Hunter Campbell – Chief Estimator/Assistant Project Manager – Hunter will graduate the Fall of 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management degree. Hunter work experience prior to school included serving as Combat Engineer, Team Leader/SGT-E5 in the U.S. Army-Wisconsin National Guard, Corp of Engineers.
Shola George – CEO – Shola graduated December 2018 with a Bachelor of Science Degree – majoring in construction management, minoring in business administration. His work experience while in school included commercial roofing while working at Schwickert’s Tecta America, Mankato.
Jon Harrington – Superintendent – Jon will graduate December, 2019 with a Bachelor of Science, Construction Management. In addition to relevant class experience, Jon has a certification as a SWPPP Construction Installer.
Chase Olson (team captain) – Senior Project Manager – Chase graduated May, 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management. Chase has been involved in the construction and roofing industries since 2014 working as an apprentice and an intern.
Hunter Morsching – Site Safety/Quality Assurance Manager – Hunter graduated May, 2019 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Construction Management. In addition to his courses, Hunter tutored Intro to Statics and Mechanics of Materials and served on the Construction Management Association and the College of Science, Engineering and Technology Student Advisory Group.
Minnesota State received a $5,000 Roofing Alliance/L.B. Conway Scholarship; Colorado State University received a $2,500 scholarship. Both teams received team trophies for their schools, individual team awards and recognition in industry press releases.
Colorado State University
Second-place
Auburn University
Bradley University
Colorado State University
Kent State University
Louisiana State University
Minnesota State University
Mississippi State University
Oregon State University
University of Cincinnati
University of Florida
University of Louisiana at Monroe
We thank Curtis Sutton and Chris Baxter with Rackley Roofing Company, Inc. in Carthage, Tenn. for providing the project for this year's competition. The teams had to bid on a new roof system on the Hilton Franklin Cool Springs Hotel, Franklin, Tenn. This was a design build project with very fluid design documents and a fast-paced schedule. Each team was to provide evidence that they understand this process and could keep up with potential design changes on the fly, without sacrificing the quality of the final product. Each team had to find a competitive edge in their estimate to beat their competition while still maintaining a reasonable margin.
The first-place team (with the highest cumulative score) was Minnesota State University — Mankato, Department of Construction, Mankato, Minn. for their presentation as Maverick Roofing Companies. The team with the second highest cumulative score was Colorado State University for its presentation as Rocky Mountain Roofers Inc. Team members were: Cody Ade, Mahoney Bajwa (team captain), Brenden Phelan and Dan Schouten. And, Tony Centro with the University of Florida received the Best Individual Presenter Award.
Questions about the competition can be directed to: Jessica Priske (847) 299-9070, ext. 7517; jpriske@roofingalliance.net
