Construction management is a relatively new undergraduate discipline with roots in Civil Engineering. The emphasis is in teaching skills necessary to organize, direct and control the construction process. With construction automation becoming increasingly important in the industry, it is equally important that undergraduates be given training in computer applications to construction. The two areas emphasized in this project, construction cost estimating and project scheduling and controls, are ideal for computer automation. The project expands the laboratory to provide twenty workstations equipped with microcomputers and software for estimating and scheduling. In addition, the laboratory has two plotters for printing schedule "networks" and five digitizers for doing earthwork, roadway, and underground quantity take- offs. The assignments emphasize a "hands-on" approach with students using actual construction blueprints from major jobs to do cost estimating and scheduling of real-life projects. The award is being matched by an equal amount from the principal investigator's institution.
