{"id":74531,"date":"2025-04-11T11:25:33","date_gmt":"2025-04-11T18:25:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/?p=74531"},"modified":"2025-04-14T13:10:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T20:10:53","slug":"c4p-lab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/news\/c4p-lab\/","title":{"rendered":"How NAU is building Arizona"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every Wednesday, Trevor Walsh<\/strong> puts on business casual clothes, collects reports from his project manager and foreman and goes to a progress meeting. He meets with the owner of the construction project of which he is superintendent. They discuss what progress has been made, if they\u2019re keeping to the schedule and the budget, what variations have been made to the original plan and why. Walsh is accountable for his work and the work of everyone on his team.<\/p>\n

It’s exactly the situation in which he\u2019ll find himself after graduation. That\u2019s why the Construction4Practice (C4P) lab that every construction management major takes is so important. It mirrors the hands-on work, from field supervision to project management, of a construction project.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday I\u2019m going in for class, but on Wednesday, I actually feel like I\u2019m getting ready for work,\u201d Walsh, a senior construction management (CM), said. \u201cI\u2019m thinking about this meeting immediately as I wake up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The course, which students take three times, fulfilling a different role each time, was designed to mimic work, said John Tingerthal<\/strong>, associate chair of the Department of Civil Engineering, Construction Management & Environmental Engineering. The aim is to prepare students to walk onto a construction project the first day of work and be able to contribute.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very realistic,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve developed this in conjunction with industry; our professionals have given feedback and gotten involved. We bring in experts to demonstrate skills and rely on financial support from industry to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s working. While it\u2019s not all down to C4P\u2014the curriculum is regularly updated in conjunction with industry partners, and NAU students often do two internships before graduating\u2014the numbers don\u2019t lie. More than 90% of students graduate having already accepted a job or have multiple job offers to consider. According to 2017 alumnus David Binderim<\/strong>, who is a senior project manager for CORE Construction, NAU grads are among the best that they hire.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cUp here, we produce probably the best superintendents in the state out of anybody,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at how NAU does that.<\/p>\n

The Construct4Practice lab<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The idea is to create a simulated work environment that mirrors a real-world construction project, on a small scale. The students play all the roles from designer to builder to manager, and they must report on their progress weekly to the project owner, who is one of the professors.<\/p>\n

Binderim, who took the lab as a student and now judges the final projects, has seen it change over the years, so it integrates both the field and the office experiences. He\u2019s also watched as students worked out problems, coached each other and communicated their work. Communication, not coincidentally, is the biggest skill students get from this lab. When you\u2019re working with a team, whether it\u2019s a bathroom or a skyscraper, communication is the most important part of it.<\/p>\n

The class builds on itself; students start in the 200-level lab, then move up each year. They get experience in different aspects of the work, even in jobs they\u2019re unlikely to ever do. The 300-level class, for example, are the architects. It\u2019s a different degree and certification program, but the CM faculty want their students to understand and empathize with the difficulties an architect faces.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople in the field will have a question, and they often wonder why it takes an architect so long to answer,\u201d Tingerthal said. \u201cWhen they\u2019re in the architect\u2019s shoes, they see that perspective that helps them become better team players.\u201d<\/p>\n

They also are equipped to help other students. All the upper-level students were once in the 200-level, where they did the actual building. For Walsh, who\u2019s now in the 400-level lab, having been in that role better equipped him to lead those students.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my job to sit with the foreman and help them visualize what the project is going to be like, what we\u2019re going to do and how to use the professional verbiage that the professors and TAs are looking for,\u201d he said. \u201cThe 200-level students have never done it before, so I sit down with them and tell them exactly what we\u2019re looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good communication means less work for him too: \u201cI have to include their reports in my meeting, so if they turn in one that gets a bad grade, I\u2019m going to have to revise it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The builders (200-level)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

All the teams this year are building one corner of a bathroom module. That includes putting up two walls, pouring concrete, installing anchor bolts that connect the metal framing to the foundation, installing drywall, weatherproofing and installing electrical and plumbing. When their module is done, they have to connect it to another team\u2019s module. It\u2019s a significant amount of work, and the builders are shouldering that heavy labor.<\/p>\n

\"AJunior Alexis Anderson<\/strong> called the 200 lab an eye-opening experience, which helped set her up for success as she navigated the curriculum and later internships.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a freshman, you don\u2019t often get that experience off the bat or in an internship, so having it early on\u2014you see how things come together from plans and gain respect for the people who are doing this work,\u201d she said. \u201cYou gain a lot of exposure to the labor side of things and then gain exposure to the architectural side of things working under a project manager.\u201d<\/p>\n

Junior Luis Bernal<\/strong> also shared the value of constructing a model from the ground up, collaborating with various team members who had different levels and types of experience. Learning how to follow detailed plans in the 200 lab helped him when he got to the 300 lab and was creating those plans.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe professors can be tough on us at times, but it\u2019s because they care. When we make mistakes, we get lectured, but then they provide us with advice on how to avoid making the same errors in the future,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the lab, if we make a mistake in a submittals or specification, it\u2019s manageable, but in the construction industry, those mistakes can cost someone their life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although NAU graduates are likely to move into leadership positions, understanding this aspect of construction is critical.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal is to get them to respect the people actually doing the work and really understand their point of view,\u201d Tingerthal said.<\/p>\n

See the work in action in this video.<\/a><\/p>\n

The designers (300-level)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Where exactly is that window going to go in relation to the studs in this bathroom module? That\u2019s a question for the 300 lab students, who use computer software to plan the project.<\/p>\n

Anderson is a designer this year. She and her team are in the computer lab building 3D models on software; they answer questions, attend meetings and inspect what\u2019s being built. All designers for the six teams were given basic instructions so they will all build basically the same module, but there are many details that need to be considered, measured and worked out through the design process so all the pieces fit. Figuring that out through the design software has been Anderson\u2019s favorite part of the class.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou gain a lot of insight as to what you should expect and gain that responsibility of taking care of an entire project,\u201d she said. \u201cThe 300 lab is fairly demanding, but it\u2019s nice to understand where all of these pieces were coming from and how we put them together.\u201d<\/p>\n

She did her first internship last summer after completing the 200 lab and said the knowledge she learned in class combined with the hands-on experience from the C4P lab came together in her internship. And it\u2019s not just the hard skills\u2014team-building, problem-solving, building relationships with workers in each part of the project and communication have been among the most important lessons she\u2019s taken from C4P.<\/p>\n

After graduation, Anderson eventually will go into the family business of project development. Before that, however, she plans to go to trade school to learn heavy machinery mechanics and hydraulic mechanics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to put a lot on my belt before I go headstrong into the industry so I can understand the point of view of all the different people who are part of bringing a project to completion,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"The
The 3D-printed model Peterson designed<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Senior Carlee Peterson<\/strong>, who\u2019s a TA for the 300-level lab, said she was extra motivated when she started this lab; as a 200, she didn\u2019t always get the best drawings from the designers. She wanted to make sure she was providing thorough, useful drawings when it was her turn.<\/p>\n

While the 300-level is often students\u2019 least favorite, Peterson loved it. She loved 3D modeling and seeing the building come to life before any cement is poured. It\u2019s good preparation for her chosen career path of preconstruction manager; she\u2019ll review all the plans and give owners cost estimates and do other consulting. She already accepted a job with Loven Contracting, where she did her second internship.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can gain all the knowledge we want from school, but being able to apply that to an internship is a different story,\u201d she said. \u201cMy internships helped me learn because I knew what I needed to actually know. It gave me a glimpse into the real world, and then I got to come back to school. Now I know what I need to focus on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project managers and superintendents (seniors)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The buck stops here.<\/p>\n

The 400-level students have taken the previous two labs, and now they\u2019re in charge. They\u2019re accountable for the work the 200- and 300-level students produce, and they get to sit with their professors once a week and explain how the project is going. They answer for anything that goes wrong. Walsh, who makes sure his shirt is tucked in before going to his meeting with professor Andrew Iacona<\/strong>, said he had ideas in earlier labs of how to be a good leader when he got to this position. Now that he\u2019s in it, he\u2019s realized how much more complicated leading a project is.<\/p>\n

In addition to coordinating with the 200- and 300-level students to make sure their work is up to par, Walsh is in regular communication with another senior; the two switch off between project manager (office work) and project superintendent (field work). It\u2019s been an eye-opening experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cAcross all three, it just highlights how important communication is. You learn something every week in there,\u201d Walsh said.<\/p>\n

\"StudentsThat\u2019s an important lesson, Binderim said. Communication is key to a successful building project. Often, how closely the students match the final product to the original plans is far less important than how well they can explain those choices.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes three semesters for that light bulb to finally click and go, OK, that\u2019s what I need to learn to go into the industry,\u201d he said. \u201cIt really is such a good representation of how a building project can go. It\u2019s been great to see the same things that we do in the industry being taught in that class.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Walsh, being where he is now is an added accomplishment. He came to NAU at 18, struggled with making the transition to college life and ended up leaving NAU, getting a job and taking classes at Coconino Community College while he thought about what he wanted to do with his life. Through classes at CCC, he learned how to be a student, chose a major, worked for a time in the family drywall business and then re-enrolled at NAU, prepared to do the work necessary to finish. It wasn\u2019t until he was retaking a class in which he’d originally gotten a D\u2014which he passed this time not because it was easier but because now he knew how to be a student\u2014and got encouragement from Iacona to join NAU\u2019s team for the Associated Schools of Construction in Reno that he knew he could do this.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll these classes started opening doors for me, and everything was starting to click,\u201d Walsh said. \u201cNow as a senior, I\u2019m looking at these situations where I have to problem solve, make the right decisions, learn what I need to think about\u2014all of those are coming together in the 400 lab. Three semester just flew by for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Northern<\/p>\n

Heidi Toth | NAU Communications
\n(928) 523-8737 | heidi.toth@nau.edu<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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