I know you all feel like you're about to hit the wall, but there's only three weeks of classes (four including finals week) so the end is in sight. Let's finish strong!

What's Going on in Classes

CM 10: Tuesday's (4/28) is supposed to be alum Scott Maxwell from Unger Construction. Unfortunately, I did not coordinate with Scott last week because we were both traveling. Hopefully he is still able to join us. If not, we'll discuss the CM curriculum so you know what to expect in the coming semesters

CM 125: Please bring any outstanding Ice Blocks questions to class on Tuesday. After that, we will discuss LEED and tie it back to Ice Blocks. On Thursday, we will talk about how lean construction affects general conditions and, again, tie it back to Ice Blocks.

As for lab, here's the remaining schedule and milestones:

• 4/28 & 4/30: Schedule, GCs/GRs, constructability review
• 5/5 & 5/7: Rough cost model (budget estimate), value engineering list
• 5/19: presentations in the afternoon (we will move the CM 127 final to accommodate this)

CM 127: We will continue our journey through lean construction. On Tuesday, we will conduct another pull planning session (reverse-phase schedule with Post-It notes) and on Thursday we will perform simulations that demonstrate how uncertainty with task durations affect the overall schedule. It sounds nerdy but it's fun.

CM 135: I have graded Exam #2, so we will quickly debrief it. Then we will continue with deep foundations. If all goes well, we will start with retaining structures on Thursday.

In lab, we will be performing the sand cone test. Sand cones determine field density of soils (the old school test before nuclear gauges were invented). The lab is pretty involved so I'm going to post the procedure tomorrow. Please read it BEFORE your respective lab period.

Just to repeat, this is the week I will be traveling International ASC conference in Texas and won't be on campus. But there's still a lot going on so I want to make sure we're all on the same page..

What's Going on in Classes

CM 10: Tuesday's (4/21) guest speakers will be Brad DesJardin and Neal Cordeiro of DesCor Builders. DesCor is a commercial building general contractor. Neal and Brad are great guys and love answering questions and dropping knowledge on students, so come ready to interact.  I'm giving you an extra week for the Rob Clark memo because I totally forgot to post the assignment. It's up now. Also, on the flight to Texas, I promise to grade the exam.

CM 125: No lecture this week, but Mike will be in the lab to discuss Ice Blocks. As discussed in class last week, we have developed milestones for the project. These milestones are for your benefit: they will help keep you on track. Here they are:

• This week (4/21 & 4/23): meeting minutes from meeting with ID team members, space takeoffs for existing space, demos requirements, site logistics plan (assume deliveries can be made in the alley, Rice Alley, behind the building; also assume you will have some area in front of the building on the half you are assigned (see figure below):

• 4/28 & 4/30: Schedule, GCs/GRs, constructability review
• 5/5 & 5/7: Rough cost model (budget estimate), value engineering list
• 5/19: presentations in the afternoon (we will move the CM 127 final to accommodate this)

If you have any questions, ask Mike. He's a great reference for putting together budget estimates, among other things.

CM 127: Use lecture time on 4/21 and 4/23 to meet with your ID+CM team.

CM 135: Exam #2 is on Thursday (4/23). Anyssa will proctor it, but I've already told her that you cannot use scientific calculators or your phones. So go get a calculator if you don't have one.  Because Angelica asked nicely, here are some answers for the practice exam: 

• Bearing capacity for Hoist Location 1 footing: 51,020 psf
• Factor of Safety for Hoist Location 1 footing: 305
• Bearing capacity for Hoist Location 2 footing: 58,626 psf
• Factor of Safety for Hoist Location 2 footing: 163

There is no lecture on Tuesday (4/21), but I would use the time to study. There are no labs this week.

Adios and I'll see you next week.

I know, I know...it's been a long time since I've done some planning. Better late than never, right? The next two weeks are going to be chaotic, so I thought now would be a good time to get a game plan set. Here goes.

This week we have classes as usual. I will be traveling next week to the International ASC conference and won't be on campus. However, there is still a lot going on and there are no days off.

What's Going on in Classes

CM 10: Tomorrow (4/14) we will be having Rob Clark of Rosendin Electric in class. Rob is a very recent grad and will talk about the specialty contracting side of the construction industry. He's also working on the Downtown Arena.  Next week our guest speakers will be Brad DesJardin and Neal Cordeiro of DesCor Builders. DesCor is a commercial building general contractor. Neal presented in my CM 10 class last year and crushed it. You're sure to be entertained. I won't be in class, but I have my spies so please be respectful to Brad and Neal.

I've been getting questions about posting grades. This semester has been bananas and I'll get to it eventually. Please be patient.

CM 125: This week we will cover LEED and green building. If you'll recall from last week, Mike Heller is not seeking LEED certification for Ice Blocks, but he is seeking ways to make the building more green. We will discuss how this is done. We will be having lab this week, for which you are expected to start working on Ice Blocks. Some of you might be thinking "our ID teammates are lagging on the drawings..." or some other whiny complaint. You still have a lot of things you can do without plans, like site logistics, QTOs based on the existing floorplans, demo plans, etc. Time is your most precious commodity, so use it wisely.  Also, there will be no lectures next week (4/21 and 4/23). Some people asked for class time to work on Ice Blocks, so there you go, you get class time on those two days to work on it.

There will be lab this week and next. If you're in Thursday's lab, please come to lab on this Tuesday so that Mike Penney can give you some audit trail feedback for SFHS and I can provide you with some advising. You likely won't have to stay for the entire lab period.

CM 127: This week we will start talking about lean construction and focus on pull planning. Next week there will be no lectures, but read the CM 125 paragraph above. Use lecture time on 4/21 and 4/23 to meet with your ID counterparts or work with your CM homies.

CM 135: On Tuesday, we will be continuing our discussion of footings, particularly eccentric loading. We will also discuss the next homework assignment. On Thursday we will be moving on to pile foundations. In lab this week, we will be working on footing example problems. I know this doesn't sound exciting, but it will help prepare you for the exam next week. The problems we will work on have been uploaded to SacCT as Lab #7 if you want to download them ahead of time.

Speaking of exams next week, Exam #2 is on Thursday. Anyssa will proctor it, but I've already told her that you cannot use scientific calculators or your phones. Don't screw with Anyssa. I'm bribing her with 3 cups of coffee for every cheater she rats out, and the only thing Anyssa likes more than being the most competent person in the CM Department is drinking coffee.  To help you prepare for the exam, I've done something I've never done before: I've posted an old exam for you to use as a study guide. Exam #2 next week will be very similar. Here's the tradeoff: I can guarantee with 100% certainty that there will be no make-up exam for Exam #2. I figure posting a sample exam is better for your preparation and creates less work for me. 

There will be no lecture next Tuesday (4/21) of labs next week for CM 135.