Cal Poly Construction Management Team Places First at ASC Student Competition

SAN LUIS OBISPO – For the second consecutive year a Cal Poly construction management team has won in a national category at the Associated Schools of Construction Student Competition. The 20th Annual event was held Feb. 7-10 in Reno, Nevada.

The team earned the national award in Marine Construction. This was the students’ first ASC Student Competition and first marine competition. To prepare for the event the team visited job sites in advance.

The team was challenged to come up with a schedule, methods and bids to renovate an existing ferry terminal. The ferries had to keep running during the construction. To accomplish this, the team proposed their renovations in phases. In addition, they had to take into account the changing tides; at certain times the terminal would be dry-docked or possibly with water four feet high.

“This accomplishment is impressive because Cal Poly does not have a marine construction curriculum, so the students had little or no prior knowledge of marine construction before they began preparing for the competition,” said Construction Management Department Head Allan Hauck. “This exemplifies how well our students can adapt to different scenarios in the real world.”

“The most nerve-racking time was right before the presentation,” said team member Ryan DelaRiva. “Afterwards, we were relieved because we knew we did well. The team bonded during the 16 hours we spent preparing our bid package, and we stayed up all night to refine our presentation.”

Team members include: Captain Andrew Murray, Santa Rosa; Ryan DelaRiva, Castro Valley; Devin Mills, Carmichael; Derek Phebus, Truckee; Jeff Ward, Moraga; and Adam Windham, Sedona, Ariz.

Two other Cal Poly teams also won awards at the competition. The team in the LEED category placed third nationally and the team in the Residential category placed third in the Far West Region.

The Associated Schools of Construction is the international association representing the interests of both academic and industry professionals interested in institutional construction education.

Editors: For team photos, contact Ray Ladd at Cal Poly’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design at 805-756-7432 or rladd@calpoly.edu.

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