Unique approach to teaching heavy civil estimating

Abstract

Construction performance and efforts have always been measured in terms of time and budget, and a good understanding of the basis for generating time and cost estimate is required of construction management (CM) students and construction engineering (ConE) students. This is important because they need such knowledge in order to conceptualize, design, and construct projects. The need to create time and cost estimate at some point in a project's lifecycle is a certainty. Students must be taught how to create an accurate cost estimate, which in part depends on the quality of knowledge transferred to the students. How can educators evaluate the quality of the knowledge transferred to students in the area of cost estimating, if they do not have a real world method to test out the quality of knowledge transferred? The purpose of this paper is to present a unique approach to teaching heavy civil cost estimating, one that allows students to prepare bids on state or local transportation projects. This method also provides the basis for students and educators to assess the quality of the teaching technique in the area of heavy civil cost estimating. With this in mind, the authors have developed a unique instructional method for teaching heavy civil cost estimating. The course is taught in such a way that students bid projects alongside licensed contractors or bid on recently bid projects. This method provides students with an indepth knowledge of cost estimating and all the steps that are akin to the real world cost estimating practice. The data collected within the last two years from projects that the students have bid on, show how close students' bids are to those submitted by licensed contractors. While the approach of bidding alongside other contractors in a real world scenario has its challenges, the option of bidding recently bid projects is the recommended method, because it allows for a wide range of projects to select from, and there is no need try to align with whatever project is bidding at that time. The significance of these methods is three-fold. First, it offers students the kinds of exposures that are typically open to professionals in the construction industry, and as such, the students become practice-ready graduates. Secondly, this method provides a strong basis for students to evaluate the quality of education that they are receiving. Thirdly, educators can assess how well they are performing by looking at how closely the students' bids fall within those of experienced contractors.