Industry Day March 17, 2009

The first thing we did at Industry Day was talk to a woman from CMAA.  She told us about a field trip to a BMW factory in South Carolina April 3-4.  We all signed up and plan on attending.  Directly across from her table was a Motor grader.

After we looked at the Motor grader and finished talking to the woman from CMAA, we moved on the the crane.  

Somehow, Ginny, Liz, and I were invited to operate the crane

After we had a few close calls with the crane, we moved on the Permatile display.  There we talked to Bill Canter about the product.  Instead of a traditional basement, built of either poured concrete or blocks, this product is precast wall sections, delivered to the site ready for instillation.  This method provides better insulation for basements which allows them to be more functional in residential, as well as commercial, facilities.  According to Bill, the cost of this precast method is typically less then or equal to the cost of a traditional basement without the practicality.

After thanking Bill for being so helpful we moved on the Young Alumni Committee's booths.  There we talked to Michael Depp about his work with Vertexco.  He explained to us that he is in charge of making sure that all the duct work in the building is able to be installed problem free.  He then showed up a model that the Young Alumni Committee had been working on the demonstrate how crowded the space between the finished ceiling and the roof can get.  Michael said that it took the 3 days to build the model and that it was still a work in progress.  For Industry Day next year, they plan on having a fully structural steel frame and semi-operational electrical outlets and fire alarms.

Michael then brought us over to his other booth where he had set up a television to show us some programs he uses with his work at Vertexco.  When we first went over he had a time lapse set up.

The time lapse is off a medical facility in Northern Virginia.  After we watched the time lapse, Michael showed us one of the programs he uses with Vertexco called Expedition.  The program allows him to access his work anywhere in the country.  It shows him how many submittals he has received and completed among many, many other things.

Next we moved on the the Survey tent.  There we looked at new surveying equipment that allows everyone on a job site to have access to drawings and details about the project that are updated constantly.  As a project is performed on the site, its progress is updated minute by minute to the system, which then allows everyone else to track the progress as well as remain updated on any changes to the job.

The photos above show the surveying equipment, the GPS handheld device, and the base station which allows the GPS to locate down the hundredth of a foot.  After we finished looking at the GPS handheld device, we moved on the the well auger.

Unfortunately, I spent the majority of my time on the beginning of the expo and did not get to try the simulator.

After observing the simulator for a little while, I had to run to my next class.  The expo was educational and a lot of fun.  I did notice, however, that not many other students, besides Building Construction students, were stopping by to learn about the equipment.  It made it easier for us to talk to everyone, but I'm not sure if many other students were able to get out of it what we did.