YSU Students Display Discipline and Accuracy in Annual Construction Project Estimating Competition
Five students from the Youngstown State University proved recently that they are primed for a career in the local construction industry.
The five–Brett Cash, Scott Kreefer, Matt Wagner, Matt Totin, and Aaron Cessna–represented one of three teams participating in the annual Builders Association Construction Estimating Competition, held for civil and construction engineering technology students at Youngstown State University.
Teams were given a real-life construction project to analyze and prepare a construction bid just as they would if they were working in the actual industry. YSU faculty advisors Carol Lamb and Bob Korenic and a team from the regional construction community worked with the students for months prior to the event, but on the day of the competition, students were on their own to create an actual bid for a construction project. This year, Jim Bayer from DeSalvo Construction Co., Inc. was the mentor for the winning team. Joining Bayer as team menters were Howard Agueda from Jack Gibson Construction Company and Dave Wendel from Adolph Johnson & Son Co.
Additional Builders members and construction professionals who volunteered as mentors for the 2013 event were:
- Ed Stevens, Stevens Masonry Construction, Inc.
- Chris White, Boak and Sons, Inc.
- Kyle Leonard, Imperial Glazing Concepts, Inc.
- Dave Collins, Diamond Steel Construction Co., Inc.
- Dan Terreri, Daniel A. Terreri & Sons, Inc.
Each team received a set of plans and specifications, a partially complete bid worksheet, labor costs, and unit costs. Teams each presented a written, complete estimate, including take-offs, pricing, quote sheets, etc., and then conducted a 20-minute bid defense discussion with judges. Judging this year’s competition were:
- Craig Fauvie, Jack Gibson Construction Company
- Joe DeSalvo, DeSalvo Construction Co., Inc.
- Ken Black, Connell, Inc.
- Ed Van Dusen, Van Dusen Construction Co.
- Chris White, Boak and Sons, Inc.
All students received gift certificates from Panera Bread, courtesy of Covelli Enterprises. In addition, the winning students each received a $50 gift certificate for the YSU bookstore. The Builders Association and Youngstown State University would also like to express their thanks to En-Ser Reprographics for donating the plan documents used during the event.
This is the fourth year for the competition, an idea that was originally suggested by YSU students. Each year, The Builders awards scholarships to YSU students who are studying for a career in construction. At the 2008 award ceremony, scholarship recipients expressed a desire to work on an actual building project.
Pictured is the winning team (left to right): Builders President Ed Stevens, Matt Totin, Matt Wagner, Brett Cash, Scott Kreefer, Aaron Cessna, and competition judge Craig Fauvie.
