The winners of the 2013 HBI Residential Construction Management Competition (RCMC) at the International Builders’ Show are proof that NAHB Student Chapter members represent the best of the next generation of home builders.
More than 50 teams representing universities, community colleges, high schools and career technical schools participated in the annual competition, in which students solve real-life construction management problems and present their solutions to a judging panel of residential construction industry experts.
This year’s construction problem for the four-year competition focused on the feasibility of developing and building homes on a 118-acre site in Saratoga Springs, Utah, assumed to have a market land basis of $4.5 million. The teams were prepared to discuss their selections of floor plans; submitted a construction estimate/budget; construction schedule; cash-flow projections, project management and organization plan; marketing and risk analysis; project site plan and land development plan; and green building initiatives.
The construction problem for the two-year competition involved building a house on a lot in the Finney Crossing Community in Williston, Vt. These teams submitted a full set of working drawings for their houses, a detailed materials estimate, and a complete construction schedule for their specific plan. Teams completed the basement layout and provided at least two value engineering suggestions as part of their proposals.
All competition teams presented themselves as home building organizations. They submitted their written proposals prior to IBS for review by the judges, and the students defended their projects during proposal presentations live before the judges at IBS.
“Congratulations to the winners and everyone who participated in the competition,” said John Courson, president and CEO of HBI, formerly known as the Home Builders Institute, the workforce development arm of NAHB. “The competitors showed a great deal of talent along with a depth of understanding of building industry management, from land development to marketing to scheduling to estimating.”
HBI administers the NAHB Student Chapters program for NAHB.
The NAHB Student Advisory Board is proud that the RCMC has evolved into a prestigious event for the participants, their schools and the building industry, said Steve Nellis, principal of Nellis & Associate, Inc. of Irving, Texas, and chairman of the Four-Year Competition Committee for the NAHB Student Chapters Advisory Board.
“Students will remember the competition for the rest of their lives. The judges were impressed with this year’s group, and we expect once again that the participants will be at the top of the heap when it comes to job offers,” Nellis said.
Awards were given for Four-Year College, Two-Year College and Secondary School programs. The winners are:
Four-Year College Programs
1st Place: Michigan State University
2nd Place: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
3rd Place: Brigham Young University (Utah)
4th Place: Western Carolina University (North Carolina)
5th Place: Texas A&M University
Rookie Award: Texas State University
Two-Year College Programs
1st Place: North Dakota State College of Science
2nd Place: Utah Valley University (Utah)
3rd Place: Montgomery College (Maryland)
Rookie Award: Honolulu Community College (Hawaii)
Secondary School Programs:
1st Place: York County School of Technology (Pennsylvania)
2nd Place: Camden County High School (Georgia)
3rd Place: Shelby County High School (Kentucky)
The students, faculty and judges who participate devote many hours to prepare for and compete in the RCMC, but all that hard work pays off, said Bill Faulk, assistant professor of building construction technology at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Fla., and RCMC committee chair the past two years.
“Students learn so much through the months of preparation they often remark that they would do it again in a heartbeat. We feel confident that the team members are prepared to move on to a four-year education or a direct hire with a home building company or supplier,” Faulk said.
See the full list of award winners, including faculty and student awards.
