This research documents and assesses the development of a construction safety training module featuring BIM-enabled 3D visualization narrated in both English and Spanish to test if such information can enhance safety training for construction management students and construction workers. A pilot (English version) of the module was administered to construction management students and their responses were generally positive. Spanish and English versions of the modules were then administered to professional mason laborers on-site in Denver, Colorado. This paper highlights the technical challenges and the lessons learned through the development of training module, particularly for use and research on real construction sites. Findings support and highlight future opportunities to develop more advanced, and custom (project specific) bi-lingual safety training modules.

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to look at the effect of human behaviour, and efforts to change that behaviour, on electricity consumption in a high school setting. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses a mixed methods design of interviews and historical electrical use data to assess two treatments impacts on electrical consumption over time at two Fort Collins high schools. Findings – Both treatments, the energy efficiency awareness campaign and the energy efficiency charrette, were found to have a positive impact on decreasing levels of electricity consumption. Unfortunately, these decreases lessened over time. The key attributes of communication, motivation, and leadership were identified as necessary at the high school facilities level to ensure long-term success in decreased electrical consumption. Research limitations/implications – The implications of this research focus on awareness of energy use in public schools and how to use awareness as a cost-effective tool in decreasing electrical consumption. The limitations are the inability to isolate HVAC consumption loads and the small study size. However, this is one of, if not the first, effort to use awareness campaigns and charrettes in a high school setting to decrease electrical use. Additional research would answer questions like: how to increase the charrette impact time; could these programs be adopted district wide at all grade levels; how could energy awareness be institutionalized so periodic charrettes are not necessary? Limitations include the inability to isolate heating and cooling electricity loads from the data. Originality/value – This study is the first of its kind and has value to facilities management personnel, custodians, faculty and administration members, particularly in a high school setting. This research provides a framework and potential guidance for a school organization to conserve electrical energy and achieve cost savings and environmental benefits.

In the discipline of construction management (CM) student competitions are well thought of and typically have good construction industry support. However, little published research is available addressing them. This study provides empirical research documenting the positive and negative effects of CM competition participation. Data was collected via interviews and a survey. Using a grounded theory design eleven positive and four negative themes emerged including: confidence, connecting all the dots, industry involvement, leadership, motivation, presentation skills, problem-solving, real world experience, teamwork, and time management. The negative effects include: false expectations, resources, scoring methods, and time. As a grounded theory study, a three step coding process was used. The first step, open coding, identified the specific positive and negative effects. Construction industry involvement was identified as the central phenomenon through the second step, axial coding. Selective coding, the third step, then identified a cyclical pattern showing a connection between the positive effects, leadership, key CM graduate competencies, and construction industry involvement to tell the story of the phenomenon of student construction management competitions. This study found that the positive effects of competition participation outweigh the negatives and that competition participation should be encouraged for as many students as possible.

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