Blake Whitman

blake.whitman@mtsu.edu

Kelly Strong

Concrete and Construction Management

Discipline specific equipment

MGB 313

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Construction management professionals today rely on a vast array of information obtained from specialized equipment to ensure the built environment in which we work and live functions as intended. Construction companies often seek out highly qualified individuals to join their team that have an in-depth understanding of specialized testing equipment and the ability to apply test results to meet regulatory compliance and ensure public safety. The School of Concrete and Construction Management focuses on preparing students for these positions thought courses such as Soil, Foundations, and Equipment (CMT 4000) and Properties and Testing of Concrete (CIM 3000). In the Fall of 2020, these classes served a combined total of 53 students. The current tools, equipment, and testing devices available within our department for hands-on experience do not facilitate testing processes as they are carried out in industry and lack applicability to modern data acquisition processes/technologies. Members of our Construction Management Industry Board have expressed interest in seeing our program advance to keep pace with current industry practices. In order to expose our students to modern testing technology used in material testing laboratories, we proposal purchasing one GeoJac Digital Testing system. This purchase would allow students to obtain hands-on experience operating state-of-the-art testing equipment that can be used to identify strength, time rate of consolidation, and permeability of earth materials. Student exposure to testing equipment such as this plays a key role in maintaining a competitive edge for our recent graduates in today’s job market.