Course Description: This course addresses the methodologies employed in the engineering and construction industries to assist in rational decision-making in the face of uncertainty. The course reviews the fundamentals of common probabilistic theories and models, data sampling, hypothesis testing and the basics of Bayesian Decision Theory. In addition, basic financial analysis tools will be reviewed. Theoretical models will then be applied to specific examples encountered in engineering and construction decision making with emphasis on engineering economics applications.
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Information about the CECM-QL Term Project are provided by Allen J. Murphree, Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering, for the Construction Engineering Management (CEM) Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (© 2024).
Each student, working independently and not as a group, will be responsible for preparing their own unique construction risk case study. Research will include finding two (2) individual risk management articles to evaluate, which shall be based on current “real world” construction events and risks that construction projects have experienced. A current risk event is one that has occurred or has been written about within the past 12-months (May 2023 or sooner). Each individual risk evaluation should be a minimum of four (4) pages (categories a, b, c, d, and e), and each article shall focus on a different type of risk, such as injury, loss of life, property damage, contractual, legal, environmental, regulatory, financial, or other construction project threats. Broad scope and industry wide related risks are not acceptable, and it is best to focus on a negative jobsite risk or threat that is the project manager’s responsibility.
Construction risk articles, events, and sources may be acquired from books, magazines, professional journals, newspapers, personal interviews, the internet, library and other public sources. An AGC link has been posted to the discussion board for possible event sources. Your work experiences and company projects are not valid source topics unless they have been publicly published. Remember that you are researching jobsite construction risk articles to create your own case study and not a completed case study or thesis.
This guide will provide you with useful information to help you complete your project this semester. This useful information has been provided by Dr. Ashley S. McNeill, UAB STEM Librarian for Engineering, who can be contacted at (205) 934-2925 or by email at amcneill@uab.edu. You are also welcome to schedule one-on-one appointments with her on her Bookings page. Your final project must contain two (2) sources from databases provided by the UAB Libraries.
A draft outline of your final project shall be submitted to Canvas on June 2, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. CT.
This is an opportunity for you to show your case study progress and receive my guidance. It will be reviewed and graded for the actual submission of two primary risk articles (no links allowed), proof that the risk topic is jobsite specific and not broad scoped. verification that the two risk articles are current, confirmation that each article focuses on two different types of “negative” construction risk, the beginning of some good risk content for every risk outline category and show the properly formatted primary cited sources. The draft outline may include bullets or listing and must follow the outline format and structure provided below. The draft must be submitted as one (1) overall PDF document.
The final risk case study shall be submitted to Canvas on July 21, 2024, before 11:59 p.m. CT.
The completed final project shall consist of only graduate level written narrative research content for each risk category (no bullets or listings allowed), must include an outline heading over each category paragraph so that I understand the subject matter that you are discussing, provide a minimum of three overall sources for each risk article evaluation, and include all original primary and secondary articles (no links allowed). UAB sources should be clearly identified with a legend, highlighted in yellow, or placed in bold text, and all cited sources should show evidence of being current (include date/year). The final project case study must follow the outline format and structure provided below, should implement my draft outline grading guidance and direction, and the final research project must be submitted as one (1) overall PDF document.
The purpose of this assignment is to gain experience evaluating and managing risks. When finished, you should be able to
The design of this page was partly adapted from Research: By Course, Subject, or Topic, by University of Arizona Libraries, © 2020 The Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of The University of Arizona, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.