Supporting Student Education

Wells Concrete BlogUncategorized

Credit: Original article published here.

Supporting student eduction is an important part of Wells’ culture

University outreach and student education is an important part of our culture at Wells Concrete.  For as long as I can remember we have hosted plant and jobsite tours to expose college students to precast concrete construction.

CSU Denver – Final presentation with John Dobbs, Executive Director of PCI Mountain States

More recently, Wells has gotten involved with the PCI Foundation (http://www.pci-foundation.org/) which helps create precast-focused college experiences.  The Foundation provides grants to universities, which in turn enables them to create and fund a “PCI Studio.”  Currently the main participants in the studios are from the schools of Architecture, Engineering and Construction Management.

The PCI Foundation also offers a yearly “Professors Seminar” to discuss ideas on how to integrate precast concrete in their curriculum.

The PCI Studio at CU Denver’s School of Architecture is in its 4th year.  Graduate level Architecture students spend an entire semester designing a project which must incorporate precast concrete for its core & shell.  Wells Concrete has participated in the program by providing project feedback and guidance, giving plant and jobsite tours, assisting in sample-making and basic education about architectural concrete design, and was also there for the student’s mid-term and final project reviews.

CSU Boot Camp – Precast Framing Exercise

In addition, Colorado State University developed the first PCI Studio that combined Civil Engineering and Construction Management by taking a 5-week intense “Boot Camp” approach.  The curriculum is developed and taught entirely by the local precasters and covers topics such as Introduction to Precast Components, Design and Procurement, Sustainability /BIM / Scheduling, Estimating, Precast Design, and Site Logistics.  The students have homework assignments after every class to help reinforce what they learned that week.

With the help of the local regions, The PCI Foundation is leading the way in student education.  Time and effort well spent, since these students will be entering the industry and will be our next generation of architects, engineers and general contractors.

Dan Parker
Director of Client Services