Workshop: Construction Engineering Professional 2020

Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University, Blacksburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

This award supports a planning meeting, which brings together industry, academic, government, and association representatives to define and outline roadmap that delineates the requirements to achieve the objectives of the larger project initiative entitled "Construction Engineering Professional 2020 (CEP2020) objectives. The challenge to the multi-billion dollar construction industry is how to succeed in the next 20 years. The changes and forces currently impacting the constructing industry, suggest strongly that the traditional perspective of the industry, both from professionals within the industry and from observers outside the industry, must be altered. Globalization will render obsolete long-held family and corporate traditions in industry enterprises. Current growth trends of faculty and departments of Construction Engineering suggest the need for universities to reexamine the educational needs of future professionals. The traditional viewpoint that a basic understanding of scheduling, estimating, contracts, and engineering is a satisfactory foundation no longer is sufficient. Rather, the question for industry and academia alike is how to address the construction engineering profession and professionals of the future. Where will these professionals emerge? How will they be educated? What tools will they use? What will be their primary focus as professionals? Will these individuals be the integrators of the design-construction process, or will they be the technology experts focusing on satisfying customer requirements, or maybe they will be the surrogate owners, financing, building, and operating projects on an international scale. The time to develop the vision to answer these questions is now. The CEP2020 effort is designed to address three specific objectives: What is the current state of the construction engineering professional? What will the construction engineering professional be in 2020? What is the evolutionary path required to enable the construction professional to achieve the 2020 vision?