ROCKVILLE, Md. — The Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) announced the four finalist teams that will make oral presentations during the next phase of its 2012-13 Student Chapter Competition.
Teams from the Milwaukee School of Engineering, Southern Polytechnic State University, the University of Washington, and Northeastern University will compete March 19 at MCAA 2013, the association’s annual convention, in San Antonio.
A panel of nine judges convened on Jan. 9 to read, discuss, and score the written proposals submitted by 25 MCAA student chapters from across the U.S. and Canada.
Six of those teams will receive certificates of merit for their work on the competition proposal. Those teams are: Wentworth Institute of Technology, Colorado State University, California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, McMaster University, Illinois State University, and Central Washington University.
Judges John Powell of Marelich Mechanical Co. Inc., Hayward, Calif.; Matthew Miller of Irven Bob Miller Inc., Long Branch, N.J.; J. L. Williams of Ryan & Associates Inc., Davenport, Iowa; and Kathleen McCauley of McCauley Mechanical Construction Inc., Bridgeview, Ill.; evaluated and scored each written proposal’s overall quality, project management and organization, feasibility of construction and program schedules, and accuracy/feasibility of conceptual costs.
The oral presentations presented at MCAA 2013 will be evaluated by a new, different panel of judges using the following criteria: overall quality of the oral presentation, feasibility of project management, organization and schedule, accuracy and completeness of project costs, and answers to the judges’ questions.
Each finalist team will have 20 minutes to convince the judges that they are best qualified to perform the proposed work on the project, 15 minutes for a formal oral presentation, and five minutes responding to the judges’ questions. Each team’s standing will be determined based on a combination of their oral and written scores.
This year’s competition project involved a 50,000-square-foot building that houses NASA’s Space Exploration Center. The facility is located near Cape Canaveral, Fla., and bidders were required to recommend design elements that meet or exceed LEED Platinum criteria. The project also required that the bids include a post-construction service component.
First-place winners will receive a $5,000 prize. The second-place team will receive $2,500, and each of the other teams will receive $1,000. All finalists will also take home a trophy commemorating their achievement.
Publication date: 2/25/2013
