Construction and Public Works Course

Lesson 1 • Roles and Responsibilities on Site

Defines the professional roles of owners, engineers, architects, contractors, and inspectors. Clarifies accountability chains essential for project coordination.

Lesson 2 • Industry Overview and Sector Structure

Maps the construction and public works industry into residential, commercial, civil, and infrastructure segments. Provides the framework for understanding all subsequent technical content.

Lesson 3 • Regulatory and Standards Framework

Introduces building codes, safety regulations, and environmental standards governing construction. Grounds students in compliance obligations before technical study begins.

Lesson 4 • Ethics and Professional Conduct

Covers integrity, conflict of interest, and professional accountability in construction practice. Establishes the ethical baseline required throughout the course.

Lesson 1 • Concrete: Composition and Performance

Examines cement, aggregates, water, and admixtures and how mix design affects strength and durability. Directly supports later chapters on structural systems and quality control.

Lesson 2 • Emerging and Sustainable Materials

Surveys high-performance concrete, fiber-reinforced polymers, and recycled materials entering mainstream use. Positions students to evaluate innovative material options on future projects.

Lesson 3 • Steel and Metallic Materials

Covers structural steel grades, reinforcing bar specifications, and corrosion behavior. Prepares students to specify and inspect metallic components in structural applications.

Lesson 4 • Masonry, Soils, and Geotechnical Materials

Introduces brick, block, stone, and soil classifications relevant to foundations and earthworks. Links material behavior to site investigation and foundation design decisions.

Lesson 1 • Soil Testing and Classification

Covers laboratory and field tests used to classify soils and determine engineering properties. Provides the data interpretation skills needed for foundation and earthwork design.

Lesson 2 • Slope Stability and Erosion Control

Examines failure mechanisms, stability analysis methods, and erosion control measures for cut and fill slopes. Directly supports earthworks and infrastructure construction safety.

Lesson 3 • Ground Improvement Techniques

Surveys compaction, preloading, grouting, stone columns, and soil stabilization methods. Enables selection of appropriate improvement strategies for weak or problematic ground.

Lesson 4 • Groundwater and Drainage Assessment

Analyzes groundwater levels, permeability, and drainage conditions affecting construction feasibility. Prepares students to specify dewatering and drainage solutions on site.

Lesson 1 • Bridge and Infrastructure Structural Systems

Examines beam, arch, truss, cable-stayed, and suspension bridge typologies and their load-carrying mechanisms. Extends structural knowledge to civil infrastructure beyond buildings.

Lesson 2 • Foundation Systems and Soil Interaction

Covers shallow footings, deep piles, and mat foundations and their interaction with underlying soils. Bridges structural and geotechnical knowledge for foundation selection decisions.

Lesson 3 • Fundamental Structural Concepts

Introduces forces, moments, equilibrium, and free-body diagrams as the basis of structural analysis. Establishes the mechanical reasoning needed for all subsequent structural topics.

Lesson 4 • Load Types and Load Combinations

Classifies dead, live, wind, seismic, snow, and impact loads and explains how they are combined for design. Enables correct load assumption in project planning and review.

Lesson 1 • Schedule Monitoring and Recovery

Covers earned value analysis, schedule variance reporting, and recovery planning for delayed projects. Prepares students to maintain schedule control throughout project execution.

Lesson 2 • Linear and Repetitive Work Scheduling

Introduces line-of-balance and time-location diagrams for roads, pipelines, and repetitive building floors. Extends scheduling skills beyond CPM to infrastructure-specific methods.

Lesson 3 • Work Breakdown and Activity Definition

Teaches decomposition of project scope into manageable work packages and schedulable activities. Establishes the structured foundation on which all scheduling techniques depend.

Lesson 4 • Critical Path Method Scheduling

Applies CPM logic to sequence activities, calculate float, and identify the critical path. Enables students to manage schedule risk and prioritize site supervision efforts.

Lesson 1 • Bid Preparation and Markup Strategy

Covers overhead recovery, profit markup, risk allowances, and bid submission requirements. Prepares students to produce competitive and financially sound tender submissions.

Lesson 2 • Budget Control and Cost Forecasting

Applies cost-to-complete forecasting, variance analysis, and change order cost management during execution. Closes the loop between estimating and financial project control.

Lesson 3 • Quantity Takeoff Methods

Trains systematic measurement of materials, labor, and equipment from drawings and specifications. Accurate takeoff is the prerequisite for all detailed cost estimating work.

Lesson 4 • Estimating Fundamentals and Types

Distinguishes order-of-magnitude, parametric, assemblies, and detailed unit-price estimates by accuracy and use. Establishes the estimating hierarchy applied throughout the chapter.

Lesson 1 • Earthworks and Excavation Operations

Details cut-and-fill operations, trench excavation, shoring, and mass earthmoving equipment selection. Provides the operational knowledge needed to manage earthwork contracts safely.

Lesson 2 • Concrete Production and Placement

Covers batching, mixing, transporting, placing, consolidating, and curing concrete in field conditions. Directly applies material knowledge from Chapter 2 to production quality control.

Lesson 3 • Finishing, MEP Coordination, and Commissioning

Covers interior finishing trades, mechanical-electrical-plumbing coordination, and systems commissioning. Completes the construction operations sequence from structure to occupancy-ready facility.

Lesson 4 • Structural Steel Erection

Addresses steel fabrication review, crane selection, erection sequencing, and connection inspection. Prepares students to manage steel frame construction safely and efficiently.

Lesson 1 • Environmental Impact Management on Site

Manages sediment runoff, dust, noise, waste, and hazardous materials during construction operations. Ensures compliance with environmental permit conditions and community obligations.

Lesson 2 • Fall Protection and Excavation Safety

Addresses the leading causes of construction fatalities through specific fall and excavation control measures. Applies risk control hierarchy to the highest-risk site activities.

Lesson 3 • Integrated Management System Auditing

Trains students to plan and conduct internal audits across quality, safety, and environmental systems simultaneously. Develops the audit competency needed for certification and continuous improvement.

Lesson 4 • Quality Management Systems in Construction

Applies quality planning, assurance, and control principles to construction processes and materials. Establishes the systematic approach to defect prevention that underpins professional site management.