In the news: Construction lab exposes students to tasks they'll manage

Before building construction management students are asked to manage a construction project, they learn how to build different structures. That's where the D. Dorsey Moss Construction Lab, in the basement of Knoy Hall, comes in.

"We want the students to know the materials, manpower, money, machines and time that goes into building structures," said Wesley Crawford, professor of building construction management. "The students need to know that you can't build unless you learn to manage these items. The mission of our program is to produce the finest construction managers in the country."

Doug Keith, assistant clinical professor of building construction management, says students need to have an idea of how buildings are assembled before going into the workforce.

"We feel they can't learn to schedule work activities if they don't know what the difficulty is in putting something together and what it takes to assemble a building," he says.

Read more about the lab and how it's used to prepare construction managers.

(Photo: Brian Loss, clinical assistant professor of building construction management technology, talks to students in the D. Dorsey Moss Construction Lab. Located in the basement of Knoy Hall, the lab gives building construction management students the opportunity to assemble hands-on construction projects. (Purdue University photo/Mark Simons))

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