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Browsing by Author "Guggemos, Angela A., advisor"

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    Entering construction professionals: survey of work values and career expectations
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Moore, Jennifer Dawn, author; Guggemos, Angela A., advisor; Khattab, Mostafa, committee member; Gloeckner, Gene W., committee member
    The discussion of human resources is a broad and complex one, especially in an industry as diverse as construction which employs unskilled and skilled crafts workers, clerical and professional staff, as well as a variety of construction professionals. With an understanding that employers must develop more effective ways of rewarding and developing their workforces to compete for new hires and retain their current personnel, the goal of this research is to give those construction organizations focused on strategic human resource management a better understanding of the individuals currently entering the workforce. The general research design of this study was a comparative and associational research approach or a non-experimental approach. In this particular case, this research design was appropriate as the study was centered on defining work values and career expectations of soon-to-be Construction Management graduates as related to their personal characteristics. As such, the intention of the survey employed was twofold. One aspect was to gain a personal profile of these individuals and an assessment of what values these entering construction professionals hold. The second piece was to examine this descriptive data and seek an understanding into any relationships which may exist among the personal characteristics of entering construction professionals and their stated life, behavioral, and work values. From this sample some general trends of this population were found. A review of the mean rankings of life and behavioral values shows the values associated as self-centered ranked highest of all values while social-centered were lowest. Instrumental values of moral-focused and competence-focused ranked between these two terminal values and were nearly identical. The work values associated with status and independence ranked above those associated with competence and growth and comfort and security. Those in the construction industry must recognize that the graduates of today are different than those of past generations and that what it takes to hire and retain these individuals is different than the strategies employed even a decade ago. Likewise, for the first time in American history, companies are challenged with managing four generations of employees at once, each with different values, expectations, and attitudes. For the industry to continue to grow and prosper, the leaders of tomorrow must be recruited and trained today and companies must identify a leadership succession plan, placing renewed emphasis on strategic human resource management.
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    Environmental emissions and energy use from the structural steel erection process: a case study
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Haney, Joshua H., author; Guggemos, Angela A., advisor; Criswell, Marvin, committee member; Clevenger, Caroline, committee member
    Over the last two decades, sustainable (or green) building has been proven effective at reducing the environmental impact of buildings in an economically efficient way. In the United States, the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building rating system has been at the forefront of the green building movement. LEED accomplishes breadth at the expense of depth and, as a result, many facets of the construction industry are not explicitly addressed by this standard. Specifically, structural steel has been championed as an environmentally responsible building material because of its high recycled content, but only limited investigation has been done into the erection phase environmental implications of the material. To reduce the environmental impact of structural steel construction operations, practitioners must first understand which activities are the most impactful, so that improvement efforts can be properly targeted. Using life cycle assessment (LCA), this case study quantifies the energy consumption and environmental emissions resulting from the erection of the structural steel frame for a mid-sized office building on the campus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado. Those data are then used to explore recommendations for environmentally-preferable methods of steel construction. The magnitude of total energy use and pollution emitted during the steel erection process is found to be significant, with CO2 generation totaling 342,000 kg. According to the case study, the major sources of emissions (in descending order of magnitude) are materials transportation to the site, operation of the 100-ton crane, and worker transportation to the site. The most effective strategies for reducing energy consumption and emissions identified by the study are: 1) sourcing materials within 500 miles, 2) shipping only full loads of materials, 3) improving site logistics and crane-sizing to reduce erection time, and 4) switching from an 8-hour to a 10-hour work day. These strategies resulted in reductions in total erection phase energy consumption and CO2 emissions of approximately 17.5%, 8.5%, 6.4%, and 3% respectively.
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    Life-cycle assessment and life-cycle costs: a framework with case study implementation focusing on residential heating systems
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2007) Glick, Scott, author; Gloeckner, Gene, advisor; Guggemos, Angela A., advisor
    In 2004 the U.S. residential housing industry accounted for an estimated 21% of total carbon dioxide emissions for an average of 11.3 metric tons of carbon dioxide per single family home. One of the main contributors to these emissions is the residential heating system. Traditionally heating systems are chosen by owners and designers based on first costs. This does not provide a complete picture of total costs. To better understand the total costs of owning and using a building, life-cycle cost methodology can be used to identify, monitor, and decrease energy cost over a buildings' life-cycle. However this methodology does not consider the environmental consequences of system choice. Life-cycle assessment can increase the understanding of the environmental consequences attributable to a specific product, process, or system choice. This research uses both methodologies in the decision making process relating to heating system choice and design. This research created frameworks for performing life-cycle environmental and economic assessment using existing free online tools. Both frameworks were used in a comparative case study of two residential heating systems, gas forced air and radiant solar, for inclusion in a home in Fort Collins, Colorado, U.S.A. The proposed home consists of 3000 square feet, has excellent solar access, has 2x6 walls with superior insulation, is located at an elevation of 5000-6000 feet, and is in a four season climate. The results of an analysis of the life-cycle cost and life-cycle assessment data initially indicated the gas forced air system was the better choice both environmentally and economically. The data were then used to pinpoint solar radiant system components for replacement trying to reduce both costs and environmental impacts. This analysis indicated the replacement of the solar collectors with a gas fired boiler in the solar radiant system improved both system costs and environmental impacts. The new system had similar environmental impacts to the gas forced air system, and fewer environmental impacts than the solar radiant system. This substitution had less impact on the life-cycle cost making the modified system still cost-prohibitive when compared to the gas forced air system.