The Civil Engineering Resource Library: Developing A Multimedia Education Resource

The delivery of civil engineering projects requires civil engineers to address a broad spectrum of issues generated by both project participants and regulatory agencies. Providing tools that assist team members in addressing these issues through the use of information and knowledge from previous projects may reduce project errors by creating informed decision-makers. Recent advances in communications and computer technologies provide the opportunity to enhance student access to these resources. The Civil Engineering Resource Library research effort explores this opportunity by combining an introduction to civil engineering processes with emerging Web-based technologies. This combination is captured in an electronic library that uses case studies to illustrate emerging civil engineering practices and regulatory compliance strategies. Introduction The lifecycle of civil engineering projects incorporates a broad and diverse set of design and construction issues. From initial project development through construction and operations, civil engineers address a broad spectrum of requirements established by direct constituents including the owner and the design team and indirect constituents including regulatory agencies and jurisdictional governments. The combination of aesthetic, engineering, and regulatory issues creates a diverse, and often conflicting, set of demands that result in each project appearing to be a one-of-a-kind endeavor. While this diversity reduces the opportunity for civil engineers to apply previous project solutions directly, diversity increases the need to provide documentation and storage tools that enable civil engineers to learn and extrapolate from previous solutions. Specifically, tools that provide team members with information and knowledge from previous projects can assist in reducing project errors by creating informed decision-makers. For example, the consistency of external issues such as wetland regulations over extended periods of time provides an opportunity to establish information libraries that highlight project solutions and compliance strategies. This opportunity is the basis for the Civil Engineering Resource Library, an electronic case library for civil engineering students and educators. The Resource Library research effort combines two motivating factors; (1) knowledge of emerging solutions to environmental concerns is essential as increasing emphasis is placed on environmental responsibility, and (2) computer technologies should be integrated into the classroom environment to augment traditional learning techniques. In terms of the former, as environmental awareness and responsibility moves to the forefront of design influences, civil engineers must receive education covering compliance strategies for local, state, and national environmental policies. Achieving this awareness establishes the second research motivation, the integration of computer technologies into civil engineering classrooms. Specifically, the research effort combines an introduction to civil engineering processes with emerging Webbased technologies to create an electronic library that uses case studies to illustrate emerging civil P ge 350.1 engineering practices and regulatory compliance strategies. This paper introduces the research as it developed through classroom analysis, field studies, and an initial CD-ROM-based prototype. Resource Library Development The Civil Engineering Resource Library has followed a development path leading from the classroom to the professional office, and finally, to the computer lab. From the outset, the Resource Library research focused on understanding the environments where the electronic library concept would enhance learning and the production of project solutions. As such, a series of steps were established for the research effort as follows: 1) Develop a course to interactively obtain both student and educator perspectives on the information required to present civil engineering cases, processes, and solutions; 2) Establish a test program within a professional office to determine areas of professional interest and focus; 3) Perform field studies of particular cases to establish a baseline set of structured library entries on which to expand the Resource Library; and 4) Develop a technical solution for an electronic library incorporating a structured, but flexible, environment that addresses the requirements of multiple constituents. Case Study Project Course Creating an electronic library that assists current and future professionals in addressing emerging civil engineering issues required the research effort to examine the needs of these constituencies. As such, a case study course was introduced for civil engineering graduate students to analyze emerging topics such as design for disassembly and wetland protection through specific construction projects. The course required students to interact in a discussion format to identify the indirect and direct documents that defined, described, and influenced the civil engineering projects being studied. A discussion format was established that required students to present the indirect and direct influences on particular components of the cases each week. For example, early in the course, the emphasis was placed on examining the regulatory and permitting influences on environmentally sensitive projects such as managing tree-save and drainage areas. In response, students presented summaries of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Federal Regulations, and Corps of Engineers guidelines that directly governed these operations. In contrast to traditional lecture formats, the case study course provided opportunities for student self-discovery. Given an introduction to a topic such as NEPA, the students utilized government documents, World Wide Web sites, and Corps of Engineers interviews to supplement traditional textbook authorities. In this way, a broad spectrum of case study data was accumulated and analyzed for each topic covered in the course. This process of self-discovery and document collection provided invaluable insight into the broad ranges of contextual information that is needed by students beyond required readings. One notable area that demonstrated this need was in the case of document interpretation. The interpretation of regulatory documents is often a difficult task for students as they wade through legal jargon, professional acronyms, and obtuse regulations. To assist students in understanding the impact of regulations and other external project impacts, a broad range of materials is required to provide an appropriate case context. The students demonstrated a need for plans, project videotape, written regulations, and thirdparty summaries to successfully grasp the scope of a given case. This focus on broad issues and P ge 350.2 contextual information emphasized the need expand beyond traditional written case formats to a format that provides a breadth of information covering all aspects of the civil engineering process. Professional Test Program The development of an electronic information tool for civil engineers requires input from a professional setting as well as an academic setting. In response to this need, the Resource Library research effort included the implementation of a case documentation program for an Atlanta-based construction management company . This effort had one specific goal: obtain insights into the types of information that office and field personnel identify as central to the successful completion of civil engineering projects. With the assistance of company executives, a lessons-learned program was announced to the company employees that encouraged personnel to submit suggestions for cases that could serve as exemplars for either general or specific construction operations. The program was left open-ended as to the types of lessons that could be submitted to allow company employees the flexibility to submit a broad range of materials. However, the lessons that were ultimately submitted followed a common pattern. The lessons deemed critical by the employees focused on common construction processes that were encountered in unusual circumstances on individual projects. The suggestions stressed solutions to these unusual variations as they are encountered during the completion of specific projects. For example, a common theme focused on cast-in-place concrete placement and the techniques that could be used to reduce air gaps and wasted formwork. In contrast to the broad, project-level concerns of the students, these suggestions focused on understanding solutions to task-oriented procedures that directly result in reducing project costs. Field Study The third component of the research focused upon obtaining actual case study data through field investigations. The classroom and professional studies described previously provided the criteria for selecting appropriate Resource Library cases. First, the cases must contain a unique element that piques the interest of the user. Second, the cases must contain a broad range of contextual information that allows students and educators to discuss the full scope of the project. Third, the cases must include examples of common construction processes to provide professionals with a selection of examples that may assist in solving a previously unforeseen circumstance. Finally, the cases must illustrate the diverse input of internal and external project constituents. After reviewing several options for the selection of a baseline case study, the Wolf Creek Shooting Complex in Atlanta, Georgia was selected as a representative case from which to develop the Resource Library structure. The Wolf Creek site contains several unique elements that make it conducive to an educational field analysis. First, the Wolf Creek site hosted the 1996 Summer Olympics shooting events. This high visibility event ensured that both a significant amount of documenta