UW-Platteville earns first place in Safety in the ABC National Construction Management Competition

UW-PLATTEVILLE PLACES SECOND OVERALL; UW-STOUT EARNS SECOND IN ESTIMATING

WASHINGTON, D.C., Aug. 19, 2020 — UW-Platteville and UW-Stout were high performers at the Associated Builders and Contractors’ annual Construction Management Competition this year. UW-Platteville placed first in the Safety Category and UW-Stout place second in the Estimating Category out of 26 teams from around the country. This is the second consecutive year a Wisconsin university took first in the Safety Category, with UW-Stout earning it last year.

Also, UW-Platteville earned a second place finish overall, which is a compilation of scores in all categories, including Project Management, Quality Control and Overall. Gretchen Bockenhauer, Lecturer and Co-Program Coordinator at UW-Platteville is excited for her students.

“The UW-Platteville 2020 ABC CMC Team dedication to the project through COVID-19 paid off. They did well in all categories, of Estimating, Project Management & Scheduling, and Quality Control, but nailed it in Safety and their presentation,” she said. “I am so proud of the UW-Platteville ABC CMC Team and want to thank all of our Construction Industry Support throughout the project!”

The competition, which was held virtually for the first time this year because of COVID-19, provided four-person undergraduate teams from colleges and universities nationwide an opportunity to put their construction project leadership skills to the test. Florida International University, which won the overall competition, edged out UW-Platteville in the Overall Category and UW-Stout in the Estimating Category.  UW-Platteville edged out Florida International University in the Safety Category, however.

“The Construction Management Competition is a great opportunity for our future construction industry leaders to test their skills in real-time,” said Greg Sizemore, ABC’s vice president of health, safety, environment and workforce development. “Designed to challenge construction knowledge, organization, time management and presentation skills, every competitor showed diligence, tenacity and teamwork. We’re excited about the contributions these students will soon make to our industry.”

This annual competition gives the nation’s top construction management students a glimpse into the real world of construction.  This year’s project focused on the construction of a new federal courthouse for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, which required the students to plan demolition, construction and site development.

All participants are active members of the ABC National Student Chapter Network, which connects local ABC chapters to colleges and universities with construction management programs to work toward the ultimate goal of building the talent pipeline and mentoring future leaders of the construction industry. ABC of Wisconsin provides sponsorship funding for the Wisconsin teams each year.

CMC was presented by ABC and sponsored in part by American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers. A full list of the winners is available at abc.org/CMC.