University of Florida Wins The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress’ Third Student Competition

The University of Florida team had a thorough understanding of the project, a strong safety plan and a well-prepared presentation.

For the second consecutive year, a team from University of Florida, Gainesville, was selected as the winner of The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress’ third student construction management competition, which took place during the National Roofing Contractors Association’s (NRCA’s) 130th Annual Convention held March 1-3 in Las Vegas.

Members of the winning team were Will Foster, Caleb Strauss (team captain), Schaffer Weeks, Forest Wilson and faculty advisor Jim Sullivan.

Six schools of construction management participated in this year’s competition: McWhorter School of Building Sciences at Auburn University, Auburn, Ala.; Department of Construction Management at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo.; Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, La.; Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Ala.; the University of Cincinnati; and M.E. Ringer Sr. School of Building Construction at the University of Florida.

The goal of the outreach to the construction management schools is to raise awareness of the roofing industry by developing roofing-related curriculum that can be incorporated into existing construction management undergraduate degree programs, exploring scholarship programs for both students and faculty members and developing an internship program with interested Alliance members.

Teams participating in the competition were presented with a problem statement: Create a company to bid on installing a roof system on the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Each team was required to research the project, review the plans and specifications, and assemble a full estimate and proposal to submit a qualified bid package. All teams had to find a competitive edge in their estimate to beat their competition while still maintaining a reasonable margin. For this project, it was important to decide on the correct application methods, show overall roofing knowledge and illustrate a company team is prepared to undertake the project.

Each team submitted written proposals and supporting documents in Dec., 2016 and gave oral presentations at the convention March 2.

Orange County Construction, the University of Florida’s team company had the highest cumulative score. The team had a thorough understanding of the project; a strong safety plan which included planning, training and execution and a well-prepared presentation. In addition, they were well-prepared to answer judges’ questions.

The University of Florida received a team trophy, a $5,000 L.B. Conway scholarship for their school and individual prizes that were presented during NRCA’s Industry Awards Ceremony and Cocktail Reception March 2.

Plans are now underway for the 2017-18 Alliance student competition in at NRCA’s 131st annual convention in New Orleans Feb. 6-8, 2018.

For more information about the Alliance student competition, contact Bennett Judson, the Alliance’s executive director, at (800) 323-9545, ext. 7513 or bjudson@roofingindustryalliance.net.

About the Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress

The Roofing Industry Alliance for Progress was established within the National Roofing Foundation (NRF) to create an endowment fund to serve as a highly focused resource for the roofing industry and its customers. The Alliance’s objectives are to conduct research and education projects that support high quality programs for roofing contractors; ensure timely and forward-thinking industry responses to major economic and technological issues; and enhance the long-term viability and attractiveness of the industry to roofing workers. The Alliance also reached out to the roofing community and its members and helps fund efforts dedicated to good works and charitable giving. More information about the Alliance is available at http://www.roofingindustryalliance.net/.