Turner Construction Company and the University of Houston’s Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) department hosted their first collaborative Turner Advanced School of Construction Management program on October 23-25. The three-day course was based on the foundation of the Project Management Professionals Certification tailored specifically to construction. The course was hosted by James A. Brownrigg from Turner Construction, Maya P. Thornton from University of Houston HUB and Mr. D-MARS with the help of the main facilitators, Turner Construction’s Tung D. Nguyen and LaToshia Norwood from L’Renee and Associates.
Each day focused on different topics dealing with construction management, including:
- Project Management
- Cost
- Safety
- Sales
- Risks
- Procurement
- Estimating
- Quality
- Scheduling
- Communication
Each topic was taught with thoroughly developed course material and further supplemented with presentations by subject matter experts from various companies specializing in these select topics. The subject matter experts each performed one-hour, interactive sessions focused on their subject of expertise and shared lessons and answered questions on real-world issues they’ve experienced and handled. In doing this, participants received the most accurate and valuable information on each topic.
In addition to receiving valuable, first-hand information, the students also had the opportunity to network with senior-level HUB subcontractors and employees from the University of Houston and Turner. The participants came to learn about construction and also to grow their relationship with the University and Turner in the hopes of creating future business connections and opportunities. Maya P. Thornton, director of University of Houston’s HUB program, said that one of the University’s hopes for this course is that these students take their skills and what they learned in the class and utilize them with big companies or owners like the University of Houston.
One of the biggest challenges facing the Houston construction market is the large number of HUB firms that do not have the capacity to keep up with all the opportunities, especially when competing with larger companies. Equipping these students with great information and giving them the chance to make important connections in their field is a step towards bridging the capacity gap and helping HUBs grow.
This course was attended by 25 students, all representing different companies. The students’ professions ranged from general contractors and employees of general contractors to equipment suppliers.
After completing the three-day course, the students had a graduation ceremony where they each received completion certificates. These certificates allow the students to show they were able to complete an advanced construction management course with Turner Construction and the University of Houston, both well-known and highly reputable organizations.
Tung D. Nguyen, Project Executive at Turner Construction and one of the facilitators for this course, said he believed this course was a great success and the students gained a great deal of valuable information to help grow their careers.
“This course was attended by the full spectrum of construction employees,” Nguyen said. “And I think they were each able to gain some information that will greatly benefit their careers. We’re already looking forward to hosting our next construction management course.”
