Facility Life Cycle 2: Design and Construction

Course Introduction: Part 1

In this course, you will study the second phase of facilities management, Design and Construction. The course covers design basics, including a section on sustainable design, cost estimates, building materials, project management, and construction administration. When you have completed this course, you will have learned about the phases of design; the budget process; characteristics of building materials; and requirements for different facility systems. You also will learn to identify project management issues, and will become familiar with the construction process and numerous construction-related issues such as bidding, contract documents, and site issues. In addition, you will learn about the people skills important for facilities managers, such as team building, establishing consensus, and resolving conflict.

Building Skills through Experience

The goal of this course is to continue developing practical skills in facility management. You will learn the basic concepts and terminology for building design and construction. For the most part, you'll get this information from the printed materials, the videos, and the online image gallery.

Throughout the course, your instructor serves as your expert coach, giving you regular guidance and assistance, showing you the strengths and weaknesses of your work, and giving you feedback on the results expected of accomplished professional facilities managers. Needless to say, to get the most from this course, you must assume responsibility for completing the reading and viewing assignments on your own, regularly participating in online discussions, and completing the online quizzes.

Whether you already have some experience managing facilities or are new to the process, this course helps you increase your ability to identify facilities issues, resources, and alternatives. It also helps you develop or acquire the interpersonal skills needed to manage a facilities team. Finally, completing this course gives you a context for understanding facilities issues and processes so that you can successfully complete the UW Distance Learning Certificate Program in Facilities Management, if that is your goal.

Course Objectives

By the end of this course, you will be able to

• identify phases of the design process (Lesson One);
• identify factors in evaluating consultant candidates (Lesson One);
• identify effective techniques for giving and receiving feedback (Lesson One);
• understand the budget phases in a building project (Lesson Two);
• describe how working drawings are organized (Lesson Two);
• learn how to motivate team members (Lesson Two);
• discuss the properties and uses of particular building materials (Lesson Three);
• identify and describe the types of mechanical and electrical systems used in your (or your mentor's) company (Lesson Three);
• understand the causes of conflict, and how to use conflict to your advantage (Lesson Three);
• understand the advantages of sustainable design (Lesson Three);
• develop a project work breakdown structure (Lesson Four);
• describe project tracking and documentation systems and methods (Lesson Four);
• conduct meetings effectively (Lesson Four);
• describe how construction costs can be minimized (Lesson Five);
• identify the components of a well-written contract (Lesson Five); and
• manage project changes effectively (Lesson Five).

The Online Environment

Your online course offers several advantages to the traditional classroom, including the comprehensive Online Student Handbook, the ability to communicate electronically with students and with your instructor, and links to a rich array of online resources.

Online Student Handbook

This handbook answers questions about your online learning course, such as how to purchase your text, schedule an exam, obtain a transcript, and get technical help if you need it. The handbook also provides additional resources, such as how to order books or journals from the library and how to study for an online course.

Communication with Your Instructor and Student Peers

• Online Discussion Forums, designed by the University of Washington award winning Catalyst team, allow you to communicate with other currently enrolled students and with your instructor. We encourage you to use the forums to exchange ideas, resources, and comments about your course work with other students in this course. Forums are monitored by your instructor.
• You can use e-mail to ask me a question or preferably post your question on the forum. I will reply on the same forum.

UW Library Resources

As an online student, you have access to a wealth of Web resources compiled to provide fast, easy access to information that supports your online learning experience. Organized by subjects, UW Library Resources link you to sites with help for writing and research, study skills, language learning, and library reference materials. All links have been assessed for credibility and reliability, and they are regularly monitored to ensure their usability.

In addition to these general resources, for some lessons I have recommended additional Web site and other resources (see Part Two). Taking the time to explore these sites will enrich your online learning experience and increase your understanding of the course material.

About the Textbooks

In FLC 2, you will continue to use Facility Management by Rondeau, et al. as one of the texts. In addition, you will be reading from a new text, Facilities Planning and Relocation, Volume I, by David Owen and Facility Design and Management Handbook by Eric Teicholz.. These are excellent texts to add to your personal Facility Management library. While Rondeau focuses on the core competencies of the Facility Manager, Owen focuses on interior projects, from planning to implementation and post-occupancy evaluation. Teicholz provides an excellent overview of all the roles and responsibilities of the facility managers. You will find the concepts applied by Owen to interior projects transferable to many project types. It is interesting to compare the three authors' approaches to Facilities Management. The Owen text also will be used in FLC 3.

About the Course

Each online lesson provides a list of key terms and points to ponder, required readings (and in some cases, a required viewing), lesson objectives, instructor commentary, practice exercises, and an assignment consisting of any one or more of the following parts: online lesson forum, an online quiz, online discussion with a guest speaker, and writing assignments.

Key Terms

Each lesson includes a list of key terms to help you master the vocabulary of facilities management. These terms are intended to serve as guides to your study. You are expected to use them in your written work whenever possible.

Many of the key terms are defined in the lesson commentary. Whenever a key term is used or defined for the first time in the commentary, you will find a key term icon in the callout margin next to the sentence where the term appears. If you encounter a term or abbreviation that is not explicitly defined in the course materials, think about what other resources you can turn to in order to find the definition, for this is precisely the way you will need to go about problem solving as a facilities manager.

Point to Ponder

Periodically throughout the course, you will find a Point to Ponder sidebar with a question for you to think about. You do not need to submit your answers, but I encourage you to think about these questions, even to write out your answers to reinforce these important points.

Your FLC 2 Mentor

As in FLC 1, you will continue to have the opportunity to apply what you are learning to the real world. You will continue to work with a mentor, an experienced facility manager, who will serve as a field guide to his or her facility. By creating an in-depth profile and interviewing your mentor, you will see practical applications of the concepts you study. You may keep the same mentor for FLC 2 that you had for FLC 1.

About the Lessons

Facility Life Cycle 2: Design and Construction, is composed of five lessons. Each lesson is designed to be completed in approximately three weeks; the course is designed to be completed in 16 weeks. As you go through the course, you will complete a required activity approximately once per week. See the Course Schedule for due dates.

Lesson One: Programming and Design Basics

This lesson will help you understand how a truly functional facility comes into being. It will teach you the steps that need to be taken during each stage of the design process.

Lesson Two: Cost Estimates and Specifications

In this lesson, you will learn to perform a basic cost estimate and create a budget for a project. You also will improve your ability to read construction documents (e.g., plans and specifications).

Lesson Three: Building Materials and Systems. Introduction to Sustainable Design

In this lesson, you will gain an overview of construction materials and systems used in the creation of most facility projects. You will also receive an overview of sustainable design practices.

Lesson Four: Project Management

In this lesson, you will learn about the project life cycle.

Lesson Five: Construction Management

In this lesson, you will learn about the construction process and construction-related issues such as permitting, zoning, bidding, types of contracts, capital projects, and land-use issues.

About the Assignments

Assignment 1

There are four parts to Assignment 1. All are required.

• Part 1—Lesson 1 Forum
• Part 2—Online Quiz (See the Course Schedule for the due date.)
• Part 3—Writing Assignment 1: Schematic Design Phase
• Part 4—Writing Assignment 2: Mentor Profile and Report

Assignment 2

There are six parts to Assignment 2. All are required.

• Part 1—Lesson 2 Forum
• Part 2—Online Quiz (See the Course Schedule for the due date.)
• Part 3—Online Discussion with an Architect
• Part 4—Writing Assignment 1: Drawings and Specifications
• Part 5—Mentor Interview and Writing Assignment 2
• Part 6—View Harborview Image Gallery Slides

Assignment 3

There are four parts to Assignment 3. All are required.

• Part 1—Lesson 3 Forum
• Part 2—Online Quiz 3 (See the Course Schedule for the due date.)
• Part 3—Discussion with a Sustainable Architect
• Part 4—Writing Assignment 1: Memo on Sustainable Design

Assignment 4

There are five parts to Assignment 4. All are required.

• Part 1–Lesson 4 Forum
• Part 2—Online Discussion with the Project Manager
• Part 3—Online Quiz 4 (See the Course Schedule for the due date.)
• Part 4—Writing Assignment 1: Conflict
• Part 5—Writing Assignment 2: Designing for Accessibility, report on video

Assignment 5

There are five parts to Assignment 5. All are required.

• Part 1—Lesson 5 Forum
• Part 2—Discussion with a Contractor
• Part 3—Online Quiz 5 (See the Course Schedule for the due date.)
• Part 4—Writing Assignment 1: Roofing Memo
• Part 5—Writing Assignment 2: Mentor Interview

Completing the Course

To successfully complete this course, you must do the following:

• Actively contribute to the online course discussion.
• Complete reading assignments in the texts, the supplemental reader, and the online commentaries.
• Complete the online quizzes found in Assignments 1 through 5.
• Complete and submit all written assignments.
• View the Designing for Accessibility video and complete your report.
• View the Harborview image gallery slides.

Actively Contribute to the Online Discussion Question Forum

In FLC 2, you'll continue to participate in the online discussion question forum. As with FLC 1, assignments for each lesson include one question that you must answer online. You will make at least one posting to the online discussion per lesson. Satisfactory completion—measured by one substantive response to each discussion question, or a thoughtful response to another student's posting—will result in a satisfactory participation grade for this segment of the course work. You will find due dates for your responses to the discussion questions in the online calendar.

In addition to discussing assigned topics in the discussion question forum, you can use the general discussion forum to share work experiences, thoughts on the readings, or ideas about other assignments.

You'll find all discussion forums in "Online Tools" in your Course Syllabus.

You should also plan to communicate with your classmates via e-mail, telephone, and FAX.

Complete Reading Assignments in the Online Course Materials, Texts, and Supplemental Reader

For most of the lessons, readings are assigned from one or both of the texts and the supplemental reader. My online commentaries for each lesson serve as an introduction to the topics covered in the texts. I recommend that you read the commentaries first, then the text readings. Follow up with the articles from the supplemental reader. These articles will enable you to solidify your understanding of the lesson's key concepts as you see how they are discussed in specific applications.

Complete the Online Quizzes

Each assignment includes an online quiz. The quizzes are scheduled at the beginning of lessons and are designed to help me assess how well you understand the lesson material. Quizzes are not graded but count toward your course participation grade.

Complete and Submit All Written Assignments

For each lesson, you will complete at least one written assignment, which will be graded. The assignments vary in length from one to four pages.

View Videotape and Complete Related Assignments

You will watch the video, "Designing for Accessibility," which gives you information about designing buildings and sites in compliance with the American for Disabilities Act. As part of Assignment 4, you will write a short report on this video, which counts as one of your written assignments.

View Harborview Image Gallery and Complete Related Assignments

For this course, an online gallery of photographs depicting the Harborview facilities systems is available. Electrical, mechanical (vertical transportation, plumbing, and HVAC); site elements (foundation, underpinning, retaining wall, roofing, landscaping); as well as fire, lighting, and data communications systems are portrayed.

For some photographs, dynamic elements guide you to key elements of the systems. In addition, a set of CAD (computer-aided design) drawings enables you to see the lighting and power diagrams of the northwest wing at Harborview, which includes the trauma room. Details of the lighting and power systems in the trauma room can be seen by using zoom capabilities. You will view these images in Lesson Five.

Assessment and Grading

You receive academic credit for this course. All written assignments, including regular assignments for each lesson; those based on interviews with your mentor; the Harborview Image Gallery; as well as your report on the "Designing for Accessibility" video, are graded. The online discussion questions and online quizzes count towards your course participation grade.

Written Assignments

You will be graded on all writing assignments:

1. Assignments based on the readings for each lesson.
2. Assignments from your text, Writing that Works.
3. Reports based on interviews with your mentor.
4. Assignment based on the "Designing for Accessibility" video.

Your written work contributes to your overall course grade according to the following percentages:

Requirement	Percent
Assignment 1	12%
Assignment 2	14%
Assignment 3	14%
Assignment 4	20%
Assignment 5	20%
Course participation grade	20%
Total	100%

Course Participation

These are the two components of your course participation grade:

1. Each of your postings to the required online discussion question and guest speaker discussions.
2. Your completion of the online quizzes and your response to the Harborview Image Gallery slides.

Your course participation grade will reflect whether or not you (1) completed these activities and (2) demonstrated thoughtful application of course concepts to the discussion.

When Will I Receive my Course Participation Grade?

I will grade you twice on your course participation.

1. You will receive the first grade after you have completed Lesson Three. This grade will reflect your participation in Lessons One, Two, and Three.
2. You will receive your second grade after you complete Lesson Five. This grade will reflect your total course participation.

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