On Jan. 13, a panel of judges selected the four Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) student chapter teams that will make oral presentations of their bid proposals at MCAA’s 2009-2010 Student Chapter Competition, which will be held today at the MCAA Annual Convention in San Francisco.

The teams are from the University of Washington, Colorado State University, University of Wisconsin - Stout, and Oregon State University.

Kathleen McCauley of McCauley Mechanical Construction Inc. (Bridgeview, Ill.), Roeland F. Hoeke of H.T. Lyons Inc. (Allentown, Pa.), John A. Powell of Marelich Mechanical Company, Inc. (Hayward, Calif.) and James Jarvis of J.F. Ahern Co. (Fond du Lac, Wis.) served as the first round judges, evaluating and scoring each written proposal’s overall quality (25 percent), project management and organization (25 percent), feasibility of construction and program schedules (25 percent), and accuracy/feasibility of conceptual costs (25 percent). A different panel of judges will evaluate the oral presentations according to the following criteria: overall quality of the oral presentation (30 percent); feasibility of project management, organization, and schedule (30 percent); accuracy and completeness of project costs (30 percent); and answers to the judges’ questions (10 percent).

Each finalist team will have 20 minutes to convince the judges that they are best qualified to perform the proposed work on the project - 15 minutes for a formal oral presentation, and 5 minutes of answering the judges’ questions. Each team’s standing will be determined on a combination of their oral and written scores.

This year’s competition is based on an actual project performed by Braconier Plumbing & Heating Co. in Englewood, Colo. - the five-phased renovation of a 42,000-square-foot cafeteria serving the Denver Health Medical Center. As in past years, the prizes will be as follows: $5,000 to the first place team; $2,500 to the second place team; and $1,000 to each of the other finalists. All finalists also will receive a trophy commemorating their achievement.

The judges selected the finalists after reading, discussing, and scoring proposals submitted by 25 MCAA student chapters and a chapter sponsored by the MCA of Hamilton in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

For more information, contact Ann Mattheis at amattheis@mcaa.org.

Publication date:03/29/2010