- The internship was with Nunn Construction Company on their project to renovate and expand the Occhiato Student Center at Colorado State University-Pueblo. - As an intern, the student's main duties involved processing submittals, requests for information, and change orders using project management software. He also assisted with document coordination, attended meetings, and observed construction activities on site. - Through this experience, the student gained practical skills in construction project management and fulfilled the objectives of his senior project course, including improving communication skills, understanding ethics and sustainability in the industry, and gaining awareness of career options. He found the internship to be a valuable learning experience.

1. 1
COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY - PUEBLO
Construction Management - Intern Summary
Whittaker, James F.
12/11/2015
Prepared for Mr. M. Mincic,
CSU-Pueblo CM / CET
Department Chair
Company – Nunn Construction Co.
Supervisor – Vinnie Mattivi
Period of Internship – Oct. 1, 2015 – Dec 3, 2015
CM475 – fall 2015 Senior Project

2. 2
I. GeneralInformation
CSU-Pueblo Construction Management
The goal of the Construction Management program here at CSU-Pueblo is to prepare
baccalaureate degree graduates who have the necessary skills to plan, organize, staff, lead
and exercise control in the directing and coordinating of resources to achieve construction
project objectives. Therefore, the objective of the program is to produce graduates who have
the technical grounding in construction processes for infrastructure and have managerial
skills to plan and direct projects. Students who successfully complete the CM program are
expected to have the ability to perform those activities mentioned, as well as to perform
standard tests, organize and interpret test data, and apply test results to improve construction
processes.
As a capstone activity for the CM program here, an internship with a General Contractor will
provide an opportunity for practical experience in preparing for the challenges and realities
of the construction industry and an awareness of legal, ethical and environmental issues that
affect commercial construction projects. This is particularly true of an on-campus, active
construction project of this scale which is connected to the University infrastructure socially,
environmentally, and economically.
Nunn Construction Company Inc.
Nunn is a Colorado Springs based, family owned company that has been in business since
1983. As a Construction Manager/General Contractor specializing in Commercial and
Industrial Building Projects in the Colorado building marketplace, Nunn offers clients a wide
range of construction services through several types of contractual arrangements that are
tailored to meet individual client needs. Nunn has a highly successful track record of top tier
services and high quality building projects completed on schedule.
CSU-Pueblo Occhiato Center Addition and Renovation – (Design-Build w/GMP
contract)
This project entails a $25 million - $30 million renovation and expansion of the Occhiato
Student Center building, designed by Architects at HCM and built by Nunn Construction Co.
This includes a complete renovation of the existing 86,000-square-foot space with a 25,000-
square-foot addition, and is expected to be completed in 2018. The period of internship in
October and November of 2015 occurs during the early construction phase of the new
ballroom and food service area in the East-Addition. During this time, surveying, layout, and
civil work will be performed, including utilities and positioning, drilling, and placement of
reinforced concrete foundation piers. The key participants in this phase will be Nunn’s
construction management team of Senior Project Manager, Assistant Project Manager,
Construction Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent, along with the crews and vendors

3. 3
sub-contracted to do the earthwork, drilling, rebar, etc. Nunn’s team will be mobilized on the
campus site, based in two construction trailer office facilities with a Comcast network. Intern
desk space and a laptop computer with pre-authorized secure access to the Nunn project
control information will be made available. This includes an outlook e-mail account, access
to the project files including specifications and plans on currently applicable cloud-based
platforms, and a portfolio of development tools including Word, Excel, Bluebeam, Vista
Viewpoint, and Plangrid.
II. Internship
This internship fulfills the course requirement for my CM475 Senior Project course from the
CM curriculum. As a Senior Project, the main objective of this endeavor is to provide real-
world challenging practical experience to enrich the curriculum and aid in transitioning from
college student status to industry professional. The planned work experience is directly
related to my area of college study and provides the opportunity to gain entry level
competencies and to integrate skills I have developed in classroom experiences into
workplace requirements by applying knowledge, techniques, skills, and tools of the
construction industry in construction activities.
Other objectives and learning goals
Some other objectives of the experience provided in this intern position include increasing
responsibility, confidence, and strengthening professional skills and interpersonal
relationships through working relationships with seasoned professionals. Planning, design,
and field operations in the construction industry can be examined firsthand to get a sense of
interrelations among the various tasks and participants in the construction process, and
working experience in a collaborative management environment. The can also enhance
personal development and enables practice in workplace behavior skills like punctuality,
dependability, team work, problem solving, etc.
Some of the objectives / goals to be (evaluated) over the internship period:
 Highlight importance of communication on a project and aid in developing skills that
focus on team dynamics and communicating effectively
 Provide student awareness of ethics and environmental issues in the industry
 Use information technology in managing construction by employing internet-based
computing technologies, as we move closer to a paperless business
 Function effectively as members of a construction teams;
 Solve technical (computer related) problems
 Demonstrate commitment to quality, timeliness, and continuous improvement.
 Use local real-life projects where students become engaged in service-learning
projects based on the knowledge and skills acquired in earlier course work and
incorporating appropriate engineering standards and multiple realistic constraints

4. 4
 Understand more of the Contractor’s role in LEED implementation.
 Maintain quality throughout the construction process
 Project Management & Document Control Means and methods of communication
among various parties.
 Become thoroughly familiar with project plans and specifications
 Gain a better understanding of career options and a realistic appraisal of strengths
Description of experiences, and activities to assist Project Manager with assigned tasks:
The main duties of this assignment consisted of working with project documents using the
following procedures.
1. Logging and processing of submittals:
 Establish the submittal log using the specifications in the project manual -
primarily product data, shop drawings, and samples, some concrete mix
design specifications also
 Submittal log was established on Vista Viewpoint for document control of
submittals to issue, store, distribute, review, revise and track documents. Also
allows submittal documents to be shared quickly to ensure the project meets
all cost, time and quality expectations
 Review submittals for completeness and accuracy, vis-a-vis the specs
 Process submittals according to the tracking procedures instituted by the
project manager. This is a key activity in tracking the sent date, received date,
and date due back, and the current status of the submittal doc., allowing the
current status and accountability of submittals to be ascertained at any time.
 Submittals are processed through a series of files, as they are received from
the sub-contractors / vendors, reviewed and sent to the architect for approval,
and then received from the architect, placed on file and attached to associated
drawing(s)
 Anticipate upcoming work and preview / review the associated submittals in
advance of lead times and turnaround times.
2. Process RFI’s and ASI’s (plangrid attachment)
 Update drawing sheets attached to ASI to Plangrid, title page as a Plangrid
attachment
 Markup any associated drawings using Plangrid, RFI’s called out in markups
and any associated detail drawings hyperlinked
3. Assist with drawing and document coordination

5. 5
 Using Plangrid app, organize drawing sheets into groups with tag names, ex.,
Civil, Landscape, Audiovisual, etc…Plangrid provides project-wide cloud
access for drawings and attachments
4. Attend pre-construction meetings and assist in producing meeting minutes. The
meetings facilitate a forum at different levels to understand the players, roles and
responsibilities and to bring up or assign or delegate issues for further review.
Knowing the sub-contractors involved in the current work and what the issues are is
extremely helpful in understanding how the project is being managed. Adherence to
building codes and quality control testing was always central to the discussions.
Subsequent reviews of actionable items, distributions of meeting minutes, and follow-
ups highlight the importance of written and oral communications within a project.
5. Walk the job site to observe field conditions and work progress.
Being on site to observe the work as the civil phase got underway provided a good
opportunity to help understand some of the sequencing and documentation
requirements. This is a valuable part of the intern experience on this project.
Observations of the work during this phase which included the drilling and concrete
placement of many of the (132) piers for the ballroom and East area foundation
enabled a close look at the coordination required in the activities of the project
manager, the superintendent, the assistant superintendent, foreman, field crews and
subs. This entails a coordinated sequence of site logistics for heavy equipment,
concrete mixing, pumping, and cleanout, preparation and placement of rebar cages,
steel casing, and other materials. Decisions were made about what should be stored
on site and what can be brought in only if needed with room for field adjustments or
contingency plans. The pre-construction and other installation meetings helped to
facilitate the work. Observations made clearer how Site Superintendent works more
of a day-to-day schedule while PM looks at how ‘actuals’ track to and impact the
overall schedule and where and how to make adjustments in the overall schedule to
accommodate changes. Safety procedures and awareness of using PPE were always a
priority while on the site.
6. Other activities:
 Review the schedule using Microsoft Project (MSP)
 Material procurement through approved submittals
7. New tools - learning opportunities:
 Plangrid as a cloud solution for project management sharing and access
control and revision control, syncing and backup, and management of links
and attached (RFI’s, ASI’s and COB’s)
 Bluebeam for pdf editing and markups

6. 6
III. Assessment and conclusions
Although time was limited to about ten hrs. / week for short nine week period, valuable
experience was gained here due in no small part to the high level of quality in the
organization and management of the materials, documentation, and construction activities
maintained by the Nunn Asst. Project Manager, Mr. V. Mattivi and the other Nunn staff on
site. The project experience goals and learning objectives mentioned earlier were achieved,
and my personal expectations of practical experience were also met. Being somewhat
familiar with the University physical plant office and some of the staff from the University
Planning Directors office also helped this position to work for me as an alternative to a team
project. The activities which I performed, together served as an excellent orientation to the
business environment, operations, and procedures of a General Contractor as Construction
Manager. Attending meetings and taking notes to prepare minutes was very good way to
learn about everything happening or upcoming on the site, and also project-wide issues being
reviewed by the design team. Attending meetings was also beneficial in learning methods for
leading and how to organize information. This experience has weighed in on my future
career plans in demonstrating how vital communications are in construction project
management and how good skills can streamline progress.
The assignments I was given involving specifications and submittals, and the operations that
I was exposed to here were pretty well aligned with concepts and tools from the curriculum.
Certainly the CSI structure, being comfortable using construction software in scheduling and
in managing drawings is a big factor, but probably the biggest benefit of being able to
function in a project environment comes from the learning about project delivery methods
and construction contracts, materials, methods and lab testing, about structural elements,
about construction safety, about building codes and the core of the curriculum, with other
important elements added, like sustainability, energy conservation, and environmental
concerns. I felt my overall performance was satisfactory, given that many of the tasks I
performed were only done a few times, without the continuity to reinforce the learning
process.
I would highly recommend this organization and this kind of internship experience to other
students aspiring to careers in the industry. My suggestions for improving the experience
would be to write up the document processing procedures. This would allow interns coming
into the process to quickly pick up the procedures and be productive. The only other
suggestion I would make for improving this experience is to try and lengthen the period of
internship.

7. 7
Personal Benefits and growth opportunities
This experience has been very rewarding for me personally in getting an opportunity to work
in a professional environment after an extended period of academic training. Being involved
in some of the day to day site activities has also helped me to know where I need to focus
efforts to make improvements in leadership and communication aspects of project
management, and in developing better work instincts and habits. While I can’t say exactly
where I think my skills were, or would be most effective, I do recognize that I feel much
stronger in initiative, in an ability to learn, and judgment areas, and less so in leadership and
communication.
In concluding, I would rate this experience as a very realistic and valuable learning
experience, and overall above average experience for an internship.
Project Links:
1. http://www.nunnconstruction.com/about.htm