This case study examines design changes that occurred during construction of a 19-story student housing building in College Station, Texas. Specifically, it looks at how a failed pile installation was addressed. The structural engineer's decisions were to abandon the slipped pile, install 3 new piles, expand the pile cap, and modify reinforcement. The subcontractor responsible for securing the rebar cage had to pay for corrective work. Using BIM, engineers ensured the modified pile cap design did not clash with plumbing. Challenges included delays from lengthy RFI processes, difficulty integrating information across different project management tools, and lack of field staff communication tools.

1. CASE STUDY
PRESENTATION
COSC 642
CONSTRUCTION
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
PROFESSOR – DR. JULIAN KANG
Presented by - Parth Patel
Department of Construction Science
Texas A & M University

2. DECISIONS THAT ARE CARRIED OUT TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEMS
ARISING DUE TO
CHANGE IN DESIGN DURING THE CONSTRUCTION PHASE OF THE
PROJECT
2
TOPIC FOR THE CASE STUDY

3. 3
CASE STUDY PROJECT

4. • Construction of a 19-storey residential
high-rise building in College Station.
• The purpose-built property will serve
students at Texas A&M University.
• After construction it will be the tallest
building in the College Station.
• https://www.kbtx.com/2021/04/07/new-
high-rise-planned-for-northgate/
• Size – 608,000 SF
• Total Units – 298
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
4
315 COLLEGE MAIN STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT
Expected
completion
Summer 2023

5. 5
Before After
315 COLLEGE MAIN STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT

6. PROJECT STAKEHOLDERS
6
Owner
Parallel Company
Architect
Rhode Partners
Inc.
General
Contractor
Rogers-O’Brien
Construction
Structural
Engineer
RLG Consulting
Engineers
Civil Engineer
Jones Carter
Geotechnical
Engineer
ECS
MEP Engineer
V3 Consulting
Engineers
Interior Design
LEVY
Low Voltage
InfiniSys
315 COLLEGE MAIN STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT

7. PROJECT WORKFLOW & TARGETED PHASE
7
315 COLLEGE MAIN STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT
Construction Phase
Modification in Design

8. PROJECT WORKFLOW & TARGETED PHASE
8
315 COLLEGE MAIN STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT
• How the information is transferred
from the site to the concerned
authority, if something goes wrong
during the construction activity ?
• What decisions made in course of
accommodating the changes in
design ?
• Who makes the required decision ?
• How the feasibility of the updated
design is checked ?
• How does this design modification
affects the other disciplines ?
• What are the obstructions
encountered ?

9. 9 Pile Installation -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3tzvx9-E_I
What if the
installation
of pile goes
wrong !!
Stages of Pile Installation

10. PROBLEM STATEMENT
10
315 COLLEGE MAIN STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT
The superstructure of the building is supported by the pile foundation below the ground.
During the installation of a pile, the wire that holds the rebar cage in place until the grout
cures got slipped and the cage dropped to the bottom of the hole.
Decisions to be taken –
1) What to do with the failed pile ?
2) Additional piles or change in pile cap dimensions are required ?
3) Does this require modification in design of the footing ?
4) Is the proposed modification feasible and does it affect any other discipline ?
5) Who will pay for the installation of additional piles and the enlargement of the pile
caps?

11. FLOW
OF
INFORMATION
11

12. 12
315 COLLEGE MAIN STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT
• Abandon the slipped pile
• Drill & install 3 new piles
• Expand pile cap dimensions
• Change in reinforcement
configuration
• Chip down the abandoned pile
DECISIONS TAKEN
Who took these
decisions ?
Structural Engineer
Figure
–
Engineer’s
Response
on
the
RFI
proposing
the
changes

13. 13
315 COLLEGE MAIN STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT
DECISIONS TAKEN
Who will pay for the installation of the additional piles and the enlargement of the pile
caps ?
The subcontractor who was
responsible for setting the rebar
cages and securing them.
Responsibility lied with the
subcontractor as it was their job to
successfully install the pile in place.
(As per the Agreement between GC
& the subcontractor)
Why ?

14. 14
315 COLLEGE MAIN STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT
Clash Resolution through
BIM
FEASIBILITY CHECK OF THE MODIFIED DESIGN
A clash was detected in
the 3D model when the
updated design was fed
into the centralized BIM
model.
Enlarged Pile
Cap
Plumbing
Line
Decisions Taken -
• Re-route the plumbing line
• Provide sufficient space between the plumbing
line & the enlarged pile cap
Mutually agreed decision by MEP and
structural engineer along with the
consideration of the general contractor.

15. 15
315 COLLEGE MAIN STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT
CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED
Getting a response to an RFI a potentially weeks-
long process of shuffling the request among the
subs, GC, architects, and designers.
RFI’s
Response
It usually created more and more questions
before one admits that everyone needs to sit
down together to hash out the answer.
“Slip-Sheeting” updated pages into the
drawings and even copying
handwritten revisions from the old
sheets to the new ones!
Figure
–
A
typical
RFI
cycle

16. 315 COLLEGE MAIN STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT
CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED
Difficulty in Integration of Information
GC uses
Procore
Architect does
not uses
Procore
16
Information handling is difficult
when the different stakeholders are
using different project management
tools !
This leads to additional efforts at
the general contractor’s end in
passing or requesting any
information

17. 17
315 COLLEGE MAIN STUDENT HOUSING PROJECT
CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED
Unavailability of field-staff friendly tools
Design
changes
Ground & Field Staff - Not aware of the changes taking place in design & schedule.
Site
Team/Crew
!
Less time for preparation Delay in the construction process
Field Staff Friendly Tool
Seamless information transfer between the
general contractor, subcontractors, & the crews.

18. END OF THE
PRESENTATION
THANK YOU