Construction Tech Showcase

CONTECH exposes ECU students to construction technology

As Austin White maneuvered the excavator to drop a bucket full of rock, dirt and gravel into the dump truck, disaster struck.

Austin White, a senior construction management student from Zebulon, receives instructions from John Adamof on the operation of the Gregory Poole CAT Simulator.

“I did miss the truck the first couple of times. I almost hit the truck too,” said White, a senior construction management major at East Carolina University.

Fortunately for him — and Gregory Poole Equipment Company — White was in the company’s CAT Simulator as part of the Department of Construction Management CONTECH Expo.

The expo highlighted technology used in the construction industry — everything from laser scanning, drones and virtual reality to construction cameras, ground penetrating radar and site logistics software.

The Gregory Poole CAT Simulator parked outside the Main Campus Student Center drew a large crowd of students who experienced what the company uses to train new equipment operators.

“I think that’s the closest you can get without getting inside the machine,” White said. “It was really fun. I wish I could have one.”

Beyond the enjoyment, White saw the practical use of trying out the simulator.

“I’m going to work for a general contractor, so I won’t be an operator, but there will be a lot of operators on the sites that I’ll be on, so it’s good to see how those machines work,” he said.

Jonathan Anagnostopoulos, a construction management senior from Raleigh, also tried the simulator.

“I never really worked with any heavy machinery before,” he said. “It’s definitely a good way to learn to use it safely instead of learning on an actual construction site.”

CONTECH featured 10 companies that showcased how technology is making the construction industry more efficient and safer.

Jarrell Ortega, a junior construction management student from Lawrence, Massachusetts, talks to Katherine Boumenot, a senior construction technology manager with Balfour Beatty, during the CONTECH Expo.

“It’s really cool to have all of these companies come out and show the students what the real construction industry is like,” Anagnostopoulos said. “It’s good to see the things for the field that you’re going into.”

Katherine Boumenot earned an engineering degree, but she works as a senior construction technology manager for Balfour Beatty, a large company that uses technology to serve its customers in everything from road projects to commercial buildings.

“I did not realize this world existed until my internship with Balfour Beatty, and I found my niche in construction technology,” she said. “A lot of these tools such as laser scanning and employee scheduling are quality control tools for our project teams. I like to think of our role as building up our project team’s toolbelt to help them in the field and to make their lives easier in that we provide the quality control. We are a quality control service for our projects.”

Jarrell Ortega, a construction management junior from Lawrence, Massachusetts, was among the students who stopped to talk to Boumenot at her display table.

“There’s a lot of new technology that’s cool,” he said. “You can walk around with a camera on your head, and it takes pictures all around the room and puts it into a model.”

Ainsley Conner, a construction management junior, transferred to ECU from Coastal Carolina Community College in Jacksonville. Part of the reason she attended CONTECH was to explore technology that could be useful for her father’s business.

“My dad is a general contractor, and we’ve been talking about maybe expanding the company,” she said. “I met some surveyors, and that seemed pretty interesting. It’s neat looking at all the new technology and how it’s very helpful in the construction industry and makes our jobs a lot easier.”

Companies participating in the expo included Gregory Poole; Balfour Beatty; Advanced Exterior Systems; Brasfield & Gorrie; BuildingPoint SouthEast; 1st and Goal Hauling; GPRS; SITECH Precision; Hendrix-Barnhill; and Mateenbar.

Ainsley Conner, a junior construction management major from Jacksonville, talks to a representative from Balfour Beatty during the CONTECH Expo.