Hosted by Fluor Corporation, UH construction management students tour ethylene project in Baytown, Texas.
One of the most powerful learning objectives of the University of Houston construction management programs is providing students opportunities to benefit from real-world project experience. David Stayshich is a construction engineering department manager at Fluor Corporation and UH construction management adjunct professor.
Each semester, Stayshich, arranges field trips to different project sites or vendors. On February 6, 2015, more than 40 students in the "Introduction to Industrial Construction" class toured the United States Gulf Coast project, consisting of an ethylene unit (cracker) and associated offsite components in Baytown, Texas. The full day included a health, safety, and environment (HSE) orientation, followed by a presentation of the project, bus trip to the project site and construction lay down yard, and lunch in an inflatable blast resistant tent that is used on project job sites.
UH alum Charles Webb, construction engineer for the Fluor Corporation petrochemicals project, served as one of the tour guides. "The UH students are following a path that is similar to the one that I took, which was to earn an undergraduate degree in construction management from one of the greatest programs in the nation. Participating in the chemical project tour was a unique privilege for students. The 'bird's-eye view' of this particular project will be very helpful for those who are considering a career in heavy industrial construction."