Tocci’s Cost Engineering interns headed out of the office last Friday for a job site walk-through at Brookside Square in West Concord, MA.

This project is a mixed-use development with 74 apartments with commercial space on the ground level. Getting out of the office offers interns many new learning opportunities that they otherwise might not learn in a classroom or office setting. We checked in with our interns to get some feedback on what they liked about their site visit.

Dan Arenz, Wentworth Institute of Technology

“I really enjoyed seeing the building in different stages of construction. It was rewarding to observe where and how the cost savings work we do in the office comes into play on-site. I also found it interesting to see the workmanship of the subcontractors and how precise their work had to be in order to fit into a designed area. We see photos from time to time of the progress at the site so it was cool to get to see this progress in person.”

Ryan Thomson, Wentworth Institute of Technology

“The main thing I learned from the site visit was that Ken Dubois, our Superintendent at Brookside Square, knows how to run a great site! Some great tips I learned on site are that it’s a much cleaner look to have all the conduit and pipe that does not need to be directly accessed under spray insulation along the ceiling and the fewer punctures through the roof the better. Another on-site technique I learned is that Gyp-Crete, a brand of building material, is used as a sound insulator on the floor to prevent noise from traveling from floor to floor and it is used under hard flooring only, such as tile, hardwood, or laminate. Overall it was a great day!”

Kyle Freeley, Penn State University

“I learned that when constructing a building, coordination is key. All of the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) that was done was well planned and organized beforehand, especially the heating for the units. It is important to make certain that everything (wiring, ductwork, etc.) is in before finishing to alleviate the necessity of going back in to add something that was missed or done wrong. It was interesting to learn that elevator shafts can be difficult when it comes to draining. Lastly, Ken Dubois, site Superintendent, was an excellent teacher when walking us through the site and he certainly runs a clean/well-managed project site!”