Hands-On Construction Project

Opportunity

For Project Management, I chose to remodel the community kitchen at the FEC (Family Enrichment Center, now Ozaukee Family Services) in Grafton to make it handicap accessible. Then I accepted volunteers to complete my team.

My Role

I held the Project Manager role for my team. I chose the project because I had a friend who was in a wheelchair and often complained about how poorly his kitchen was designed for his needs. I assumed the project manager role because I had connections to various tradesmen who would volunteer their services for my team.

The Process

It all beings with a name. I named our team E4T, because we had four Electrical Engineers and one Technical Communications major.

First, we met with our financial investor and SME, Drew Huber from Brady Corp, to get some direction regarding how to best apply the $3,000 donation from Brady Corp. Afterward, we met with our client in Grafton, Renie Rathke, to see what the remodel entailed. Our team took photos, measurements, and notes before regrouping at MSOE. Before creating a plan, I wanted to get input from a general contractor, a plumber, and an electrician. I made arrangements for all three to meet me at the FEC and that’s when I learned the difference between a remodel and a renovation.

Challenges

This project was out of scope from the beginning. Ms. Rathke thought a remodel would be a cheap upgrade, but what she envisioned was a complete renovation of their kitchen by replacing all of their cabinets, enclosing a pass-through, adding a door, repainting the room, and laying vinyl-tile flooring.

The project was so out of scope that the money from Brady Corp would not cover the cost of everything. Fortunately, when I went to Home Depot to order cabinets, I learned about a grant that they offered that would cover the balance not covered by Brady Corp’s donation. However, because I had to special order the cabinets, they would not arrive in time to be installed before the end of the winter term. My team gave our presentation at Brady Corp, and again at MSOE, with concept drawings and future milestones.

The Result

Between the money from Brady Corp, the grant from Home Depot, the donated time and labor from Tom Schley Sub-Contractor, LLC and Giraffe Electric, and the paint and flooring supplies that the FEC previously purchased, we successfully completed the kitchen about two weeks after the term ended.

I did not want to hand this project over to the Spring class, which was an option since out of scope projects were not unusual, so I saw it through to the end two weeks after the term ended. Ms. Rathke was extremely happy with the results.