Curtin construction management students study construction plant and equipment used on Pan Borneo Highway project

Miri – 19 September 2023 – The Department of Built Environment of the Faculty of Humanities and Health Sciences at Curtin University Malaysia (Curtin Malaysia) recently organised a site visit for its students to a construction site operated by Pekerjaan Piasau Konkrit Sdn. Bhd. (PPK) on the Pan Borneo Highway.

The students went on the site visit as part of their unit in Construction Plant and Equipment in their Bachelor of Applied Science (Hons.) in Construction Management course. The unit requires students to carry out a field study of construction plant and equipment at a working site. The fieldwork component of the Construction Management course is designed to complement students’ classroom learning with on-site study of practical applications.

Upon arrival at the site, the students were met by PPK’s site engineer Voon San, who gave a brief talk on highway construction and the plant and equipment used by the company. This was followed by a visit to the project site’s material testing laboratory, where the students observed material samples taken from the field site being analysed, before heading to the field site.

While at the field site, the students saw how finished earthwork levels are indicated, and also observed compactors working to achieve the desired finished earthwork levels and degree of compaction.

Final-year Civil and Construction Engineering student Jorge Nuno Napido commented that the site visit was a very worthwhile one as it helped him visualise and link what he had learned in class to real-world applications.

Dr. Low Wai Wah, Head of the Department of Built Environment, said courses at Curtin Malaysia have a practical focus to give students valuable real-world experience and increase their employability upon graduation, thus site visits are integral to student learning.

“Visits to real time construction projects like this expose our students to current construction practices, allow them to engage with industry experts, and develop a greater understanding of how civil engineering theory is put into practice. They get a personal experience of a construction site and also learn about project management practice related to health and safety, environmental issues and logistics management,” said Dr. Low.

Curtin’s Bachelor of Applied Science in Construction Management is a four-year honours course available at both its Perth and Malaysia campuses. This degree focuses on two disciplines, namely construction management and quantity surveying. The course entails study of construction technology, quantity measurement and cost estimating, project planning and management, strategy and financial management, contract administration, building law, cost planning and management, implementation of information technology in construction, as well as professional communication and interpersonal skills.

Joining the Construction Management students were a number of students of other courses such as the Bachelor of Science in Health, Safety and Environment, and the Bachelor of Engineering in Civil and Construction Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering and Science.

Head of the Department of Health Sciences, Rona Bang Tan, who also joined the site visit with two of her students, said a visit to an active construction site is an added advantage for her students as it enables them to observe firsthand the different aspects of safety and health management in the construction industry.

Curtin’s Bachelor of Science in Health, Safety and Environment aims to equip students with a wide knowledge base of safety and health issues at the workplace and their respective management.

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PPK site engineer briefing students on the Pan Borneo Highway construction project

Students observing earthwork compaction in progress