Construction Management students practiced “bid day” experiences at ASPE meeting

Cincinnati State’s Civil Engineering Technology – Construction Management program hosted a meeting of the Cincinnati Chapter of the American Society of Professional Estimators on October 20, where professionals conducted a Bid Simulation Event for about 20 participating students from Cincinnati State and Northern Kentucky University.

Construction Management faculty member Greg Kelly said the simulation activity provided a real-world example of the pressures of bid day in the construction industry. Tasks for the student teams included compiling subcontractor bids, performing “takeoff” (quantifying components of work on the project) and completing other calculations needed to produce a complete and accurate bid for a small project.

Luis Mata, a second year Construction Management student, said, “The bid simulation gave me an amazing experience, and made me realize how well I need to prepare myself before an actual bid day. The simulation made our team work cooperatively while we used critical thinking and decision making. I appreciate the people who made this happen and gave us a real world experience.”

Travis Bertram, also a second year Construction Management student, added, “The bid day simulation was a great learning experience. It gave me a taste of the excitement and stress that estimators deal with while racing the clock to submit a bid on time.” 

Second year Construction Management student Cooper Coleman described the bid simulation as “amazing” and said, “This experience will help in my future career when I deal with bidding a job. The simulation showed me how important that day Is to the company and all the moving parts that go into a bid day.”