Jake Smithwick knew that he was onto something a few years ago when he hosted a webinar called How to Write a Better Statement of Work, and 800 people logged on to watch. That’s eight times the average attendance for any webinar, according to Zippia.com, and definitely more than Smithwick had anticipated.
“It was all facilities managers who had to write statements of work (SOWs),” said Smithwick, an associate professor and graduate program director for UNC Charlotte’s Construction and Facilities Engineering program.
The webinar presented ways to write better SOWs when hiring people - something facilities managers perform abundantly in their positions - but it also accomplished something else. It exposed a need among construction professionals to understand the full lifecycle of building operations and maintenance.
It’s a need that’s often overlooked in higher learning. The vast majority of graduate-level construction management degrees spend more time focusing on planning and building a structure than managing one once the ribbon-cutting ceremony is over.
UNC Charlotte’s new online Master of Science in Construction and Facilities Engineering degree is one of those unique degrees that manages both. Half of the 30 credit hour degree focuses on managing, coordinating and supervising the construction process on time and on budget from concept development to finished product. The other half concentrates on facilities management and engineering: operations and maintenance benchmarking, procurement, maintenance staffing best practices and financial forecasting.
Why is equal attention important?
The average life cycle of a commercial building is 50-60 years. How well it’s preserved depends on how well it’s maintained and operated. Facilities managers and other personnel need to be knowledgeable about what’s happening within the fire pump room, scud room, condenser room, and elevator control room. They need to know how to operate and maintain the fire command center and life safety generators. That knowledge goes a long way in preventative maintenance and has the potential to save an organization a tremendous amount of money.
“This degree is primarily focused on strategy and profit, and helping individual students take their organizations to the next level,” said Smithwick.
How will an online degree in construction and facilities work?
The online Master of Science in Construction and Facilities Engineering is a robust program designed to place students into the kinds of real-world scenarios they’ll face on the job. It’s ideal for working professionals looking for a flexible way to continue their education at a pace that considers their busy lives.
- Virtual walkthroughs: 3D cameras take students into buildings to study their operation systems up-close. From their computers, they can navigate through a structure’s condenser room or view the working systems housed on its roof.
- Experts in the field: Guest speakers round out the lessons with valuable knowledge that comes from years of experience in the profession.
- 100% online asynchronous courses: Begin and rewatch a course anytime. With online, students have the flexibility to pause, go back and view again.
Virtual walkthrough in a condenser room
What can people do with this degree?
Students with backgrounds in commercial, residential, mechanical, highway, heavy civil, electrical, environmental, industrial and specialty construction can benefit from the Master of Science in Construction and Facilities Engineering. Graduates will gain critical skills in the field of construction and facilities engineering, and can go on to careers in facilities management, business operations, project management, real estate and land development, industrial production management and infrastructure development.
Learn more about the online » Construction and Facilities Engineering, M.S.