November Extra Blog Post

Well look how time flies, Novembers over, college applications have been sent and we even got a new teacher. Not much has happened mentorship wise unfortunately, they were closed on Black Friday.  I would upload some photos but I had some problems with the last post in which I did that, the rest of my blog got cut off.

This month in my mentorship I learned a big lesson on the importance of contract stipulation. My company had two contracts with someone to build two parking lots. The first job was one day away from breaking ground all was well but unfortunately a dispute broke out over the second contract. EarthTek agreed to to the job for 12 million based off the boring report given to all the bidders. But Later the found out that the job would be much more extensive due to the true nature of the soil.  They would not be able to make a profit with the 12 million dollar contract so the asked for more money to complete the job. This angered their buyer who believed that EathTek should have accounted for this, so a very lively conference call broke out, it was quite the spectacle. After hours of heated debate the buyer pulled BOTH contracts from EarthTek, it was quite the blow. EarthTek lost two good jobs and moral was low in the office. I was then told by my mentor how important reading the boring reports as well as the contract really is. I will start focusing my research more in the contract part of my mentorship seeing how important it is first hand.

In other news I may also go to a job site soon and see how things are done out in the field. Lots of modern machines are used in grading these days making the need for workers slim. It would be nice to get some pictures. Anyway thats all i have to report this month.

-Joseph Mirabal

EQ

1. "I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ."

2. Review
a.  What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?
yes this statement fulfills the rule of three it allows the person to take a stance as well as do alot of research on this broad topic.
 b.  What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?
This fails the rule of three primarily due to its confusing wording, It is very hard to understand.
 c.  What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?
this EQ is also kinda vague and does not seem like there would be enough for the person to research. IT fails the rule of three.
 d.  How can an anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?
This passes the rule of three test. It takes a stance, makes sense and allows for plenty of research.

3.My current EQ is: What is the most important factor in turning a profit in a grading operation?
this makes sense and allows me to take a definitive stance.

Blog 9 lesson 1 reflection

What are you most proud of in your Lesson 1 Presentation and why?

I am most proud of the way my presentation came together. I got to see how all my mentorship hours and research really came together, allowing me to speak for 8 minutes about a topic I knew almost nothing about a month ago.  I was also glad to see my presentation skills improve; I had an extremely minimal PowerPoint with no text, freeing me from this long-standing crutch. Without a house teacher the whole assignment was kind of vague so I decided to follow the rubric and do basically a mini senior presentation. This exercise in acumen was really great, it was a fun challenge  

2. Questions to Consider

       a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 1 Presentation (self-assessment)?

       AE      
       b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 1 component contract.

I deserve an AE, first of all I met all the P requirements including time, works cited and audience engagement. I got a P according to the contract. But I also went above and beyond by first discussing and preemptively answering my essential question as well as often referencing my mentorship. Because i was able to tie in my experiences so effectively further engaging the audience i deserve an AE.

4.  (What didn't work) If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 1?
To improve lesson one I would first fix my powerpoint, a slide i though was there ended up not being there. Second i need a  way to improve my prop. I used a tractor which I used as an allegory for the seeming simplicity in  grading operation but I believe that flew over the head of most of my audience. I will need to dumb down my presentations in the future.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 1?

I was extremely satisfied with lesson 1, I effectively communicated my ideas and successfully hooked the audience. I meed the contract requirements and completed the task assigned.

October Extra Blog

   Hello, so, this October things proceed well. My mentorship is going strong and I hope to get my independent component approved so that I may start it. I wasn't able to go to my mentorship that much this month so nothing extremely exciting has happened. But I was finally able to get some pictures which I hope will help you understand what I do.

So this is my desk, at the time I was going over the Auto Cad file for the current grading project and recording depths and widths in order to be able to calculate area later. This became my desk due to the fact that it was "broken" and basically abonded by the other workers. I just got a new battery for the mouse, re downloaded some corrupted files and viola a perfectly good computer (i still need to fix the printer).

Here is an example of one of the giant "Blue Prints" that I have to go over and read, looking for notes left by the engineer or special measurements that may be needed later. Fun fact Blue prints are actually the ones used in the field, they are blue so that they do not reflect the sun harshly in the workers eyes. The ones in the office are white.

Here is one of the boring reports I often have to read. When construction is proposed the owners hire a third party geology company to record a lot of data about the soil and any special precautions that must be taken when grading. These reports are often over 200 pages long.

Here is one of the boring machines in our very own parking lot! 

Here is an example of me calculating the area of dirt that needs to be removed (in this case it was for an underground garage). The figure on the calculator is actually the estimated cost to remove the total amount of dirt. IT costs on average 3,000 dollars to remove one cubic yard of soil, this my start in to very rough estimation(what my mentor does.)

So thats pretty much what I have been doing so far in my mentorship, next time ill bring more photos and hopefully update on my individual component. 

-Joseph Mirabal 

Blog 8: Research and Working EQ

1.  What is your working EQ?

As of now I am still trying to decide on a working EQ, I need to talk to a teacher to understand more of what is required but this has become difficult with Purthers absence. As I learn more and more about the grading process I'm staring to realize how important balance is in a grading operation. There are so many different forces at play from bidding costs to the cost of operation that it becomes quite the balancing act to complete a project and turn a profit. 
As of now my working EQ is: What is the most important factor in turning a profit in a grading operation?

• proper initial estimation: The original estimation and bid should be as accurate and competitive as possible. If you over estimate you will be less likely to be hired to to your uncompetitive price and if you underestimate you can end up losing money on a project.
• Proper research: The contractor should know EVERYTHING about the project so that no unknown deterrences may occur. You do not want to find out that you have contaminated soil or are building on native american land halfway through a project. Unforeseen setbacks can result in an immense  loss of capital.
• Competent staff: The operators and workers of your company must be able to perform well at their job and not cause unforeseen accidents and otherwise slow down your construction process.

3.  What is the most important source you have used that has helped you come up with an answer to your working EQ?

The most important source by far has been my mentor. He is always there to answer my questions and as I spend more time working with him I learn more about the grading process. He is really able to put all the things that I learn in documents together. Also the Magazine Grading Contractor is quite helpful for learning about the forefront of grading technology.

4.  Who is your mentor, or where are you doing mentorship, and how does what you are doing relate to your working EQ?

My mentor is Tom Chavez who works as a grading Estimator at Earth-Tek Industries. I help him an other employees around the office. As I help these people with their tasks i learn more about the grading industry. I help with  auto cad, the copier as well as read reports and summarize them to Tom. Often he will give me a small project such as to estimate the cost of doing X and then we will compare what I got to what the company got. Working with Tom helps me understand more about what does into the grading process and how it can be efficient. Because he is the main estimator  his approach to my eq has been crucial in the companies success, no one is better qualified to help me answer my Eq.

Random monthly extra progress blog for September

Mentorship progress:
Hurray! I have a mentor, my life is now compete. So as i mentioned before I mentor at  Tom Chaves grading  company every friday from 1 to 4:30. Usually I am given some project or I help out this guy Leo who does all the auto cad work for the company (He thinks I'm an intern). I mostly photocopy important stuff and read boring reports (boring as into bore…like drill a hole….well i guess boring in both senses really.) I also help around with all there tech problems (I'm like their paul now) fixing broken scanners and computers, they are not tech savvy at all. As i learn more I get more responsibilities around the office, for instance sometimes I have to summarize long reports for Tom to save him time reading the entire thing. I wish I had some pictues but those will be hard to arrange as in the contracting world corporate espionage is common. People want to steal estimation data in order to out bid another company so i cant just go around snapping photos. Next time I will have some for sure though. Heres their website  (http://www.earthtekeng.com/employees.php). Um Not much else to report on I'm just joe the intern. I'm learning a lot about what it takes to survive in the construction world and as time progress i hope i will be able to help the office in even more ways.

Blog 7: Independent Component 1 Approval

1.  Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

 For my Independent Component I plan to basically go through the entire process of grading. Let me explain, so there are a series of steps that must be followed to properly  grade a site and I'm basically going to go through them on one of the companies old contracts. For example every grading process starts with a company receiving  construction plans and then estimating the price it would take them to complete. Next they submit their bid and if they are chosen they go through the construction process starting with drafting on auto cad. They then review soils reports,provided data, specs, etc etc. Once they get everything together they then will often subcontract other companies to do work they cannot do, and the list goes on. Basically i will do each of these steps on an old contract with my mentor helping me along to get an even more complete understanding of the grading process.

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

To prove my thirty hour commitment I will record the process as I go along with photos and other physical evidence such as drafts and other things I've had to do for my independent component. I can also have my mentor sign of that i had worked for 30 hours as he will be there with me most of the time.

3.  And explain how what you will be doing will help you explore your topic in more depth.

By basically going through the entire grading process in depth I will get an even greater understanding of how to successfully complete a grading project. I will know everything aspect in detail as well as how they all come together to form a successful operation.

Blog 6 - Second Interview Preparation

 Interviews

1.  Who is your mentor and where do they work?

My mentor is tom Chavez. He works for EarthTek industries and is the  V.P estimator. EarthTek is a construction that primarily focusses on Grading, they do however subcontract other construction companies for things such as demolition. They are based in Chino hills but work on projects as far as nevada. My mentor Tom is the main estimator. This means that he looks at potential contracts and estimates how much money it would cost to complete said project. This is a very important job because an accurate estimation is needed to create the best bidding proposal and ensure profit.

2.  What five questions will you ask them about their background?

1.How did you get in to the field of construction and more specifically grading?

2.Did you receive any training or education prior to becoming a grader? What is needed to successfully enter this field?

3. How long has this been your profession and would you recommend it?

4. What originally got you interested in construction and is this job still interesting/exciting after all these years?

5. How have you processed in this business? Have you always been with the same company ect ect?

6. Do you know any books or resources that could help me learn more about grading and the field of construction?

Blog 5 - Mentorship and Research Reflection

1. Mentorship question: Describe your experience in how you found your mentorship?  If you haven't found one yet, describe your experience so far in the search of a mentor.

Unfortunately there is no grand story as to how i found my mentor, I've honestly known him my entire life. My mentor is Tom Chavez, and, well I've been seeing him every sunday for quite a while.    I'd known he was a construction man for quite a while but i guess i really got to know Tom when had a discussion on Venice. We were both amazed how the entire city was supported by thousands of wooden pillars buried deep under the marshland and unable to bio-degrade due to the lack of oxygen. Over time we had several extremely interesting conversations after about his work and the importance of a foundation. So when the time came to find a mentorship and chemistry was not working out I just Simply asked him to be my mentor and after checking with his work, he agreed.


2. Research question: What has been your most important article you have read so far and why?

So far in my research the most important article i read was  "Taking the Measure of Methods for Estimating Earthwork Volumes" by Duffy, Daniel P. On the surface this magazine article seemed relatively simple, for it was only on the mathematical methods for solving area, but this single article encompassed much of the grading world. It explained not only the importance of getting a good earthwork measurement but also explained why. This article also detailed the different technologies currently being used to calculate said area, such as gps and satellite images. Because this single article was able to encompass so much and really give you an idea of what goes on during a grading article it has definitely been the most important one i have read so far.

August Senior Project Progress

August: Senior project has started and I've hit the ground running.

           So far I have accomplished this months goal of attaining a mentor. My mentor is Tom Chaves who is a Grading contractor and starting friday I will be working with him every friday for about three hours ( I will start by going over soil reports). I have also started gathering articles on grading but I have discovered that they can quite hard to find. There are very few articles on grading itself and this has prompted me to possibly change the title of my senior project. I would change it to grading AND EXCAVATING contractor because the two elements of construction are so closely linked as well as interdependent. That was the main focus of August, getting everything together and lined up so my senior project will run smoothly throughout the rest of the year. Things are of to a good start (except a stupid mistake with a late blog post) and I hope things continue that way.

-Joseph Mirabal

Title: Blog 4: Interview Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  Why?

For my first interview I plan to interview my mentor Tom Chavez. So far he is the only person i know in the grading business (i really haven't talked to many of his co-workers) making him a practical choice. 

2.  You have to ask 5 questions.  What additional questions do you plan to ask?

Question 1: What is the most effective way to successfully acquire a contract?
Question 2: How do you keep an operation running smoothly when it comes to dealing with outside factors; such as permits, reviews and other procedures? 
Question 3: What do you believe is the most essential aspect of any grading operation?
Question 4: How do you successfully cooperate with other contractors working on said construction project.
Question 5: what is the most challenging aspect of any grading operation.

If time allows I might also question him on how he got his job and the credentials needed to become a grading contractor.

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Working EQ

Topic:
Grading (civil engineering) 

Question:
What is the best way to keep a grading operation running without delay?

Bibliography>>>

Blog 2

1. link to spreadsheet
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1V9wkh48fiFU9s4AE5yGj7kE0JmNoFDxAwUHtoZ1F5f0/edit?usp=sharing

2. Contact information of mentorships.
Servpro Cleanup services: 1-877-840-7413 (Tom Shmidtt)
Sals pool service: 626-290-3001
Chavez Construction: (Tom Chaves i actually don't have his number yet but i see him at church… so i will get that soon)

3.Questions Raised

• Do damage contractors get good health care?
• Should i be worried about exposure to mold and asbestos? (or excessive sun exposure? i mean these mentorships were killing me… literally)
• Will me being on a construction site be a problem.
• will there be enough work as a grader to get my 60 hours.

Interpretive

4. What is the most important thing you gained from this experience? Why?

These mentorships really showed my things that i did not want to do for my senior project. I mean i  guess hard manual labor is not my thing. I did how ever enjoy the time spent with the grading company especially the civil engineering aspect of it. And it will be a very suitable senior project.

Applied

5. What is your senior project topic going to be? How did what you did help you choose a topic? Explain.

Well… the truth is i don't know…. yet. As a fall back i can always get my mentorship as a grader for a construction company and will be perfectly fine with that. But I'm still waiting for a response from an auto shop where i could be mentored as a car repair man and I've just recently got the opportunity to be mentored under a salesman. I've had these opportunities open up so recently and i will come to my decision well before friday but until then i must think about what career field really interests me the most.


But realistically my topic will probably be in the field of grading(construction)

Blog 1: 2-Hour Presentations

1. What presentations did you see?

•   Garcia, Alicia Archaeology  
• Holzmeiser, FacundoRadio Frequency Field Engineer

  Serrano, Diana

  Special Education

  Pinto, Bryan

  Plant Science *

  Landeros, Ana

  CalPoly Parking Trans. Services

  Uribe, Bryan

  Architecture

  Martinez, Ronnie

  Coaching Soccer

  Holmes, Garrett

  Computer Programming

  Arredondo, Angel Angioplasty
• Raines, Clancy Hippotherapy
• Navarro, Christine Biochemistry (Biofuels) *
• Britt, James Brazilian Jiu Jitsu 
• Patel, Punit Dentistry *
• Wu, Wesley Structural Engineering

* presentations i especially liked.

2.   What questions do you have that haven't been answered about the senior project? 

• What is an independent component? 
• do more hours benefit your grade?
• whats with the name tags?
• can i have a timer?
• what if i cant find a mentor?
• how many EQ's are recommended?

3. What has the most important part of the senior project based on what you are seeing in the 2-hour presentations?

        Based of what i saw in the seniors presentations i would have to say that the activity is the most important part of the presentation. The activity really hooks the audience and is the difference between a good and bad presentation. It is also extremely important that the activity some how ties in your essential question so that it is easier for the audience to comprehend. I would also not do a worksheet type activity because that instantly disengages your audiences and sends them to sleep. Some great activities were the structural engineering one and the bio fuels one. They both were creative fun and helped me too understand more about the topic.

4.What topic are you considering doing and why?

      I am considering doing the topic of chemical engineering. Chemistry is something i love and i have a friend who owns a chemical company. It is also what i currently want to study in college. If everything works out this will be my senior project topic. 

5. What are you doing for your summer mentorship?

       Over the summer i will try to get a mentorship at my friends chemical company. If that does not work out i will look for any technical mentorships especially ones in engineering. And if that does not work out i will go  for anything. I have several less interesting but more probably options including sales and construction. I might also consider fishing.