ERGOTECNICA EDILE E LABORATORIO DI ERGOTECNICA EDILE

Module ERGOTECNICA EDILE

The course, including the laboratory module, aims to provide knowledge of site design and organisation techniques, the design and management of work phases and work cycles, and the execution techniques of technological subsystems.

The course also provides knowledge of the whole building process, from programming to management, so that students can guide design choices in new construction and in the maintenance of existing buildings, organise work and identify the actors to liaise with. Finally, it provides the tools of quality, building industrialisation and the coherent selection of materials and components, in order to improve the quality of design, construction and management.

Knowledge and understanding
Upon completion of the course, students know and understand:

• the building process in its phases (programming, design, construction, management), the decisions that characterise them, their interdependencies, the actors involved and the way they affect design choices in new construction and in the maintenance of existing buildings;
• the national regulatory framework, with particular reference to public works, procurement (tenders, contract award, contracts) and design levels;
• the techniques for designing and organising the construction site, and for controlling and managing site activities;
• the work phases and work cycles and the execution techniques of technological subsystems;
• the principles and tools of quality in construction (regulations, certification, quality systems), building industrialisation, and the selection of materials and components (technical data sheets, markings, sustainability);
• the methods of Project Management, works scheduling and operational and economic planning of interventions;
• building stock management and maintenance: types of maintenance, the maintenance plan.

Applying knowledge and understanding
Upon completion of the course, students are able to apply their knowledge also in contexts different from those covered in class (by type of intervention, public or private client, size and complexity), and in particular to:

• place a building project (new construction or maintenance of an existing building) within its phases and identify, for each, the actors to liaise with, and the acts and documents required;
• translate the client's needs into an intervention programme;
• design the organisation of the construction site for an intervention in relation to its characteristics and those of the site, justifying the choices made;
• break down the execution of a technological subsystem into work phases and work cycles and choose, with justification, the relevant execution techniques;
• set up the works schedule of an intervention: breakdown into activities, sequences and precedence relationships, duration estimates, critical path identification, resources and costs. Representation in a Gantt chart is developed in the laboratory module of the same course;
• assess how quality, industrialisation and the selection of materials and components affect the quality of design, construction and management;
• define a maintenance strategy for a building or a building stock: compare maintenance types on the basis of criticality and costs, set up the contents of a maintenance plan and justify the choices made.

Making judgements
Students develop the ability to integrate technical, procedural, economic and regulatory aspects and to handle the complexity of the building process, formulating reasoned judgements even on the basis of limited or incomplete information. They also develop the ability to reflect on the social and ethical implications of their choices (procedural transparency, prevention of corruption, sustainability). The activities contributing to these abilities are the analysis of real cases, site visits and meetings with companies, professionals and public administrations.

Communication skills
Students develop the ability to communicate clearly and unambiguously their choices, conclusions and the underlying rationale, using appropriate technical language, to specialist and non-specialist audiences (e.g. clients, public administrations, contractors), as required in the oral examination.

Learning skills
Students acquire the ability to continue studying in a self-directed way, independently consulting regulations, technical documents and up-to-date sources, which is essential in a sector undergoing continuous regulatory and technological change.

Formal prerequisites. The course has as a formal prerequisite the course "Disegno dell'Architettura II e Laboratorio"

Cultural prerequisites. The following knowledge is required:

1. main construction technologies and building systems (important);
2. reading and interpretation of architectural design drawings (important);
3. basic knowledge of the energy and seismic performance of buildings (useful);
4. basic knowledge of urban planning instruments (useful).

• The building process and its phases: programming, design, construction, management; actors, acts and interfaces between phases; the influence of the phases on design choices in new construction and in the maintenance of existing buildings.
• Procurement: tenders, contract award, documents, contracts.
• Public works programming: from needs to works; the intervention programme.
• Design: design levels, content, approval, validation.
• Construction: planning, control and management of site activities.
• Design and organisation of the construction site: site characteristics and constraints; site layout; logistics and supply; equipment and plant; site safety.
• Work phases and work cycles: design and management of work phases and work cycles; execution techniques of technological subsystems (structures, envelope, partitions, building services).
• Building stock management and maintenance: building stock management; types of maintenance and criteria for choosing among them; the maintenance plan and how it is set up.
• Quality in construction: regulations, certification, quality system; tools for improving the quality of design, construction and management.
• Building industrialisation: current trends, use of components, product and process optimisation; effects on the quality of design, construction and management.
• Building materials and components: product technical data sheets, markings, sustainability; the impact of the selection of materials and components on the quality of design, construction and management.
• Project Management and works scheduling: phases and tools of Project Management; breakdown of the intervention into activities, sequences and precedence relationships, duration estimates, critical path, resources and costs. The Gantt chart representation is carried out in the laboratory module.

The course content is aligned with some of the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development:
GOAL 11. SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES
GOAL 12. RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
GOAL 16: PEACE, JUSTICE AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS

The examination of the integrated course (Ergotecnica Edile + Laboratory) is a single examination leading to a single final grade out of thirty. It consists of two parts:

1. an individual oral interview, assessing learning in the theoretical module;
2. a group discussion of the exercise developed in the laboratory module.

Module-specific assessment: individual oral interview. The interview aims to ascertain knowledge of the course topics and the ability to apply them. It usually consists of questions on different blocks of the course (building process and regulations; design; construction site and execution; management and maintenance; quality and materials; Project Management and works scheduling). The blocks on which questions are asked vary from student to student. The average duration is 30 minutes. There are no intermediate tests.

The interview assesses: the relevance of answers to the questions asked, the quality of content, the ability to connect the different phases and topics of the programme, the ability to provide examples, the command of technical language, and overall communication skills.

Discussion of the group exercise. In the second part, the group of students discusses with the lecturer the exercise developed in the laboratory module: starting from the documents of a mixed-use building project, the project is engineered in terms of choices of materials, components and construction solutions, cost documents and the construction schedule. The content of the documents and the assessment criteria are described in the syllabus of the laboratory module. In summary, the assessment considers the completeness and technical correctness of the documents, the consistency between technical choices, cost documents and construction schedule, and the ability to justify choices.

The final grade is the overall result of the two assessments and takes the following parameters into account:

• Fail: the student lacks the minimum knowledge of the main course content, has poor or no command of technical language and is unable to apply the acquired knowledge autonomously.
• 18–21: the student has minimal knowledge of the fundamental content, shows a modest ability to connect topics and apply them to simple cases, makes judgements only when guided and presents in a sufficiently clear way, although command of technical language is underdeveloped.
• 22–25: the student has fair knowledge, albeit limited to the main topics; connects and applies topics in a not always linear way, makes judgements in familiar situations and presents fairly clearly with fair command of language.
• 26–28: the student has good knowledge, connects and critically analyses topics in a linear way, tackles new cases with a fair degree of autonomy, justifying choices, and presents clearly using appropriate language.
• 29–30 with honours: the student has in-depth knowledge, promptly and correctly integrates and critically analyses topics, autonomously tackles complex cases or cases with incomplete information, justifying assumptions and assessing their implications, and shows excellent communication skills and command of language.

To ensure equal opportunities and in compliance with current laws, interested students may request a personal interview in order to plan any compensatory and/or dispensatory measures based on educational objectives and specific needs. Students can also contact the CInAP (Centro per l'integrazione Attiva e Partecipata — Servizi per le Disabilità e/o i DSA) referring teacher within their department (https://www.cinap.unict.it/content/referenti).