Civil Engineering Technician

What You Learn:

Computer-aided drafting and design (CADD) both 2D and 3D;
Surveying and GPS;
Highway/road design and planning;
Design and construction of infrastructure;
Project management and estimating;
Applied strength of materials.
Curriculum
Semester One - Fall 2013:
Course Name: CIV100 Contract Administration
Credit Value: 4
Prerequisite Course: None
Course Description: Participants will be involved in a study of engineering contracts from the
perspectives of both the owner and contractor. Refining basic analytical, managerial, and
interpersonal skills through co-operative learning and group work exercises, participants will
evaluate various contract documents; the roles, responsibilities and management of project
human resources from the design stages through consulting to contracting and inspecting; and
the application of standard management tools. Skill sets involving direct contract analyses,
participation in cost/benefit analyses, project scheduling, project cost control, and inspection
report analysis will be refined.
Course Name: CIV105 Introduction to Geomatics
Credit Value: 4
Prerequisite Course: None
Course Description: This course introduces the participants to the elements of Geomatics and
Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Working independently and in small groups,
participants will study the theory and apply techniques for the care of survey instruments and
the collection, recording, analysis, and presentation of spatial data. Field exercises and projects
related to horizontal and vertical control and building, property, and structural tie-ins will be
conducted. Additional exercises apply database systems, data modelling, and digital mapping.
Course Name: CAD100 Computer Aided Design I
Credit Value: 4
Prerequisite Course: None
Course Description: The participant will advance from the fundamentals of computer-aided
drafting and design through to the more complex levels of computer aided design entity
manipulation and productivity strategies. Participants will create technically correct graphics
related to the fields of construction, environmental, municipal, and transportation engineering.
Course Name: CMM140 Technical Writing I
Credit Value: 4
Prerequisite Course: None
Course Description: This first level communications course develops students basic
communication skills in business and technical writing, as well as in speaking and oral
presentation required for successful employment in the specific fields. Students will compose
messages that inquire, inform, describe, and instruct and will be introduced to the role that
technical report writing has in promoting effective, efficient work and in enhancing career
success. In this course, students will be introduced to report writing as a means of improving
communication within the organizational structure. Students will learn that workers must
present technical and field-related information to the organization and to the customer in an
effective and timely manner. Students will create written reports and present these orally to
others.
Course Name: MTH160 Technical Math I
Credit Value: 4
Prerequisite Course: None
Course Description: This is an introductory course technical mathematics covering fundamental
concepts and operations, mensuration, basic algebra, manipulation of equations and
trigonometry.
Course Name: PHY160 Introduction to Statics
Credit Value: 3
Prerequisite Course: None
Course Description: An introductory physics course to study measurement, forces, free body
diagrams, vector addition of forces, dynamics and building science.
Course Name: PSY123 Applied Psychology
Credit Value: 3
Prerequisite Course: None
Course Description: This course will provide students with a firm grounding in knowledge
derived from psychological research that can be applied to important aspects of both work and
personal life.
Semester Two - Winter 2014:
Course Name: CAD150 Computer Aided Design II
Credit Value: 4
Prerequisite Course: CAD100 or permission of professor
Calendar Description: Using general design theory, the participant will create detailed drawings
for such engineering works as community service projects, highway plan/profiles, road and
building structures, watershed mapping, and municipal infrastructure rehabilitation.
Course Name: CIV120 Applied Engineering I
Credit Value: 6
Prerequisite Course: CIV100 or Permission of the Instructor
Course Description: In this comprehensive course, participants will study and practice the
management of engineering works from the perspectives of the stakeholders including
landowner, municipal and provincial authorities, and contractor. The development of basic
analytical, managerial, and interpersonal/human relations skills is an outcome of this course.
Through co-operative learning, workshops, seminars, and group work exercises, participants
will evaluate the roles, responsibilities, and management of human resources and the application
of standard management tools. From the applied engineering perspective, participants will
conduct standard analyses of materials and field samples, and practice reporting procedures
through various legislative controls. Basic occupational workplace safety requirements will be
reviewed.
Course Name: CIV125 Field Geomatics
Credit Value: 4
Prerequisite Course: CIV105 or permission of professor
Course Description: CIV125 is a field (outdoor) applications lab where the participants
independently and in small groups collect and record spatial data. Horizontal and vertical
control data, topographical data, and records detailing building, property, and structure tie-ins
will also be produced. Outcomes relative to geomatic principles, care, control, and operation of
standard survey instruments including total station and GPS/GIS will be demonstrated during
this two-week field camp.
Course Name: MTH161 Technical Math II
Credit Value: 4
Prerequisite Course: MTH160 or permission of professor
Course Description: The study and applications of the following topics constitutes this technical
math course: factoring and fractions, exponents, roots and radicals, quadratic equations,
simultaneous linear equations, and determinants. Formula manipulation will be applied through
the use of survey computation formulas.
Course Name: MCH120 Mechanics
Credit Value: 4
Prerequisite Course: None
Course Description: Forces and moments of forces on various systems of equilibrium are
analyzed and evaluated. Loads on a structure will be traced. Stress-strain relationships of
structural materials are examined and applied in systems under tension, compression, and shear.
Centroids and moments of inertia are calculated for simple geometric shapes and composite
sections. In MCH120 the student learns to use skills required to solve design problems. The
learning outcomes acquired will enable the student to design beams, columns, and joint
connections in MCH210 and MCH220 and to apply the design techniques to mechanical and
structural systems.
GENEDGeneral Education Elective - Online
Semester Three - Fall 2014:
Course Name: CIV200 Applied Engineering II
Credit Value: 5
Prerequisite Course: CIV120 or permission of professor
Course Description: An awareness of their legal rights prevents graduates from taking on tasks
that they may not be legally permitted to perform. Participants will review projects and
contract documents as they relate to health and safety, ethics, and relevant acts, codes, and
legislation. Inspection and reporting techniques will be demonstrated through on-site visits and
the generation and presentation of inspection reports including material, progress, deficiency,
and completion reports. The interrelationship between occupational health, employment,
absenteeism, illness, and the concerns of labour-management will be examined. Analysis of
current principles and practices related to industrial accident prevention and occupational health
and safety in the workplace will be examined.
Course Number and Name: CIV205 Soil Mechanics I
Credit Value: 3
Prerequisite Course: MTH160
Course Description: A fundamental reality in the field of building construction is that structures
will be supported by the soil on which they sit. The properties of soil are such that even slight
variations throughout a building site may create conditions that place the integrity of the
structure and the health and safety of those who build it and use it in jeopardy. This course
enables the participant to understand these fundamentals and to conduct standard sampling and
testing where the strength of the soil may be determined.
Course Name: CIV225 Quantity Geomatics
Credit Value: 4
Prerequisite Course: CAD150 and MTH161, or permission or professor
Course Description: Contributing to the evaluation of engineering projects, whether for design
or installations, and determining the quantities of required materials and their cost, is often the
role of the civil engineering technician. Through lectures, co-operative learning, on-site visits,
and group work exercises, the participant will review the construction process from the initial
design concepts through to project completion. Applying Canadian standards for methods of
measurement, the participant will conduct quantity take-offs, classify materials according to the
format standard, and determine the cost of materials related to each of the major phases of
construction.
Course Name: CIV240 Applied Strength of Materials I
Credit Value: 5
Prerequisite Course: MCH120 or permission of professor
Course Description: Building on the analytical skills developed in MCH120, the student will
learn to calculate centroids, moments of inertia, radius of gyration. Shear force and bending
moment diagrams will be introduced for statically determinate and indeterminate beams with
factored and specified loads. The student will analyze members that act as beams within the
structural framework of a building.
Course Name: MTH130 Fundamentals of Calculus
Credit Value: 4
Prerequisite Course: None
Course Description: The student will gain an understanding of the following concepts:
functions, limits, differentiation, curve sketching, derivatives of exponential and logarithmic
functions and integration.
Course Name: HUM200 Group Dynamics
Credit Value: 3
Prerequisite Course: None
Course Description: This course involves the study of group dynamics. It is intended to explore
and familiarize the students with the structure and process of groups. Through both a
theoretical and experiential examination of topics such as leadership, conflict resolution,
diversity, member roles, and decision-making, this course will provide the learner with an
opportunity to develop the skills and knowledge to work effectively and co-operatively in group
settings.
Semester Four - Winter 2015:
Course Name: CIV215 Infrastructure Engineering
Credit Value: 6
Prerequisite Course: MTH130 and CIV200 or permission of professor
Course Description: CIV215 enables the participants to apply fundamental design principles to
create road and highway components from the road base to the surface. Applying fundamental
mathematical formulae, the participants will calculate control elements for horizontal and
vertical curves, straight sections, cut and fill quantities, and material estimates for the various
components of road construction. Routine road maintenance including snow and ice control
will also permit participants to estimate budgets on a cost-per-unit-distance basis.
Course Name: CIV230 Transportation Planning
Credit Value: 5
Prerequisite Course: MTH130 and CIV200 or permission of professor
Course Description: This course enables the participants to identify and classify the full range of
road systems in Ontario from the forest access road, through municipal road systems, to the
multi-lane highway systems. Participants will describe the physical make-up of those systems
including associated road structures such as bridges and culverts. Participants with acquire the
basic tools to plan, design, and analyze the various transportation systems in Ontario. Selected
models for highway design will be analyzed for their effectiveness, and reviews of traffic
accident reports, both formal and informal will be included. An integral part of this
introductory-level course is the inclusion of field trips to local and regional highway projects.
Site visit reports will be submitted after each visit.
Course Name: CAD200 Advanced CAD (3D Design)
Credit Value: 5
Prerequisite Course: CAD150 or permission of professor
Calendar Description Using advanced design applications, the participant will create detailed
drawings for such engineering works as community service projects, highway plan/profiles,
road and building structures, watershed mapping, and municipal infrastructure rehabilitation.
Included is the full integration of three-dimensional presentations to the developed work.
Course Name: CIV250 Applied Strength of Materials II
Credit Value: 5
Prerequisite Course: CIV240
Course Description: Beam and column design in wood and steel will be applied to plans for
residential and commercial buildings. Suitable joists, beams and columns will be selected by
calculation and by computer aided design packages where available. Bending stress, shear stress
and deflection of beams due to specified and factored loads will be calculated. Resistance to
bending, shear, and deflection due to material strength and modification factors will be
determined. Columns are classified, analyzed, and designed.
Course Name: CMM300 Researching and Reporting II
Credit Value: 3
Total Course Hours: 42
Prerequisite Course(s): CMM140 or CMM180 or CMM190 or CMM230
Course Description: Students will research and prepare reports. In these reports, they will be
encouraged to apply knowledge and skills required in their programs.