PDCA CPC case studies

PDCA CPC · Put your knowledge to work in context.

The Certified Professional Constructor (CPC) is a professional credential for construction practitioners who manage projects end to end - from pre-construction planning through field execution and closeout. It is aimed at constructors who already carry responsibility for budgets, schedules, contracts, subcontractor coordination, and jobsite safety, and who want independent verification that they can integrate those functions rather than specialize in just one. The PDCA CPC case studies are 5 cases and about 4,171 words.

The $2.3M Gap at 60% Design: Pre-Construction Sequencing Under a Board Deadline

You are the constructor's project manager for a 168,000 sf, 52 million CM-at-risk science building for a public university. The contract requires pre-construction services at risk with a GMP negotiated at 90% construction documents.

829 words, about 4 min 2

Curing Conflict: Drawings, Specifications, and a Friday Pour

Your firm is the general contractor on a four-story, 1,150-space cast-in-place post-tensioned parking structure. Division 01 Section 01 11 00 establishes this order of precedence: (1) Modifications, (2) Agreement, (3) Addenda, (4) Drawings, (5) Specifications, (6) Schedules.

837 words, about 4 min 3

Twenty-Two Days of Float: Reconstructing a Time Extension Claim

You are the owner's scheduling consultant on a 22 million elementary school with a 300-calendar-day contract and liquidated damages of 2,500 per day. The accepted baseline CPM gives the curtain wall chain (shop drawings, fabrication, installation) 22 days of total float.

822 words, about 4 min 4

3,180 psi: Strength Failure, a Monday Pour, and a Night-Shift Hazard

You are the project manager for a six-story cast-in-place residential podium. The Level 3 columns were placed from a mix designed for f'c = 4,000 psi at w/c = 0.45.

845 words, about 4 min 5

Sealed Bid Week: A Competitor's Binder, a Clerical Error, and a Curious Engineer

You are vice president of preconstruction for a mid-size general contractor bidding a $34 million municipal wastewater treatment plant upgrade. Bids are due Thursday at 2:00 p.m.

838 words, about 4 min