Month: January 2012

Update 2:

This week was the second week of our CSL project for Evergreen. We had the opportunity to meet our client at their office this week, headed by Helen. On Thursday January 26, 2012 our group went for a site visit at 3:30pm for one half-hour.

Helen showed us the garden where the dwarf apple trees are. We received the specifications from the client as well as general considerations in constructing the boxes. Two sizes have been used in the past: 2X7XD or 7X7XD foot boxes, where D is some yet prescribed depth of the box. Helen will be emailing the final specifications to us shortly. However, from a dimension stand point, we have flexibility within the widths: from 2 to 7 feet.

From a materials stand point, we also have flexibility. We were shown examples of past and future designs created by other organizations, as well as what works and what doesn’t. There is no prescribed method or material, just something which is durable, mobile, and environmentally-conscious.
The aim is for our boxes to

• Fall within the dimensional constraints
• Take advantage of any type of material available from our supplier, Home Depot:
  Preference is given to wood without nails and the boxes should not leak or transmit products to the soil. Other organizations have embedded a steel lining on the inside
• The boxes will be mounted on a pedestal. Some mechanism to allow for ease of forklifting around the property would be advantageous in design
• Be aesthetically pleasing

A few prototypes of different materials and dimensions will be designed by our group, and time permitting, we will construct 3 or more. We were given a budget of ~$50/box; where all our materials are sourced from Home Depot. As well, there is the possibility to have outdoor tents set up for the construction phase, should we reach it.

We will begin designing ASAP and sourcing materials, then move towards implementation phase. We plan to have this completed before February 20^th, as we are not available during Reading Week.

We are a group of 6 students in 2^ndyear BASc in Civil Engineering at UBC who will be working on Dwarf Apple Tree Plants for our client, Evergreen.  Helen Beynon is our contact individual with the client, with contact information set out in course document.

Aside from introductions, January 16th, 2011 was our first meeting date as a group. We introduced ourselves to one another and discussed what we hope to take away from this project. We established a set of questions to be addressed in a meeting with our client as well as some preliminary group tasks.
Also, as discussed by the group, a design implementation of February 20^th-24^th seems unfeasible as many of us will not be in Vancouver, we will be away visiting our homes for reading break. In saying this, one objective will be to discuss with the client when an alternate build time may be.

Task:

• Documentation: Note-taking and minutes will be assigned to Reid
• Liaison to Client: Calling and setting up objectives and meeting times will be assigned to Jedaiah.
• Blog and Formal Posting: Assembly and submission of blog will be assigned to Nick.
• All other tasks will be distributed at next meeting

Questions: To be addressed by Jedaiah in liaison with the client.

• How many boxes, dimensions, special features? Are the boxes aligned?
• What material and weather treatment?
• What is the budjet?
• Will there be outside help? Are we planting the trees as well as building the box?
• Completion date? Aside from reading break.

The following are introductions as written by each of the team members.

“My name is Reid Plasterer and I am originally from Victoria. I came to UBC for its world renowned Civil Engineering program. As an aspiring engineer, I look forward to the hands-on experience this project will give me, specifically in the construction phase and project management.”

“I’m Dan Dela Pena. I am originally from the Phillipines where I grew up until I moved to Canada at the age of nine. With the experience gained from the Dwarf Apple Tree project for Evergreen, it will benefit me to reach my future career in engineering.”

“My name is Mike Lumb and I am interested in water resources engineering. I am excited to work on this project an gain experience in sustainability, by working with Evergreen.”

“My name is Branden Heslip and I am originally from Okatoks, Alberta where I worked for a construction company. This project should be a good chance to combine what we learned in CIVL 201 last semester with my past experience.”

“I am Nick Gagliano and I am from Kamloops, BC. I have an interest in a very diverse range of engineering fields and hope this project will give me a chance to explore areas of project management.”

“My name is Jedaiah van Dijk and I have worked over the past 6 years as a log builder constructing log homes. The CIVL 202 project should be a good experience working in a group to design-build a final project.”

You can chronicle your CSL team’s weekly accomplishments as you move toward the successful completion of your project.