Anthony Sparkling, assistant professor of construction management technology, has been honored with the Early Career Award from ELECTRI International, the Foundation for Electrical Construction. The foundation was established in 1989 by the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) to conduct research for the electrical construction industry, in order to deliver exemplary management education and supervisory training programs.
Sparkling will use the funds to support a graduate researcher from Purdue Polytechnic’s School of Construction Management Technology to conduct field studies focusing on commercial construction projects, in collaboration with NECA’s Central Indiana Chapter. His six-month study, “Harnessing Knowledge and Experience of Specialty Contracting Supervisors,” will utilize site observations and interviews to access the knowledge and experience of construction supervisory professionals working for specialty contractors in the U.S.
“The research is closely aligned to our Future Work and Learning research impact area as it aims to respond to the concerns with skilled and technical workforce shortages,” said Sparkling. “The data and findings will be disseminated in scholarly publications and industry reporting, and will become part of a master’s thesis.”
The three main project objectives that attracted the ELECTRI Council to Sparking’s research include the intent to:
- Generate a measurement instrument to evaluate explicit and tacit knowledge
- Identify knowledge that construction professionals perceive as highly important for successful project delivery
- Develop a “lessons learned” report and training material to prepare future construction professionals
