USP students visit construction sites of the Rodoanel Norte

On October 9, students from the Polytechnic School of USP (University of São Paulo), enrolled in the Concrete Technology for Infrastructure Works course, visited the Rodoanel Norte construction site, which is being built by Odebrecht Engineering & Construction and Renea Infraestrutura in São Paulo’s Metropolitan Region. The event was made possible through a partnership between the Innovation area and Poli-USP.

The purpose of the visit was to enable students to see the practical application of special concretes, such as shotcrete, fiber-reinforced concrete and roller-compacted concrete, as well as to experience a practical immersion in the challenges and solutions applied in this infrastructure project.

The students were welcomed by P&O (People & Organization), Health, Occupational Safety and Environment, Quality, and Engineering teams, as well as the Contract Director and Administrative and Financial Manager.

During the morning, a presentation of the project was given by contract management, followed by an informative presentation by the quality team, which addressed the types of concrete used in the project, as well as quality control processes and routines. This was followed by a guided tour of the work sites, with stops at locations such as the Operational Control Center for the northern section of the highway (COO), the concrete production plant, and the Bananal construction site.

Professor Antonio Figueiredo considered the visit to be excellent, exceeding his expectations in all aspects. In his thanks to the Odebrecht team that welcomed him, he commented: “It is very motivating for students to have contact with an emblematic project such as the Rodoanel and to be able to observe the special techniques used in the execution of this important project. Contact with professionals who experience all kinds of difficulties during their work on the project and who, at the same time, demonstrate great satisfaction in overcoming daily challenges is one of the best ways to transfer professional and human values for the proper training of our students,“ he said. He added: ”We are very grateful for the opportunity and, in particular, for all the hospitality shown by the entire team.”

Daniel Lepikson, Innovation Manager at Odebrecht, highlighted the warm welcome and excellent overview of the project that the visit provided, in addition to the program’s close alignment with the topics covered in the students’ course. “I believe it was very beneficial for the students, who had the opportunity to learn a little about how these issues are dealt with in reality and how a large infrastructure project works. I was very pleased with the outcome and hope that this will be the first in a series of cooperative actions and initiatives between Odebrecht and USP. It is a timely partnership between a center of teaching excellence and an Engineering and Construction company that stands out in the market for its competence and constant challenges,” he said.