Evaluation of glare and lighting performance in nighttime highway construction projects

An increasing amount of highway repair and construction work is being performed during the off-peak nighttime hours. Nighttime construction is advocated as a way to mitigate the impact of construction operations on the traveling public, shorten the duration of construction operations, and reduce the potential for work zone accidents. However, the utilization and placement of lighting equipment to illuminate the work zone may cause harmful levels of glare for the traveling public. This type of nighttime glare needs to be controlled and minimized to ensure safety for the traveling public and construction workers. This research study focused on studying the veiling luminance ratio (glare) experienced by drive-by motorists in lanes adjacent to nighttime work zones. The major objectives of this study are to: (1) provide an in-depth comprehensive review of the latest literature on the causes of glare and the existing practices that can be used to quantify and control glare during nighttime highway construction; (2) identify practical factors that affect the measurement of veiling luminance ratio (glare) in and around nighttime work zones; (3) analyze and compare the levels of glare and lighting performance generated by typical lighting arrangements in nighttime highway construction; (4) evaluate the impact of lighting design parameters on glare and provide practical recommendations to reduce and control lighting glare in and around nighttime work zones; (5) develop a practical model that can be utilized by resident engineers and contractors to measure and quantify veiling luminance ratio (glare) experienced by drive-by motorists near nighttime highway construction sites; and (6) investigate and analyze existing recommendations on the maximum allowable levels of veiling luminance ratio (glare) that can be tolerated by nighttime drivers from similar lighting sources. In order to achieve these objectives, the study was conducted in four major tasks that focused on: (1) conducting a comprehensive literature review; (2) visiting and studying a number of nighttime highway construction projects; (3) conducting field studies to evaluate the performance of selected lighting arrangements; and (4) developing practical models to measure and control the levels of glare experienced by drive-by motorists in lanes adjacent to nighttime work zones. In the first task of the project, a comprehensive literature review was conducted to study the latest research and developments on veiling luminance ratio (glare) and its effects on drivers and construction workers during nighttime highway construction work. Sources of information included publications from professional societies, journal articles, on-line databases, and contacts from DOT???s. The review of the literature focused on: (1) lighting requirements for nighttime highway construction; (2) causes and sources of glare in nighttime work zones, including fixed roadway lighting, vehicles headlamps, and nighttime lighting equipment in the work zone; (3) the main types of glare which can be classified based on its source as either direct or reflected glare; and based on its impact as discomfort, disabling, or blinding glare; (4) available procedures to measure and quantify discomfort and disabling glare; (5) existing methods to quantify pavement/adaptation luminance which is essential in measuring discomfort and disabling glare; (6) available recommendations by State DOTs and professional organizations to control glare; and (7) existing guidelines and hardware for glare control. The second task involved site visits to a number of nighttime work zones to identify practical factors that affect the measurement of the veiling luminance ratio in nighttime construction sites. The site visits were conducted over a five-month period in order to gather data on the type of construction operations that are typically performed during nighttime hours, the type of lighting equipment used to illuminate the work area, and the levels of glare experienced by workers and motorists in and around the work zone. One of the main findings of these site visits was identifying a number of challenges and practical factors that significantly affect the measurement and quantification of the veiling luminance ratio (glare) in nighttime work zones. These practical factors were carefully considered during the development of the glare measurement model in this study to ensure its practicality and ease of use in nighttime work zones by resident engineers and contractors alike. Another important finding of the site visits was the observation that improper utilization and setup of construction lighting equipment may cause significant levels of glare for construction workers and drive-by motorists. In the third task, field experiments were conducted to study and evaluate the levels of lighting glare caused by commonly used lighting equipment in nighttime work zones. During these experiments, a total of 25 different lighting arrangements were tested over a period of 33 days from May 10, 2007 to June 12, 2007 at the Illinois Center for Transportation (ICT) in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The objectives of these experiments were to: (1) analyze and compare the levels of glare and lighting performance generated by typical lighting arrangements in nighttime highway construction; and (2) provide practical recommendations for lighting arrangements to reduce and control lighting glare in and around nighttime work zones. The field tests were designed to evaluate the levels of glare and lighting performance generated by commonly used construction lighting equipment, including one balloon light, two balloon lights, three balloon lights, one light tower and one Nite Lite. The tests were also designed to study the impact of tested lighting parameters (i.e., type of light, height of light, aiming and rotation angles of light towers, and height of vehicle/observer) on the veiling luminance ratio experienced by drive-by motorists as well as their impact on the average horizontal illuminance and lighting uniformity ratio in the work area. Based on the findings from these tests, a number of practical recommendations were provided to control and reduce veiling luminance ratio/glare in and around nighttime work zones. The final (fourth) task of this study focused on the development of a practical model to measure and quantify veiling luminance ratio (glare) experienced by drive-by motorists in lanes adjacent to nighttime work zones. The model was designed to consider the practical factors that were identified during the site visits, including the need to provide a robust balance between practicality and accuracy to ensure that it can be efficiently and effectively used by resident engineers on nighttime highway construction sites. To ensure practicality, the model enables resident engineers to measure the required vertical illuminance data in safe locations inside the work zone while allowing the traffic in adjacent lanes to flow uninterrupted. These measurements can then be analyzed by newly developed regression models to accurately calculate the vertical illuminance values experienced by drivers from which the veiling luminance ratio (glare) can be derived. This task also analyzed existing recommendations on the maximum allowable levels of veiling luminance ratio (glare) that can be tolerated by nighttime drivers from various lighting sources, including roadway lighting, headlights of opposite traffic vehicles, and lighting equipment in nighttime work zones. The main research development of this study contribute to the advancement of current practice in highway construction and can lead to an increase in the safety of construction workers and the traveling public in and around the nighttime work zones. The outcome of this study will help in: (1) identifying practical factors and challenges that affect the measurements of glare in and around nighttime work zones; (2) evaluating and comparing the lighting performance and glare levels of typical construction lighting equipment that are commonly used in nighttime highway construction projects; (3) recommending practical lighting arrangements that generate acceptable levels of lighting glare for motorists and adequate levels of lighting performance for construction workers inside the work zone; (4) developing practical and safe model for measuring and quantifying the veiling luminance ratio experienced by drive-by motorists near nighttime highway construction sites; and (5) providing a baseline for Departments of Transportation (DOTs) to develop specifications and standards on how to control and quantify the levels of glare in nighttime highway construction projects

Bridging the Gap

The concept of resilience has arisen as a “new way of thinking”, becoming a response to both the causes and effects of ongoing global challenges. As it strongly stresses cities’ transformative potential, resilience’s final purpose is to prevent and manage unforeseen events and improve communities’ environmental and social quality. Although the resilience theory has been investigated in depth, several methodological challenges remain, mainly related to the concept’s practical sphere. As a matter of fact, resilience is commonly criticised for being too ambiguous and empty of meaning. At the same time, turning resilience into practice is not easy to do. This will arguably be one of the most impactful global issues for future research on resilience. The Special Issue “Bridging the Gap: The Measure of Urban Resilience” falls under this heading, and it seeks to synthesise state-of-the-art knowledge of theories and practices on measuring resilience. The Special Issue collected 11 papers that address the following questions: “What are the theoretical perspectives of measuring urban resilience? What are the existing methods for measuring urban resilience? What are the main features that a technique for measuring urban resilience needs to have? What is the role of measuring urban resilience in operationalising cities’ ability to adapt, recover and benefit from shocks?

Automated Productivity Models for Earthmoving Operations

Earthmoving operations have significant importance, particularly for civil infrastructure projects. The performance of these operations should be monitored regularly to support timely recognition of undesirable productivity variances. Although productivity assessment occupies high importance in earthmoving operations, it does not provide sufficient information to assist project managers in taking the necessary actions in a timely manner. Assessment only is not capable of identifying problems encountered in these operations and their causes. Many studies recognized conditions and related factors that influence productivity of earthmoving operations. These conditions are mainly project-specific and vary from one project to another. Most of reported work in the literature focused on assessment rather than analysis of productivity. This study presents three integrated models that automate productivity measurement and analysis processes with capabilities to detect different adverse conditions that influence the productivity of earthmoving operations. The models exploit innovations in wireless and remote sensing technologies to provide project managers, contractors, and decision makers with a near-real-time automated productivity measurement and analysis. The developed models account for various uncertainties associated with earthmoving projects. The first model introduces a fuzzy-based standardization for customizing the configuration of onsite data acquisition systems for earthmoving operations. While the second model consists of two interrelated modules. The first is a customized automated data acquisition module, where a variety of sensors, smart boards, and microcontrollers are used to automate the data acquisition process. This module encompasses onsite fixed unit and a set of portable units attached to each truck used in the earthmoving fleet. The fixed unit is a communication gateway (Meshlium®), which has integrated MySQL database with data processing capabilities. Each mobile unit consists of a microcontroller equipped with a smart board that hosts a GPS module as well as a number of sensors such as accelerometer, temperature and humidity sensors, load cell and automated weather station. The second is a productivity measurement and analysis module, which processes and analyzes the data collected automatically in the first module. It automates the analysis process using data mining and machine learning techniques; providing a near-real-time web-based visualized representation of measurement and analysis outcomes. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) was used to model productivity losses due to the existence of different influencing conditions. Laboratory and field work was conducted in the development and validation processes of the developed models. The work encompassed field and scaled laboratory experiments. The laboratory experiments were conducted in an open to sky terrace to allow for a reliable access to GPS satellites. Also, to make a direct connection between the data communication gateway (Meshlium®), initially installed on a PC computer to observe the received data latency. The laboratory experiments unitized 1:24 scaled loader and dumping truck to simulate loading, hauling and dumping operations. The truck was instrumented with the microcontroller equipped with an accelerometer, GPS module, load cell, and soil water content sensor. Thirty simulated earthmoving cycles were conducted using the scaled equipment. The collected data was recorded in a micro secure digital (SD) card in a comma separated value (CSV) format. The field work was carried out in the city of Saint-Laurent, Montreal, Quebec, Canada using a passenger vehicle to mimic the hauling truck operational modes. Fifteen Field simulated earthmoving cycles were performed. In this work two roads with different surface conditions, but of equal length (1150 m) represented the haul and return roads. These two roads were selected to validate the developed road condition analysis algorithm and to study the model’s capability in determining the consequences of adverse road conditions on the haul and return durations and thus on the tuck and fleet productivity. The data collected from the lab experiments and field work was used as input for the developed model. The developed model has shown perfect recognition of the state of truck throughout the fifteen field simulated earthmoving cycles. The developed road condition analysis algorithm has demonstrated an accuracy of 83.3% and 82.6% in recognizing road bumps and potholes, respectively. Also, the results indicated tiny variances in measuring the durations compared with actual durations using time laps displayed on a smart cell telephone; with an average invalidity percentage AIP% of 1.89 % and 1.33% for the joint hauling and return duration and total cycle duration, respectively

Best Practices for Performance Measurement in Transportation Operations and Maintenance

Public agencies benefit from measuring their performance as it helps to focus employee and organizational activities. State departments of transportation have become more performance-oriented over the past two decades and routinely collect data on highway safety, infrastructure condition, system operations, project delivery, winter maintenance, transit, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and customer service. While the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) use performance measures in a variety of areas, the agency wants to adopt new metrics related to mobility and the responsiveness of maintenance operations. This report documents performance measurement strategies used at state transportation agencies throughout the country and proposes new performance measures in these areas for KYTC. Among the performance measures put forward to the Cabinet, the following ones ranked most highly: (1) response times for complaints and potholes, (2) contract response time, (3) percentage of time and money spent on routine and emergency maintenance of drainage, guardrail, and cable median barriers, (4) response time to repair guardrail and cable median barriers, and (5) winter maintenance operations. As KYTC further integrates performance measures into its operations, it is critical to clearly communicate performance information to the public using tools such as online dashboards and reports

Application of advanced non-destructive testing methods on bridge health assessment and analysis

Bridge structures have an important role in economic, social and environmental aspects of society life. Bridges are also subject to a natural process of deterioration of construction materials, as well as natural and environmental events such as flooding, freezing, thawing etc. Health monitoring and assessment of the structural integrity of bridges have been the focus of engineers and researchers for decades. Currently, the various aspects of bridge health are monitored separately. However, measuring these aspects independently does not give the overall health of the bridge and crucial indicators of structural damage can be neglected. Generally, bridge health assessments take the form of individual NDT (non-destructive techniques) detecting individual defects. However value can be added to these results by combining and comparing the findings of several different NDT surveys. By completing this, a more accurate assessment of bridge health is obtained. This increases confidence in the decision as to whether remedial action is necessary. In this thesis an integrated bridge health monitoring approach is proposed which applies several NDT specifically chosen for bridge health assessments, thus achieving this added value. This method can be used as a part of a comprehensive bridge monitoring strategy as an assessment tool to evaluate the bridges structural health. This approach enables the user of this approach to obtain a detailed structural report on the bridge with all the necessary information pertaining to its’ health, allowing for a fully educated decision to be made regarding whether remedial action is necessary. This research presents the results of the applications of such methods on case studies utilising Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), IBIS-S technology / system (deflection and vibration detection sensor system with interferometric capability) and Accelerometer sensors. It also evaluates the effectiveness of the adopted methods and technologies by comparing and validating the yielded results with conventional methods (modelling and visual inspection). The research presents and discusses processed data obtained by the above mentioned methods in detail and reports on challenges encountered in setting up and materialising the assessment process. This work also reports on Finite Element Modelling (FEM) of the main case study (Pentagon Road Bridge) using specialist software (SAP2000 and ANSYS) in order to simulate the perceived movement of the bridge under dynamic and static conditions. The analytical results output were compared with results obtained by the applications of the above non-destructive methods. Thus by using these techniques the main aim of this thesis is to develop an integrated model/approach for the assessment and monitoring of the structural integrity and overall functionality of bridges. All the above methods were validated using preliminary case studies (GPR), additional equipment (accelerometers for IBIS-S validation) and additional techniques and information (SAP 2000 and ANSYS were compared to one another and IBIS-S results). All of these techniques were applied on the Pentagon Road Bridge. This bridge was chosen as no information was available regarding its structural composition. Visual inspection showed the external defects of the structure: cracking, moisture ingress and concrete delamination was present in one of the spans of the bridge. The GPR surveys gave the position of the rebars and also signs of moisture ingress at depths of 20cm (confirmed using velocity analysis). IBIS-S gave results for the deflection of the structure. FEM was used to model the behaviour of the bridge assuming no defects. To achieve additional model accuracy the results of the rebar position were input in to the model and it was calibrated using IBIS-S data. The deflection results from the model were then compared to the actual deflection data to identify areas of deterioration. It was found that excessive deflection occurred on one of the spans. It was thus found that all NDT indicated that a particular span was an area of significant deterioration and remedial action should be completed on this section in the near future. Future prediction was also completed by running simulations in ANSYS for increasing crack lengths and dynamic loading. It was found that if there is no remedial action excessive beam bending moments will occur and eventual collapse. The results of this research demonstrated that GPR provided information on the extent of the internal structural defects of the bridge under study (moisture ingress and delamination) whilst IBIS-S technology and Accelerometer sensors permitted measurement of the magnitude of the vibration of the bridge under dynamic and static loading conditions. The results depicted similarities between the FEM results and the adopted non-destructive methods results in location and pattern. This work can potentially contribute towards a better understanding of the mechanical and physical behaviours of bridge structures and ultimately assess their life expectancy and functionality

An investigation in the factors affecting the implementation of health and safety management practices by contractors in Nigeria

Despite the changes in legislation and advances towards an integrated project-wide approach, health and safety (H&S) management practices in the construction industry is still a major problem especially in developing countries like Nigeria. H&S management practices not only improve working conditions but also influence employee’s attitude, morale and performance positively therefore, reducing accident and fatality in the work place. It has become imperative to investigate the factors responsible for the non-implementation of H&S management practices by contractors in the Nigeria construction industry. Through a critique of the literature on H&S management from a global perspective, covering developed and developing countries, it is shown that the implementation of H&S management practices in developing countries like Nigeria is low. In addition, the reviews provide preliminary indication of potential factors responsible for the low implementation of H&S management practices and these include lack of top management awareness, involvement and commitment to H&S management practices; non-enforcement of H&S legislation; and lack of availability of dedicated budget to H&S management practices. The findings provide a premise for further empirical investigation to ascertain the contributing factors to the low implementation of H&S management practices by contractors in Nigeria. Understanding these factors could help ameliorate the perennial problems militating against H&S improvement in the Nigerian construction industry. This study has seven main objectives: (1) To review the status of H&S in the Nigerian Construction Industry. (2) To review H&S management models in order to identify the key elements and practices of H&S management. (3) To review H&S management implementation in construction in order to identify factors that could affect health and safety implementations by Contractors. (4) To develop a conceptual framework for diagnosing factors affecting implementation of H&S management by contractors in Nigeria towards ensuring an enhanced occupational health and safety in the Nigeria construction industry. (5) To refine the conceptual framework and to develop an instrument to collect and analyse data to determine the factors affecting implementation of H&S management by contractors in Nigeria. (6) To discuss and compare the extant literature with the empirical research findings of the present study. (7) Draw conclusion from the findings of the study and propose implications for H&S management in Nigeria.The methodological design for this study was quantitative in nature and based on a survey instrument develop and used to collect data. The target population included Director or manager of companies and other related professionals at construction industries. The literature review on the investigation of the factors affecting the implementation if H&S management practice by contractors in Nigeria was done. A self-administered questionnaire survey of about 350 for the top management and relevant professionals in construction industries were used. The survey returned a satisfactorily distribution of responses across all the major professionals selected under this research. Company Managers and Project Managers who are responsible for the overall planning and execution of the construction work on site, including its health and safety component recorded 16.6% and 15.4% respectively. Supervisors such as construction managers and site engineers with assigned responsibilities of day-to-day execution of specific aspects of the project showed participation rate of 12.9% and 12.6% respectively. Other professionals such as Architects returned a low participation of 3.7%. The Architect is a very important in construction site works in the consultancy and supervision areas, architects are the prime consultants on projects and are the top management after the client or client’s representative in site rankings. The findings of this study revealed that H&S management practices is an important issues in Nigeria construction industry however, the rate of accidents is very high. Several factors relating to policy, measuring and review performance, implementation, planning, risk assessment, and organisation practices were observed to have significant effect on H&S management practices. Others include the advocacy among workers, attitude and behavior of workers ensuring H&S management Practices and govt. intervention. In addition, sizes and age of construction companies are important variable that influence the H&S management practices among construction firms in Nigeria. It was also recommended that a national policy towards addressing H&S management practices should be provided by the government and policy makers to curtail the high rate and unknown quantity of accidents in the Nigeria construction industry

The impact of pedestrianization on residential property rental values

Thesis (Doctoral)--Izmir Institute of Technology, City and Regional Planning, Izmir, 2007Includes bibliographical references (leaves: 161-178)Text in English; Abstract: Turkish and Englishxi, 178 leavesWithin the context of the economic valuation of open space, the aim of this study was to understand the impact of pedestrian ways as a public open space on rental price of residential properties. With this aim, the study also searched suitable variables to determine the factors affecting this impact.The study involved a two stage procedure as theoretical analysis and empirical analysis. In the first stage, fundamental concepts and approaches were evaluated by reviewing related literatures of urban design and environmental economics disciplines.In the second stage, to analyze the impact of pedestrian way attributes on rental price of residential properties, an empirical analysis was carried out by employing Hedonic Price Method (HPM) which is basically a regression analysis estimating the effect of each relevant variable on the price of the asset in question. The analysis was realized with a sample of 140 observations in the case of Forbes Pedestrian Way, which is called as .Sevgi Yolu. (Way of Romance), in İzmir.The study has put forward that pedestrian way as a public open space has a relative measurable economic value like other public open spaces; it impacts the rental price of residential properties. Regression analysis results have shown that, proximity to the pedestrian way and level of perceived quality of pedestrian way are significant determinants of rental prices of the residential properties. Consequently, the approach developed in this study has advanced the knowledge about open space valuation and provided the first evidence -in Turkey as well as in the world wide- of the impacts of pedestrian way on residential property.s rental prices. The case of Forbes Pedestrian Way has shown that pedestrian way is desirable and valuable from a housing-market perspective. This evidence has also supported previous researches reporting open space provides a premium for property prices. Besides, Hedonic Price Method is promising in measuring the impact of pedestrian ways on residential property rental prices. Key words: Economic valuation of open spaces, environmental economics, urban design, Hedonic Price Method, Forbes Pedestrian Way

Towards Sustainable Campus Planning: Measuring Campus Development Scenarios

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This study identifies and attempts to address three common shortcomings of today’s campus sustainability initiatives: difficulties in measuring social and economic factors; a lack of consideration for integrative issues such as land use; and a generally reactive approach to proposed development. To engage these concerns, we develop a model for predicting the relative sustainability of different campus land use configurations. The model uses computer-based mapping software (a geographic information system or GIS) to measure a set of six sustainability indicators for each land use scenario. The indicators chosen represent all three competing interests of sustainable development: economic prosperity (one indicator), social equity (two indicators), and environmental integrity (four indicators).Master of ScienceNatural Resources and EnvironmentUrban + Regional PlanningUniversity of Michigan, School of Natural Resources and Environmenthttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/35335/2/Davidian_Elijah_Master's_Project.pd

A tool to evaluate sustainability of pavement maintenance projects.

Pavement maintenance activities are widely regarded to be critical elements during pavement life cycle, different maintenance techniques have been used to restore or extend the service lives of pavements. However, the existing maintenance practices on pavement system have problems that impair the economic benefits, disturb the natural environment, and somewhat ignore the needs from stakeholders. To minimize these negative impacts, sustainability is an ideal way because it addresses the problems under Triple Bottom Line (TBL, refers to economy, environment, and society). Sustainability analysis within transportation or pavement industry has been studied in different countries, but the concept of sustainable pavement maintenance is relatively new and has not been defined well yet. In this research, the concept of sustainable pavement maintenance has been proposed and defined to help benefit the current pavement industry. Rating tool has its advantages measuring sustainability activities. There are many rating tools designed for sustainable infrastructure, transportation, or pavement, but maintenance has its own characteristics and yet never had its own rating tool. To link the theoretical concept of sustainable pavement maintenance with actual projects, a sustainability rating tool for pavement maintenance (Pavement Sustainability Index for Maintenance, PSIM) has been developed by a so-called 5-step methodology. Step one and two are to determine the rating categories and indicators; step three is to determine the priority of each category by the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP); step four is to determine points distribution under each indicator by reviewing the sustainability practices of 8 State DOTs; final step is to propose the certification methodology according to the Pavement Sustainability Index (PSI) earned by the maintenance project. To prove the usability value of PSIM, four common maintenance activities have been discussed as case studies, including rejuvenation, utility cut restoration (UCR), overlay, as well as mill and overlay. The projects selected were located in or adjacent to Louisville, KY. Among the nine projects being evaluated by PSIM framework, UCR projects were not sustainable; rejuvenation project, overlay projects, and one of the mill and overlay projects earned one PSIM star; two PSIM stars were awarded to two of the mill and overlay projects