Improving Information Flow within the Production Management System with Web Services

The efficiency of the production planning and control process in construction depends significantly on the reliability and timely availability of resource information. The Last Planner system for production control mandates that a construction task should not be started unless all the seven resource prerequisites are in satisfactory condition. Failure to do so results in wasteful processes. However, this information is not readily available due to the lack of systems integration that prevails within the industry. Current implementations of the last planner system mostly rely on the team leaders‘ and foreman‘s ability to gather the required information for the weekly planning meetings and also for the look-ahead planning. However, much time is wasted chasing relevant information due to the above-mentioned problems. Also, the reliability of planning could be much improved if there is a system available, which aggregates resource information from various project stakeholders in one place. In such a situation, web services could provide an ideal platform for integration as they provide a flexible way to integrate disparate systems, with choreography based on identified business processes drawn from Last Planner and implemented using BPMN/BPEL. With the improvement in connectivity as a result of better availability of high speed Internet through mobile and fixed networks, there is a better opportunity for information integration through web services. A conceptual framework based on web services is put forward which aims to improve the information flow within the industry and provide the right information at the right time to enable better planning and control within the production system

FoFA: Diet Information for Children with Autism with Semantic Technology in Android Based Application

The number of people with autism in Indonesia increases by 0.15% or 6,900 children per year. One of the actions that can be done to overcome developmental disorders of children with autism is to do Feingold and Failsafe Diet, Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD diet), and Casein-Free Gluten Free diet (CFGF diet) on foodstuffs given to children with autism. There is a need for socialization and presentation of information regarding the regulation of food items given to children with autism. Currently, there is no presentation of information in the form of mobile-based applications as a forum for parents to exchange information, especially those that utilize semantic technology. By utilizing semantic technology, the Food For Autism (FoFA) application was created to share knowledge for users related to food and beverage diet menus for children with autism. The test results show that the application of FoFA can apply semantic technology related to diet and food diets for children with autism

A road-map to personalized context-aware services delivery in construction

Existing mobile IT applications in the construction industry are constrained by their reliance on static methods of information delivery, which are often not appropriate to meet changing work demand resulting from dynamic project conditions. This paper focuses on a new interaction paradigm i.e. context-aware information delivery (CAID), which promises to make information provisioning more responsive to workers’ changing work demands. A roadmap to personalized CAID in construction is laid out, with a focus on creating a pervasive user-centred intelligent work environment capable of serving relevant information needs of busy construction professionals by intelligent interpretation of their context. Research approach includes use of scenario planning method. Face-to-face unstructured interviews were arranged with 28 industry and technology experts for scenario validation and provided input for the road-mapping exercise. The research demonstrates that the realisation of the CAID vision is within reach and will tremendously enhance the value proposition of mobile information technology in the construction industry. Context-relevant and personalised information delivery will save valuable time and has the potential to improve efficiency and productivity. It can make construction ICT applications and worker’s immediate work environment more responsive to work demands, thereby allowing better management of construction projects. A key challenge is to link various technology enabling elements with methodological, cultural, social and organisational aspects specific to the construction industry. This would require a multi-disciplinary approach requiring input from different fields, including computer science, ergonomics, social studies and the construction industry

Current State Of Wireless Information Technology In The Construction Industry In Ohio

Construction projects are increasingly getting complex and fragmented in nature, yet contractors persistently face shortened project durations and reduced budgets. Timely delivery of accurate and reliable information among all project participants is critical and important because information is the foundation upon which decisions are made and projects are estimated, planned, monitored, and controlled. Recent developments in technology promise to introduce efficiencies that were not previously available to the industry. This study seeks to identify the current state of wireless information technology through the analysis of quantitative data from a web-based survey that represents the views of the respondents on the usage and interest in wireless technology. The study suggests that the level of interest in wireless technology is much higher than the level of use. Wireless technology enhanced the skills, productivity, and customer service of the participants, but did not improve their ability to negotiate projects and monitor project costs. The respondents believe that the return on investment is not a barrier; slow download speeds and durability are the largest barriers keeping people from using wireless technology

Intelligent wireless web services: context-aware computing in construction-logistics supply chain

The construction industry has incurred a considerable amount of waste as a result of poor logistics supply chain network management. Therefore, managing logistics in the construction industry is critical. An effective logistic system ensures delivery of the right products and services to the right players at the right time while minimising costs and rewarding all sectors based on value added to the supply chain. This paper reports on an on-going research study on the concept of context-aware services delivery in the construction project supply chain logistics. As part of the emerging wireless technologies, an Intelligent Wireless Web (IWW) using context-aware computing capability represents the next generation ICT application to construction-logistics management. This intelligent system has the potential of serving and improving the construction logistics through access to context-specific data, information and services. Existing mobile communication deployments in the construction industry rely on static modes of information delivery and do not take into account the worker’s changing context and dynamic project conditions. The major problems in these applications are lack of context-specificity in the distribution of information, services and other project resources, and lack of cohesion with the existing desktop based ICT infrastructure. The research works focus on identifying the context dimension such as user context, environmental context and project context, selection of technologies to capture context-parameters such wireless sensors and RFID, selection of supporting technologies such as wireless communication, Semantic Web, Web Services, agents, etc. The process of integration of Context-Aware Computing and Web-Services to facilitate the creation of intelligent collaboration environment for managing construction logistics will take into account all the necessary critical parameters such as storage, transportation, distribution, assembly, etc. within off and on-site project

Technology role in safety management of Iraqi construction projects

Iraqi construction industry is not away from high number of injuries and fatalities, to control this problem, Mobile Application Technologies (MATS), might offer a promising solution. Improved risk management will increase the productivity of the construction companies which might resulted in enhancing Iraqi national economy. This research addressed the most current used MATS in managing OSH in the construction projects, and highlighted the most benefits and limitations of using these technologies in the field of Iraqi construction projects. This aim achieved by conducting a comprehensive study of the related literature, by analysing a questionnaire response of 98 construction project managers, who are working in a small and medium sized company, BIM and WSDS were identified as the most current used MATS in the Iraqi construction projects, But with a low rate of occurrence about 25%. ’Eliminate hazard during the design phase’ and ’Help visualize hazard’ are the most two benefits of MATS with a rate of occurrence about 75%. However, ’Extra costs associated with technology’, ’Little or no government regulations for use’ are the most two limited factors of using MATS in OSH management in the Iraqi construction projects. In this research the suggestion for the future research has introduced

Role of mobile technology in the construction industry - A case study

The construction industry is facing a number of pressures to decrease costs, improve productivity and have a competitive edge in terms of quality of service and customer satisfaction. Recent advancements in mobile technology provide new avenues for addressing this situation. This paper presents the role of emerging mobile technologies and, in particular, the development of a mobile facsimile solution that assists collaborative communications between parties on or away from the construction site. This paper first identifies potential use cases for mobile technologies in the construction industry and highlights the issues that would hamper their adoption. It discusses the modelling of the problems related to the workflow of a construction process with the aid of a focus group formed with various construction industry representatives in New Zealand. The various problem-solving processes adopted by the industry practitioners at different functional levels are analysed and the findings summarised. Finally, this paper describes the development of one such mobile solution, called ClikiFax, which could address some of the issues and pressures prevailing in the context of the New Zealand construction industry. Copyright © 2009, Inderscience Publishers

The Current State of Wireless Information Technology Among Employers of Bowling Green State University Construction Management Students

Successful implementation of wireless technology in the construction industry has the potential to streamline the building process and improve the service that is delivered to the owners of projects. A need exists for improving access and transfer of digital communication and documentation, regardless of the time or location. Recent developing trends in technology promise to introduce efficiencies that were not previously available within the industry. This study seeks to identify the current state of wireless information technology among employers of Bowling Green State University Construction Management students. The research design analyzed quantitative data from a web-based survey that presented results on views of the current usage and interest in wireless technology as well as an assessment of respondents’ opinions towards wireless technology. 72.1% of respondents had high interest towards using tablet PC’s, smartphones and wireless hotspots. However, email and drawings remain the only information that is accessed by the majority of respondents. While interest levels in wireless technology are high, the results of the research study reveal several areas that need improvement before significant progress is made. Several concerns were outlined that may be preventing adoption including slow download speeds and durability of devices. Respondents who are spending more time per week on their wireless device are able to realize improvements on productivity and customer service skills

Context-aware information delivery for mobile construction workers

The potential of mobile Information Technology (IT) applications to support the information needs of mobile construction workers has long been understood. However, existing mobile IT applications in the construction industry have underlined limitations, including their inability to respond to the changing user context, lack of semantic awareness and poor integration with the desktop-based infrastructure. This research argues that awareness of the user context (such as user role, preferences, task-at-hand, location, etc.) can enhance mobile IT applications in the construction industry by providing a mechanism to deliver highly specific information to mobile workers by intelligent interpretation of their context. Against this this background, the aim of this research was to investigate the applicability of context-aware information delivery (CAID) technologies in the construction industry. The research methodology adopted consisted of various methods. A literature review on context-aware and enabling technologies was undertaken and a conceptual framework developed, which addressed the key issues of context-capture, contextinference and context-integration. To illustrate the application of CAID in realistic construction situations, five futuristic deployment scenarios were developed which were analysed with several industry and technology experts. From the analysis, a common set of user needs was drawn up. These needs were subsequently translated into the system design goals, which acted as a key input to the design and evaluation of a prototype system, which was implemented on a Pocket-PC platform. The main achievements of this research include development of a CAID framework for mobile construction workers, demonstration of CAID concepts in realistic construction scenarios, analysis of the Construction industry needs for CAID and implementation and validation of the prototype to demonstrate the CAID concepts. The research concludes that CAID has the potential to significantly improve support for mobile construction workers and identifies the requirements for its effective deployment in the construction project delivery process. However, the industry needs to address various identified barriers to enable the realisation of the full potential of CAID