Applying Cognitive Principles to the Delivery of Engineering Information by Different Mediums

Construction project performance and worker productivity are often tied to the availability and effective presentation of information, tools, materials, and equipment. While advancements in technology have improved much of the processes on a construction project, the medium of information dissemination at the construction work face has consistently relied on the use of two dimensional drawings and specifications. Industry initiatives are driving increased collaboration through three dimensional BIM (Building Information Modeling) models. However, the added dimension partially loses its effect when presented on a two dimensional computer monitor. Other computer forms of presentation intended for mobility (PDAs, laptops, and tablets) can be difficult to use in the field due to glare, durability in a harsh working environment, and the required skill level for effective use. Three dimensional (3D) physical printers now provide the capability to develop scaled and color models of a project directly from a BIM model. 3D physical printers represent a potential transformative change of providing engineering information to construction crews, but how to develop 3D models that leverage the cognitive benefits of viewing engineering information in a physical 3D form is unknown. The primary contribution to the overall body of knowledge of this dissertation is to scientifically examine the effect that different engineering information mediums have on an individual’s cognitive ability to effectively and accurately interpret spatial information. First, the author developed a robust scientific experiment for construction practitioners and students to complete. This experiment included outcomes measures on mental workload, cognitive demand, productivity, efficiency, demographics, and preferences. After collecting data, the author analyzed the outcomes through a series of statistical analyses to measure the differences between groups and quantify the affect and relationship among key variables. From the results, there are statistically significant improvements in productivity and efficiency of practitioners and students when using a physical model compared to two dimensional drawings and a three dimensional computer model. In addition, the average cognitive demand for a physical model was lower than the average cognitive demand for two dimensional drawings and three dimensional computer model

Specialized Safety Training and Tracking for KYTC Construction and Maintenance Personnel

High-quality safety training is critical for educating employees in the highway construction and maintenance industry about workplace hazards and giving them tools to remove and/or minimize associated risks. But researchers and state transportation agencies have not committed enough resources to develop safety trainings that address the unique needs of this sector. This report fills in this gap for the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) by cataloguing safety training resources available through other state and federal transportation agencies, documenting trainings available to Cabinet staff, identifying and prioritizing training gaps, and critically evaluating the content, quality, and duration of training resources. A web-based tool developed as part of this effort can be used by KYTC employees to quickly identify training resources by topic and view evaluations. In collaboration with the Kentucky Transportation Center’s Technology Transfer Program, researchers propose recommendations for safety trainings that can address needs beyond the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 10-hour course Cabinet employees take. Future efforts should work to integrate these training modules into KYTC’s recently acquired comprehensive safety management system

Evaluating the Use of a Near-Miss Reporting Program to Enhance Employee Safety Performance

Using safety incidents and crashes to improve safety performance is an outdated and reactive practice in safety and health programs. One component of a modern approach to safety is a near-miss reporting program. This type of program tracks close calls or near misses that do not result in an incident or crash, but which often can be an early indicator that one may happen. While most construction companies have implemented some methods for reporting near-miss events, many agencies, such as the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), struggle getting employees to report near misses. To fill this gap, potential factors that result in a lack of reporting are identified through a synthesis of existing literature, areas for improving existing near-miss reporting systems are discussed, and a survey was administered to KYTC maintenance superintendents. Results of this study suggest that many of the barriers that lead to a lack of near-miss reporting stem from the management level. Proposed suggestions to overcome barriers related to near-miss reporting include providing and/or requiring better near-miss training, making KYTC’s web-based reporting tool more well-known and accessible, and taking more visible corrective actions once near misses are reported. Future work should address the causes of near-miss events and strategies to reduce near-miss incidents on jobsites

Safety Concepts for Workers from an OSHA Perspective

Highway construction and maintenance workers face numerous hazards on job sites, many of which are unique by industry standards. Despite the exposure of state transportation agency employees and contractors to these hazards, there are few safety standards, regulations, programs that directly target the sector aimed at prevention and mitigation. To help the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) improve employee safety, researchers at the Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) analyzed the frequency and causes of workplace injuries for 10 essential Cabinet maintenance operations. Most incidents were attributable to human factors or ergonomics. Based on this analysis, the leading causes of incidents, and a review of best practices related to workplace safety, KTC designed and built a pre-task safety tool applicable to the 10 KYTC maintenance operations. Developed in Microsoft Excel, the tool is straightforward and intuitive, addresses the most frequent hazards encountered on jobs sites, and can potentially be expanded to encompass all maintenance operations (once sufficient data are available). The tool contains three sections: 1) an introductory sheet with user instructions; 2) statistical summaries of previous injuries suffered by KYTC maintenance workers for each operation; and 3) examples of incidents that have resulted from each of the most frequent causes of injury and recommended safety practices to minimize or eliminate potential hazards. Site foremen or supervisors can use the tool to develop a pre-task safety talk on scheduled workday activities, their associated hazards, and specific measures to prevent or mitigate those hazards. KTC researchers delivered the pre-task safety tool to KYTC separately

Development, Implementation, and Tracking of Preventative Safety Metrics

What gets measured, gets improved. With respect to the safety and health of Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) employees, the primary metric used has been the OSHA recordable incident rate. This incident rate measures how often a Cabinet employee sustains an injury that demands more than basic first aid. This metric is important for understanding injury frequencies, but it does not assist with management of the safety, health, and overall well-being of KYTC personnel. Based on a review of leading safety indicators adopted by various industries, this study devised a comprehensive list of safety metrics the Cabinet will benefit from tracking. Metrics were evaluated, organized, weighted, and compiled into a three-tier scorecard that is used to assess performance at KYTC’s district, area, and executive levels. Five major dimensions of an effective safety program were identified: (1) management leadership and commitment, (2) employee engagement, (3) training and competence, (4) hazard identification and control, and (5) evaluation and improvement. Surveys of KYTC districts found that all metrics performed robustly, while stakeholders at executive levels usually assigned lower scores to the five dimensions. Employee engagement had the lowest score. The Cabinet will benefit from seeking out more opportunities to involve employees in the agency’s safety program. Equally, the study reiterates the value of gaining management buy-in, support, and leadership when working to eliminate incidents and injuries

Utilization of Light Detection and Ranging for Quality Control and Quality Assurance of Pavement Grades

Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) technology is a useful tool that can assist transportation agencies during the design, construction, and maintenance phases of transportation projects. To demonstrate the utility of Lidar, this report discusses how Lidar data can be used while performing quality control and quality assurance (QC/QA) of pavement grades along road segments where safety concerns have been identified (e.g., increased crash rates due to water ponding on the roadway). Researchers modeled surface runoff using Lidar data for several roadways that had experienced significant crash increases during wet-weather events. Based on this modeling, the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) undertook corrective maintenance to eliminate the points of concerns. Applying Lidar on transportation projects holds much promise, but there are several challenges related to its accuracy that transportation agencies must be cognizant of before deploying it routinely or using it to replace conventional surveying techniques

Roadmap to a Holistic Highway Digital Twin: A Why, How, & Why Framework

The advent and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic shifted the world’s focus toward investing in social structure projects that would improve urbanization and enhance equity. This shift compiled with the emergence of innovative technologies namely Digital Twins, allowed for investigating new approaches for designing and delivering infrastructures, thus paving the road toward smarter infrastructures. Smart infrastructures achieved by connecting the physical aspect of the infrastructure with its digital aspect will allow for optimizing the performance of infrastructure systems by digitally enhancing the asset value and leveraging the value of asset data. Digital Twins can be applied to several civil infrastructure projects including the transportation sector. Also, Digital Twins can be implemented for different spatial scales, on a national level, on the level of the city, and for a network of assets. Few case studies described how to transfer a Digital Twin vision to practice; thus, this chapter presents the journey for a holistic Digital Twin for a highway system formed of a network of assets by discussing the Why, How, and What framework. A holistic highway Digital Twin will allow for cross-asset data analysis, conducting predictive and preventive maintenance, and efficient resource allocation based on data-driven decision-making

Reducing Construction Costs Through Effective Field Communication and Administration

Falling Road Fund receipts have placed added strain on the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s (KYTC) already-underfunded highway program. Revenue declines have increased the urgency of improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the Cabinet’s operations. One method KYTC can use to realize greater cost savings is improving the administration of construction projects. Effective field communication and administration helps control construction costs, enhances quality, and minimizes delays and claims. One challenge the Cabinet will need to confront to more effectively administer projects, however, is the loss of institutional knowledge associated with staff attrition. The report documents KYTC current methods for project staffing, communication, and partnering. It summarizes best practices for field communication and administration used throughout the private and public sector construction industries and discusses findings obtained through interviews with Cabinet staff and industry representatives on the issues in-house staff and external contractors routinely negotiate during projects. Based on analysis of these interviews and the literature reviewed, the report identifies five issues that are commonly encountered on KYTC construction projects and puts forward recommendations for ameliorating them. Additionally, it proposes a new initiative — Putting the Project First — which has as its goal the development of tools, practices, guidance, and training to meet stakeholder needs across all project types. Several recommendations, which can be enacted over the short-, intermediate-, and long-term are advanced to build a sound and practical foundation for all Putting the Project First activities. This initiative will strengthen relationships between the Cabinet and its contractors. It will also help build an institutional framework for conducting field communications and administration, one resilient in the face of staff turnover

Evaluating the Safety Cultures of Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Maintenance Crews

Highway work zones can be dangerous and unpredictable. Between 2003 and 2017, over 1,800 workers died on road construction sites. Eliminating injuries and deaths requires state transportation agencies to adopt robust safety cultures as there is a clear relationship between these cultures and worker behaviors. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) is committed to improving safety performance by nurturing a positive safety climate among highway maintenance crews. To understand the safety cultures of KYTC maintenance crews, researchers administered a survey based on the Safety Climate Assessment Tool (S-CAT) developed by the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR). This is the first tool developed for the construction industry. The survey was used to quantified the existing safety climate and evaluate how effective safety programs and controls are at reducing workplace hazards. Survey respondents answered questions on 37 indicators across eight safety climate categories: employee risk perception, management commitment, aligning and integrating safety as a value, ensuring accountability at all levels, improving supervisory leadership, empowering and involving employees, improving communication, and safety training. For each indicator respondents assigned a rating on a five-point Likert scale — Inattentive (1), Reactive (2), Compliant (3), Proactive (4), Exemplary (5). Analysis of survey responses at the statewide and district levels found that KYTC’s safety culture can be characterized as between compliant and proactive. Focus groups with maintenance superintendents generated recommendations to improve safety cultures and install multiple layers of preventive measures to further reduce the number and threat of jobsite hazards

Construction-Ready Digital Terrain Models

Since 2009, Kentucky has made its 3D design data available as a supplemental reference to bidders through the project delivery process. This research discusses methods for ensuring electronic engineering data (EED) — and specifically the proposed digital terrain model (DTM) — support modern construction management methods at the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC). Researchers performed a literature review, surveyed KYTC construction and design staff, engaged with Cabinet staff and industry members to understand the current state of practice, and evaluated quality- related attributes of the EED through case studies. The report presents a set of targeted recommendations for improving KYTC processes of highway design review, training and guidance for Cabinet staff, data sharing and management, professional service contract negotiations, and facilitated communication between KYTC and its industry partners