Paving New Roads To Knowledge: An Experiment To Enhance Construction Education

As a result of their own sometimes frustrating educational experiences, and a growing discontent with their current teaching methods, the authors, in conjunction with another instructor, decided to try an experiment.   With the goal of enhancing visualization and understanding, the instructors created several multi-path educational paths for the reinforced concrete class.  These alternative paths or “roads” included electronic visits to the site of the construction of a concrete frame building, homework assignments based on the various building components, discussions with the project manager, and a “hands on” public service project.  This paper details the traditional and multi-path educational delivery models in a concrete course, resources required to “construct” more roads to knowledge, the results of a short survey of student reaction, and a synopsis of faculty comments on the effectiveness of the effort

What is a smart device? - a conceptualisation within the paradigm of the internet of things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is an interconnected network of objects which range from simple sensors to smartphones and tablets; it is a relatively novel paradigm that has been rapidly gaining ground in the scenario of modern wireless telecommunications with an expected growth of 25 to 50 billion of connected devices for 2020 Due to the recent rise of this paradigm, authors across the literature use inconsistent terms to address the devices present in the IoT, such as mobile device, smart device, mobile technologies or mobile smart device. Based on the existing literature, this paper chooses the term smart device as a starting point towards the development of an appropriate definition for the devices present in the IoT. This investigation aims at exploring the concept and main features of smart devices as well as their role in the IoT. This paper follows a systematic approach for reviewing compendium of literature to explore the current research in this field. It has been identified smart devices as the primary objects interconnected in the network of IoT, having an essential role in this paradigm. The developed concept for defining smart device is based on three main features, namely context-awareness, autonomy and device connectivity. Other features such as mobility and userinteraction were highly mentioned in the literature, but were not considered because of the nature of the IoT as a network mainly oriented to device-to-device connectivity whether they are mobile or not and whether they interact with people or not. What emerges from this paper is a concept which can be used to homogenise the terminology used on further research in the Field of digitalisation and smart technologies

The use of smart technologies in enabling construction components reuse: A viable method or a problem creating solution?

© 2017 The Authors. The exploitation of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) for tracking and archiving the properties of structural construction components could be a potentially innovative disruption for the construction sector. This is because RFID can stimulate the reuse of construction components and reduce their wastage, hence addressing sustainability issues in the construction sector. To test the plausibility of that idea, this study explores the potential pre-conditions for RFID to facilitate construction components reuse, and develops a guidance for promoting their redistribution back to the supply chain. It also looks at how integrating RFID with Building Information Modelling (BIM) can possibly be a valuable extension of its capabilities, providing the opportunity for tracked components to be incorporated into new structures in an informed, sound way. A preliminary assessment of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the RFID technology is presented in order to depict its current and future potential in promoting construction components’ sustainable lifecycle management, while emphasis has been laid on capturing their technical, environmental, economic and social value. Findings suggest that the collection of the right amount of information at the design-construction-deconstruction-reuse-disposal stage is crucial for RFID to become a successful innovation in the construction sector. Although a number of limitations related to the technical operability and recycling of RFID tags seem to currently hinder its uptake for structural components’ lifecycle management, future technological innovations could provide solutions that would enable it to become a mainstream practice. Taken together these proposals advocate that the use of RFID and its integration with BIM can create the right environment for the development of new business models focused on sustainable resource management. These models may then unlock multiple values that are otherwise dissipated in the system. If the rapid technological development of RFID capability can be allied to policy interventions that control and manage its uptake along the supply chain, the sustainable lifecycle management of construction components could be radically enhanced.UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) who funded this work (Grant No. EP/K012398/1) in the context of the Infrastructure Business models, valuation and Innovation for Local Delivery (iBUILD) project

Outsourcing and Off-shoring: Options for the US Construction Industry

The construction industry relies on the skills of structural engineers for all projects. There exists a large volume of design and detailing work for structural engineering in the United States (US) and there are insufficient numbers of qualified designers in the US to do the work. Recent changes in the telecommunications sector make off-shoring structural design work to developing countries like India and China a realistic possibility. Economics of outsourcing is a key reason for this possibility to be realized. It is logical to consider the effects of outsourcing in the design sector and its effects on the construction industry. The manuscript will present the author’s finding based on detailed case-study model research with two companies that are outsourcing work to India from the US. The author conducted detailed interviews with principals in US structural design firms and then traveled to Bangalore, India to interview their Indian counterparts. Results from these interviews are presented. The author will present an empirical model for outsourcing construction activities. Processes in the construction industry that are most suited for outsourcing and off-shoring are presented. Issues surrounding outsourcing such as training, economics and logistics are discussed. In the past decade outsourcing and off-shoring have become prevalent practices in many industries. White colla

A decision support framework for site safety monitoring using RFID and BIM

Supervision of construction workers on a site is crucial to ensure construction worker safety, to maintain the quality of work performed and to maintain acceptable levels of productivity. The act of supervision itself requires the site superintendent to physically monitor workers in an environment that is constantly changing throughout the various phases of construction. This can be a complicated task on a medium to large building site with several trades working simultaneously on multiple floors or areas. There exists a need for construction superintendents to know the location of construction workers within a site. Academicians and industry professionals have demonstrated the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Tags in construction applications in the past few years. RFID tags have successfully been used to track construction materials, equipment and tools. Studies indicate that the use of RFID tags in construction improves the overall process of construction. Building information modeling (BIM) technology is emerging as the industry standard in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector. BIM is being used as a comprehensive design, management, visualization, communication and facility maintenance and management tool. This research presents the creation of a decision support framework for site supervision based on monitoring construction workers by combining RFID technology with BIM. A conceptual decision support framework to monitor site safety was developed by interviewing site superintendents. Conducting a web-based questionnaire of construction industry professionals validated the framework. A proof-of-concept virtual prototype was created to track the movement of construction workers using RFID and BIM. The procedures undertaken to create the conceptual framework and the virtual prototype are described in the thesis

Techniques for tracking RFID tags in a BIM model

Abstract Academicians and industry professionals have demonstrated the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Tags in construction applications in the past few years. Recently building information modelling (BIM) technology is emerging as the industry standard in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) sector. This paper combines the two technologies to monitor the movement of RFID tags in a BIM environment. Real-time monitoring of RFID tags in a building information model is an improvement over other methods of tracking construction workers, equipment and materials on the jobsite. Strategies for combining the two technologies are explored. This method of monitoring can be used to improve the safety and productivity of construction workers on a construction jobsite. This technique of monitoring RFID tags can also be used to track equipment and construction materials on a job-site. Autodesk Revit BIM software environment was used for tracking RFID tags. The paper includes discussion about the choice of RFID tags available for this method of tracking