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

Visual controls at the workface of road construction and maintenance : Preliminary report

Visual Management (VM) is a fundamental element of the lean production system that relies on the effectiveness of sensory communication to realise the lean production/construction goals. VM can be implemented by following certain frameworks in an incremental fashion. Visual controls are one of the main tools of VM that are used to limit and guide process outcomes. They are generally adopted in production management, process, safety, quality, and maintenance management efforts. VM and visual controls have extensively been an important part of lean construction initiatives for a while. Their implementation is also envisioned to be relevant to highway construction and maintenance projects. A set of critical points, general recommendations and possible areas of implementation for VM and visual controls identified from both research and practical experience are presented in this report

Visual management/visual controls implementation pilot : 5S in Highways Construction and Maintenance

This report presents a collaborative research effort between the University of Salford and Highways England on the implementation of the Visual Management (VM) concept,a fundamental element of lean construction, in the highways construction supply chain. After 10 visits to 5 different highways construction sites to identify VM implementation opportunities for the project, the 5S, which is a systematic visual workplace structuring methodology and the very first step to creating a visually transparent workplace, was implemented in one of the highways construction sites. The recorded benefits include a significant reduction in item transaction times (circa 50% reduction on average), savings in space (both vertical and horizontal), and improvements in the overall health and safety conditions. Alongside demonstrating the captured benefits, the report also explores the current 5S condition and how to disseminate the 5S concept further through the highways supply chain. A discussion of the 5S pilot and the 5S in general as per Highways England’s KPIs was also presented

Using quantitative approaches to enhance construction performance through data captured from mobile devices

Lack of primary empirical data within the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry has in the past hindered developments of academic research in the field of performance measurement in construction. This paper presents quantitative analysis of construction production data captured through mobile information systems and provides empirical evidence that data captured through mobile devices has the potential to deliver new and enhanced methods for performance measurement and enhancement. Relational data gathered through mobile devices is used to generate metrics against which construction issue resolution performance is measured. Paper also discusses various methods for early identification and visualisation of performance deviations. Research approach and findings can be used for the development of academic performance measurement frameworks and also as an evidence base for further development by industry in the field of performance enhancement. The paper contributes insight regarding innovative ways to interrogate construction production data and provide stimulus to others to develop the methods and approaches taken

Earth­works Con­trol Automa­tion

Earthwork processes are influenced by a wide range of factors, including varying soil and weather conditions, machine related factors, traffic conditions, local site constraints and other human related factors. Dumpers and bulldozers are heavy duty equipment and there is need to optimise their operational efficiencies. Given dynamic nature of site and changing weather conditions, like temperature, precipitation or wind, can lead to process disturbance like complete restrictions on the site roads or a considerable slow down. Therefore, it is necessary to capture accurate data from site operations to reduce waste in earthwork processes. Even though various commercial vendors (e.g. Leica, Trimble) have started to provide commercial solutions to allow telematics operations (e.g. remote support, fleet management, grade control), costs of these solutions are prohibitive. Presented research proposes the use of low cost data capturing techniques and off-the-shelf technology components to collect real time and reliable data on Earthworks processes. This research aims to enhance earthworks efficiency through better utilisation of building vehicles and an improved information flow. On-site observations and anecdotal evidence suggest that waiting time for excavators and dumpers on Highways Agency’s schemes is a common occurrence. However, despite this evidence, there is a lack of real-time or archival data available on site operations and not enough effort is spent on gathering reliable and accurate data. In order to enable an optimised process, the need for an automated real-time data collection on construction sites is apparent

Towards a Semantic Grid Computing Platform for Disaster Management in Built Environment

Current disaster management procedures rely primarily on heuristics which result in their strategies being very cautious and sub-optimum in terms of saving life, minimising damage and returning the building to its normal function. Also effective disaster management demands decentralized, dynamic, flexible, short term and across domain resource sharing, which is not well supported by existing distributing computing infrastructres. The paper proposes a conceptual framework for emergency management in the built environment, using Semantic Grid as an integrating platform for different technologies. The framework supports a distributed network of specialists in built environment, including structural engineers, building technologists, decision analysts etc. It brings together the necessary technology threads, including the Semantic Web (to provide a framework for shared definitions of terms, resources and relationships), Web Services (to provide dynamic discovery and integration) and Grid Computing (for enhanced computational power, high speed access, collaboration and security control) to support rapid formation of virtual teams for disaster management. The proposed framework also make an extensive use of modelling and simulation (both numerical and using visualisations), data mining (to find resources in legacy data sets) and visualisation. It also include a variety of hardware instruments with access to real time data. Furthermore the whole framework is centred on collaborative working by the virtual team. Although focus of this paper is on disaster management, many aspects of the discussed Grid and Visualisation technologies will be useful for any other forms of collaboration. Conclusions are drawn about the possible future impact on the built environment

Security Policies and Mechanisms for Vehicular Delay Torlant Network

This article revision the literature related to Vehicular Delay Tolerant Network with focus on Cooperation. It starts by examining definitions of some of the fields of research in VDTN on security policies. An overview of VDTN on security policies cooperative networks is presented. A security policy is a high-level specification of the security properties that a given system should possess. It is a means for designers domain experts and implementers to communicate with each other, and a blueprint that drives a project from design through implementation and validation. We offer a survey of the most significant security policy models in the literature showing security may mean very different things in different contexts and we review some of the mechanisms used to implement a gievn security policy