Modular and Offsite Construction (MOC) Summit Proceedings
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Spatial Parameterization of Non-Semantic CAD Elements for Supporting Automated Disassembly Planning
Get PDFDigital data and associated semantics play a fundamental role in supporting the vision of Construction 4.0. Advancements in digitization workflows such as scan-to-BIM and automated meta-data generation are being used for data-driven decision making. A challenge with collecting and processing raw, non-semantic data is the process of integrating intelligence into and characterizing data automatically. This paper demonstrates how spatial parameterization (i.e., extracting, modifying and analysing parameters that define the spatial properties of a component) can be used as a method for automating steps in disassembly planning for buildings. The potential use cases of disassembly planning include adaptive building reuse, robotic assembly programming, reconfigurable prefabricated assemblies and selective disassembly for rehabilitation and repairs. This paper presents spatial parameterization in a framework to disassemble building components via a rule-based algorithm that comprises three dimensional Cartesian properties and clash detection between non-semantic CAD elements. Demonstration of the framework is carried out using a case study where the interior wall of a building on the University of Waterloo campus was disassembled for adaptive reuse purposes. Comparison of the case study results to the actual disassembly sequence demonstrates how spatial parameterization is effective for automating key steps in disassembly planning. A discussion is provided to identify key barriers to increased automation which relate to modelling accuracy, Level of Development (LOD) for Building Information Modelling (BIM), and global spatial constraints for disassembly
A Research Roadmap for Off-Site Construction: Automation and Robotics
Get PDFThe development of a research roadmap was undertaken to further the activities of a joint industry-university-government initiative in off-site construction research in Canada. The roadmap identifies the general research areas of structural design, construction materials, building science, advanced manufacturing, logistics and transportation, automation and robotics, and digitized construction. The development of the roadmap included a broad literature review of peer reviewed academic journals, select conference proceedings, and industry publications. The review of recent research in these areas was analyzed from the perspectives of application area, technology area and innovation phase. The purpose of the analysis was to identify the current activities and opportunities for further research. For example, in the area of automation and robotics, the results showed the majority of construction automation research relates to the actual production phase, as opposed to planning or operations. In terms of innovation maturity, little research is being undertaken with respect to the implementation and adoption of automation technologies, and very little research in technology development or prototyping. In addition, applied research is being conducted at approximately half the rate of basic research. A more recent trend has been greater research interest in industrial production technologies, particularly in additive manufacturing. Very little research is being conducted with respect to non-robotic cyber-physical systems including, IoT connectivity, drone technologies, or construction focused actuator and manipulator technologies. This paper will discuss the broader results of the research roadmap with a focus on automation and robotics
RFID-Integrated Software Platform for Construction Materials Management
Get PDFThe intensity and rate of construction operations require logistics and transportation that can adapt to the changing nature of activities on a day-to-day basis of construction and that enable rapid decision-making. This paper aims to design an integrated RFID technology system for managing construction materials onsite. The integration includes managing materials during the front-end and the execution phases, managing the inventory, locating materials on site with Global Positioning System GPS, and developing Kanban systems for managing different stakeholders’ inputs onsite. The research also sheds the light into the effect of using RFID on leveraging valuable data. RFID systems can gather large amount of tag data via wireless connections
Parklet: A New Urban Platform for Emergent Forms of Communication and Social Interaction in the Cities
Get PDFSocial interaction is critical to the physical and intellectual well-being of a functioning democracy. The excessive influence of technology and lack of urban design and planning’s attention to pedestrian experience has caused our interactions to become more private, isolated, and mostly virtual. The following project presents the product of a design-build studio which uses adaptive/Kinetic systems to generate a creative solution to this social problem. Specifically, it will showcase the efforts of students working on a Parklet project, repurposing urban space to advance local business ethics and social justice issues. The Parklet replaces a parking space, fostering increases in social connections, public vibrancy, and support for local businesses. To move beyond schematic design, and offer students an experiment in real-world design issues, this studio provided a hands-on atmosphere for collaborative and consensus design experience, learning-by-doing, detailing challenges, and offsite construction strategies. It was structured to promote lessons in collaboration, construction detailing and process, and adaptive design, including working with city officials to meet code and zoning regulations. Since the project’s site is located in a neighboring city, students prefabricated the pieces in school and shipped and assembled them on site in one day. The studio sought to promote CAAD education, teaching design, and construction, but also innovation and entrepreneurship, through computational technology. The pedagogical framework was defined around various considerations such as structural, functional, financial, aesthetical, technological, and collaboration with other disciplines such as structural engineering and construction managemen
An Efficiency-orientated Total Factor Productivity Measurement Model for Construction Projects
Get PDFModularization and mechanization are widely promoted due to their potential benefits in enhancing site efficiency. However, the outcomes of the implementation lack quantitative supports at the project level. This paper aims to develop a quantitative evidence-based methodology for measuring site efficiency and evaluating the outcomes of the two technologies. Applying the proposed methodology to a real-life building construction project, the simulation results of multiple scenarios show that site efficiency is likely to be enhanced by encouraging the utilisation of laboring-saving materials and equipment within the limited project budget. The findings provide quantitative evidence to encourage technological innovation in construction materials and equipment, thereby demonstrating the potential of substituting materials or equipment for labor in benefiting site efficiency of a construction project through adopting modularization and mechanization
Research Trends in Off-Site Construction Management: Review of Literature at the Process Level
Get PDFOff-Site Construction (OSC) is a new construction method based on factory production. Due to its advantages over traditional methods, such as high productivity, economic efficiency, and excellence in quality, OSC research has actively been conducted worldwide ranging from design and production standardization, transportation method, to construction planning. Thus, to understand what knowledge has been developed to improve the management of OSC projects, this study reviewed OSC papers that focus on improving a specific project management area (e.g., time, cost, and quality) in a specific phase of a project, i.e., “process-level research.” This study found 94 papers with such a focus, out of 222 OSC project management papers published from 1986 to 2018, and assessed the trends of the research with multiple dimensions, including project phases, OSC types, application types, and management areas. Main findings are as follows: (1) process-level research has been increasing fast since 2006. (2) Non-volumetric pre-assembly type contributes the most to the increase of process-level OSC management research. (3) Research focuses vary depending on the application type (e.g., living quality issues for residential, economics issues for non-residential, productivity issues for plant). (4) Wider project management areas (e.g., quality, human resources, risk) have gained attention from OSC papers since 2006. (5) Non-volumetric type gained interests in residential and non-residential buildings, whereas modular type was studied frequently in plants. This study would help project management researchers understand the trends in OSC and plan and conduct future OSC project management research
Evaluation of Risk Management Practice in the Nigeria Construction Industry
Get PDFThe construction industry is an essential contributor to a country’s economic growth. Unfortunately, the sector\u27s contribution to the economy is hindered by numerous risk surrounding a construction project. Despite the harmful effect of construction risk, it cannot be eliminated but it can only be managed. Therefore, this study aimed at evaluating the practice adopted for managing construction risk within Nigeria construction industry. The quantitative research approach was adopted, and a descriptive study was selected because it gives an accurate account of the characteristics, for example, the behaviour, opinions, abilities, beliefs and knowledge of a situation or group. The questionnaire was sent out to 200 respondents out of which a total of 150 questionnaires were valid. All the valid questionnaires were analysed using SPSS v23 adopting the exploratory factor analysis method. The findings showed that just like developed countries the Nigeria construction industry adopt the best practice of risk management in construction projects. These practices include risk identification, assessment, response and control. The exploratory factor analysis revealed that under risk identification the practice adopted by the construction professionals is dived into information sourcing and history of the project. Concerning risk assessment, the practice comprises of event analysis and creating a picture of the project. The method adopted for risk response includes generating a risk reduction methodology, establishing risk management back up plan and shifting the risk to a third party. Whereas for risk control the practice consists of enhancing construction project quality and improving the program plan of the construction project. The study contributes to the better management of construction project risk in Nigeria
Cyclic Behavior of a Bamboo-Steel Hybrid Moment Frame with a Novel Energy Dissipation Connection
Get PDFThis paper presents a novel bamboo/wood-steel hybrid frame which uses engineered bamboo products as beams and steel as columns. The beams and columns are jointed by an innovative connection which incorporates a steel hinge and two steel brackets to carry shear force and moment from the end of beam, respectively. The bracket consists of two segments, i.e. joint segment connected to beam and the other segment, which serves as energy dissipation panel (EDP), connected to the columns via a base panel. By this way, the connection can provide sufficient initial stiffness for serviceability requirements and excellent energy dissipation capacity for seismic performances. Lateral cyclic loading tests were conducted to investigate the seismic performances of the frame. It was found that hysteresis loops of the frame with energy dissipation joints show less pinching than that of frames with dowel- or bolt-type connections; by proper designing, the damage and failure of the frame can be restricted in the EDPs of connections, whereas virtually no damage was observed in the other components of the frame; the connection can provide more than 10 % damping for the frame after the yielding of EDPs. Design method is also proposed in this paper
Investigating Stakeholders\u27 Perceptions of Feasibility and Implications of Modular Construction-Based Post-Disaster Reconstruction
Get PDFNatural Disasters cause major adverse social and financial effects by destroying homes and infrastructures. For example, Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 damaged over 214,700 homes in New Orleans and forced over 800,000 citizens to live outside of their homes due to flooding. Thus, these disasters require a quick and efficient response to post-disaster housing issues and provide resources for temporary houses for short-term disaster relief and reconstruction of destroyed and damaged housing for full rehabilitation. Reconstruction of permanent housing for disaster victims is one of the most time-consuming activities in the post-disaster recovery process. However, time is a critical factor which should be minimized for the restoration of affected communities. Modularized construction is a promising solution for improving the process of post-disaster housing reconstruction because of its inherent characteristic of time-efficiency. This paper aimed to evaluate prefabricated modular construction potentials as an approach that can facilitate the design and construction phase of post-disaster reconstruction. An extensive literature review has been carried out to identify the features of modularized construction which can add value to the post-disaster recovery process. To investigate the suitability and feasibility of implementing modular construction for post-disaster reconstruction and also identify major barriers of its implementation, a survey has been conducted in 2018 among AEC experts who were experienced in the prefabricated construction industry and/or involved in post-disaster reconstruction projects. The results of the study indicate that prefabricated modular construction is a promising approach to improve time-efficiency of post-disaster reconstruction and tackle challenges of current practices by its unique benefits such as reduced demand for on-site labor (overcome local labor pool constraints impacted by the disaster) and resources (overcome shortage of equipment and materials), shorter schedule (due to concurrent & non-seasonal), reduced site congestion, and improved labor productivity (due to assembly line-like and controlled environment)
Bridging the Gap between Academic and Practice Quantity Surveying in Nigerian Construction Industry
Get PDFIn the construction industry worldwide there is a recognizable gap between academics construction knowledge and its application, and construction knowledge and application as seen in field of practice. In Nigeria, the Quantity surveying profession like other professions in the industry, suffers this same fate. It is based on this that this paper identified the possible factors causing gap between the two divisions. A survey approach was adopted, and questionnaire was used to gather data from construction professionals both in practice and in academics, Ondo State. Data gathered were analyzed using percentage, mean item score and Mann-Whitney U Test. Findings revealed that the major factors contributing to gap are majorly more theoretical knowledge than practical, inadequacy in educational curriculum, slow adoption of innovations and inadequate trained personnel. The two categories of respondents( practicing respondents and those in academics) believes that the most important factor that can help and in bridge the gap between QS in Academics and QS in practice is frequent organizing workshop, lectures and seminars which has been identified by past literature. Openness to new innovations, equilibrium of theoretical and practical knowledge, are the closely following factors. This study contributes to body of knowledge on this subject of discuss