Construction inspection and monitoring are key activities in construction projects. Automation of inspection tasks can address existing limitations and inefficiencies of the manual process to enable systematic and consistent construction inspection. However, there is a lack of an in-depth understanding of the process of construction inspection and monitoring and the tasks and sequences involved to provide the basis for task delegation in a human-technology partnership. The purpose of this research is to study the conventional process of inspection and monitoring of construction work currently implemented in construction projects and to develop an alternative process using a quadruped robot as an inspector assistant to overcome the limitations of the conventional process. This paper explores the use of quadruped robots for construction inspection and monitoring with an emphasis on a human-robot teaming approach. Technical development and testing of the robotic technology are not in the scope of this study. The results indicate how inspector assistant quadruped robots can enable a human-technology partnership in future construction inspection and monitoring tasks. The research was conducted through on-site experiments and observations of inspectors during construction inspection and monitoring followed by a semi-structured interview to develop a process map of the conventional construction inspection and monitoring process. The study also includes on-site robot training and experiments with the inspectors to develop an alternative process map to depict future construction inspection and monitoring work with the use of an inspector assistant quadruped robot. Both the conventional and alternative process maps were validated through interview surveys with industry experts against four criteria including, completeness, accuracy, generalizability, and comprehensibility. The findings suggest that the developed process maps reflect existing and future construction inspection and monitoring work.
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This content will become publicly available on May 26, 2024
Developing a work package approach for construction robotics
The development of robotics in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry has emerged in recent years in response to technology advances and industry challenges such as workforce shortages. Construction robotics has the potential to increase construction productivity and accuracy as well as reduce accidents and costs. However, their introduction to construction sites creates new challenges. Previous studies have shown that robots can cause major changes in construction workflow, scope, and methods. Construction robotics introduce key changes to the work process and the sequence of construction tasks. The traditional planning approach for work break down structure and scheduling assigns resources for construction activities based on human labor and craft methods. Despite this, the capabilities of robotics relative to construction resource planning, sequencing, and work scope has not been fully studied. To address this, the implementation of robotics in construction projects needs a new approach to organizing work packages (WP). With the inclusion of robotics as a resource, planning parameters such as methods and sequence will change both the scope and accordingly the work packaging for construction. This paper aims to systematically identify the potential impacts of robots on construction processes, as well as how those changes influences work packaging. The methodology is based on data integration and content analysis from literature review and collected interviews with project participants about real-world construction projects. The paper discusses how construction robots impact the work package approach and categorizes the affected factors. These factors include the work area, sequence and priority of construction activities, safety management, allocation of risk responsibility for tasks, interaction with other trades, and required materials.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1928626
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10466063
- Editor(s):
- Desjardin, S. and
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Annual meeting Canadian Society of Civil Engineers
- ISSN:
- 0702-2239
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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