An Integrated System to Select, Position, and Simulate Mobile Cranes for Complex Industrial Projects

Hermann, Ulrich; Hendi, A.; Olearczyk, Jacek; Al‐Hussein, Mohamed

doi:10.1061/41109(373)27

Cited by 21 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The inputs of the designed process consist of the following: (i) site information, including the coordinates of the site boundaries and module information (e.g., weight, set location, pick location, dimensions, etc. ); (ii) AutoCAD crane and module models; (iii) the selected crane locations based on the crane's lifting capacity and boom-tailswing-superlift clearance (see Hermann et al 2010 for the details of selecting and positioning crane locations in heavy industrial projects); and (iv) the lifting sequence for the modules to be lifted. At PCL Industrial Management Inc., a central server database is used to store the required information, and an AutoCAD library contains models of both mobile cranes and modules.…”

Section: Proposed Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

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From AutoCAD to 3ds Max: An automated approach for animating heavy lifting studies

et al. 2015

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Modular construction is a dominant manufacturing method for industrial construction in Alberta, Canada. Modularization requires large-capacity mobile cranes to lift heavy modules, such as piperack modules. The current practice utilizes AutoCAD to generate heavy lift studies for modular onsite installations. Heavy lift studies consist of 2D and 3D simulations of the lifting scenarios, along with the corresponding calculations (e.g., lifting capacity checking, ground bearing pressure checking). These static simulations provide snapshots of mobile cranes at pick and set configurations, but they do not represent the movements between the two configurations. For better communication among site engineers and crews, current static heavy lift studies need to be improved by animating the entire lifting process. 3ds Max is an animation tool that can visualize the lifting process, but the tedious and manual process of preparing the animation restricts efficiency and productivity. This research thus introduces a newly developed animation system that automates the transfer of heavy lift studies from AutoCAD into Autodesk 3ds Max animation. Also in this research, the kinetics of mobile cranes are studied and generic crane movements are defined. Using MAXScript, a script is written to link the crane and project database for automatic generating of animations. This research aims to provide the construction industry with a generic method for automating the animation process for heavy lifts based on AutoCAD and 3ds Max systems.

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Section: Proposed Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the current heavy construction industry, the common approach to heavy lift studies is to plan and design the lifts using database technology (Hasan et al 2010;Hermann et al 2010), and then plot the designed results using AutoCAD. A heavy lift study drawing is produced by an engineer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

From AutoCAD to 3ds Max: An automated approach for animating heavy lifting studies

et al. 2015

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“…Other crane and location selection-related works include Kang and Miranda (2006); Safouhi, Mouattamid, Hermann, and Hendi (2011);and Olearczyk, Al-Hussein, Bouferguène, and Telyas (2012). Meanwhile, apart from the crane type and location selections, practitioners have been developing useful tools or algorithms to assist with crane lift planning from other perspectives: crane path planning (Sivakumar, Varghese, & Babu, 2003;Chang, Hung, & Kang, 2012;Lei, Taghaddos, Hermann, & Al-Hussein, 2013); crane lift sequencing (Hermann, Hendi, Olearczyk, & Al-Hussein, 2010;Taghaddos, AbouRizk, Mohamed, & Hermann, 2012); and the environmental impact of on-site crane operations (Hasan, Bouferguène, Al-Hussein, Gillis, & Telyas, 2013). In this paper, a newly developed decision support system is proposed for crane selection and collision-free path planning for industrial construction projects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Framework for Crane Selection in Large-Scale Industrial Construction Projects

Han

Hasan²,

Lei³

et al. 2013

Proceedings of the 30th International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction and Mining (ISARC 2013): Building Th

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Selecting the best possible cranes and identifying spatial conflict-free locations on sites can result in productivity and safety improvements for large-scale industrial construction projects. In the current practice, experienced lift engineers select cranes based on the heaviest lift and/or the largest lifting radius of the identified crane. This practice is relatively time-consuming, and optimization of the crane's use and location is also difficult. There are many factors which need to be considered during the crane selection process, a reality which further complicates the process. This paper presents a framework which aims at developing a decision support system to enhance the crane selection process and collision-free path planning for large-scale construction projects. This paper utilizes an innovative crane selection matrix in order to establish a process for optimized crane selection for construction projects. The study considers more than 40 different factors in order to reduce time and improve safety for crane operations. Following finalization of crane type (mobile crane versus tower crane), a visualization model to simulate crane operation and identify collision-free crane operation paths is proposed. This process can assist project managers to plan the lifting process more effectively and efficiently. A case study-based approach was utilized to demonstrate the proposed methodology. The methodology was tested in the planning and construction process for boiler house structures in Mannheim, Germany. The project entailed numerous challenges: one of the major tasks was to lift a 102-ton load on the top of the boiler structure through crane collaboration; space limitations on site also presented several challenges related to crane selection, location, and operation processes. Based on the project constraints, the proposed crane selection framework, and the visualization models, two tower cranes were selected and successfully implemented in the case study.

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“…Considering the frequency of using mobile cranes, (e.g., in a typical industrial project, mobile cranes are used to lift as many as 150 modules or more), as well as the cost of mobile crane rental and operational crew, appropriate planning of these mobile crane operations is critical to the success of industrial projects. Mobile crane planning and management usually involve many components, such as: (i) crane type and operation location selection [6,7,16,17,19]; (ii) crane lift path planning [1,2,3,11,15,18]; (iii) crane productivity improvement and equipment design [4,5]; and (iv) simulation and visualization of crane operations [8,9,12,13]. Among these crane planning components, the crane motion planning and analysis aims to determine whether or not the crane can successfully perform the lift under the given site constraints.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Automation for Mobile Crane Motion Planning in Industrial Projects

Lei

Han²,

̈ne³

et al. 2014

Proceedings of the International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction (IAARC)

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-Mobile cranes are used to lift heavy modules in industrial projects. These heavy modules are often prefabricated and each project consists of a large number of lifts (e.g., a typical industrial project may have between 150 and 1000 modules to be lifted). To ensure the safety and efficiency of these lifting activities, crane motion planning is needed. However, in practice, most of the heavy lift studies are, at best, performed semiautomatically and still require significant manual work. In addition to being inefficient, this approach is also characterized by a high error rate, especially in the context of congested construction sites, not to mention its slow response to changes in work order or project scope. For instance, if a module is delayed, the crane motion planning may need to be redesigned (at least partially) since the configuration of the obstacles on the construction site no longer conforms to what had been assumed in the original planning. This paper thus proposes a generic model for mobile crane motion planning that can be implemented in industrial projects. The proposed approach considers the typical site constraints and performs automatic planning for the entire site. An industrial project with more than 100 modules is selected for validation of the proposed method. 3D visualization is also developed to demonstrate the lifts in a 3D Studio Max environment.

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An Integrated System to Select, Position, and Simulate Mobile Cranes for Complex Industrial Projects

Cited by 21 publications

References 7 publications

From AutoCAD to 3ds Max: An automated approach for animating heavy lifting studies

From AutoCAD to 3ds Max: An automated approach for animating heavy lifting studies

A Framework for Crane Selection in Large-Scale Industrial Construction Projects

Automation for Mobile Crane Motion Planning in Industrial Projects

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