Real-time resource tracking for analyzing value-adding time in construction

et al. 2020

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Purpose University research efforts have not been effective in developing lasting impacts on operations management in construction because of inadequate coordination between academia and industry. This study aims to describe the development of an industry–university (IU) relationship which has enabled the conduct of practically and scientifically relevant research. Design/methodology/approach Design science research was carried out between 2016 and 2019 to build a consortium between a university and 17 design, construction, technology and logistics companies for enabling process innovations in construction. The consortium conducted industry-funded research on various topics, such as takt production, lean design management, prefabrication, measurement of waste and business models supported by digitalisation. The academic and practical impacts of the consortium’s research projects were investigated through a survey and in-depth company interviews. Findings The paper presents a conceptual model for creating an IU relationship to support scientifically and practically relevant research. The model includes network architects who mobilised consortium development and a joint governance body that developed a shared long-term vision and selected research topics based on this vision. The results show that using the model’s approach, the consortium selected research topics that have led to both academic publications and process innovations in construction. Originality/value Using empirical data, this study describes how to create a win-win IU innovation relationship that enables the implementation of process innovations into the construction sector and, at the same time, the conduct of scientific research in construction management.

Section: Innovations In Constructionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Fostering process innovations in construction through industry–university consortium

Lavikka

et al. 2020

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“…One study using beacon technology in residential and office building projects in Finland, showed via real-time resource tracking, that workers spend 25%-36% of their time during working hours in the assigned work locations according to the schedule (Zhao et al 2019). These results are indicating approximately 70 % of working time as nonvalue adding time.…”

Section: On-site Situation Of Construction Workersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such data sources would be more trustworthy, systematic and actor related distributed as well as lead to fewer changes of workflows in construction projects (Liu et al 2010;Loosemoore 2014). For this purpose, innovative technologies like location tracking of resources and workers (Zhao et al, 2019) or automated progress recognition (Masood et al 2019) can help to create a situation pictures supporting decision making. However, with these methods, situational awareness of workers cannot be fully understood and explained.…”

Section: Capturing On-site Sa Of Workersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Construction Workers’ Situational Awareness – An Overlooked Perspective

Görsch¹,

Proc. 28th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC)

et al. 2020

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The construction industry is claimed to suffer from low productivity often caused by its complex, individualistic and unstructured nature. The construction workers' situational awareness (SA) is an insufficiently investigated and overlooked perspective in current project and production management literature to increase productivity in construction projects. This paper discusses the role of construction workers in planning and control of production and the possible impact of SA for on-site processes integrating knowledge and expertise from construction workers. The paper reviews the literature concerning construction workers' on-site situation, integration in production planning and control processes and the possibilities for empowering workers with SA. Providing real-time situational data can empower workers to make better decisions based on accurate, transparent, structured and trustworthy data. It is concluded that a better understanding and availability of the project information and progress can free up workers' workload, to focus their capacity on the task delivery. This will ultimately lead to a boost in productivity on-site. Furthermore, the paper opens avenue for further research and how to capture the current state of on-site SA of construction workers through a methodical approach including quantitative and qualitative methods.

“…Waste refers to the activities that consume resources but cannot add value for the process. Zhao et al (2019) have proposed the concept of threshold value for uninterrupted presence onsite where they reasoned that a worker needs to stay at a work location for a certain period so that it can be counted as uninterrupted time, which is correlated with value-adding time. Because heat maps are generated on a basis of the density of onsite presence for identification of workspace, the actual threshold minute should be calculated according to the heat map of that worker in question where his or her workspace is detected.…”

Section: Use Cases Of Heat Map Applicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Applying Heat Maps to Define Workspace in Construction Based on Real-Time Tracking System With Coordinate Positioning Information

Zhao

Proc. 28th Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC)

2020

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The construction jobsites are regarded as highly dynamic and chaotic environment for both workers and management. To ensure efficient task performances, workspace is a key resource in construction sites. Nowadays the technology has enabled better management of onsite resources through location-based methods within lean construction principles, such as Location-Based Management System (LBMS) and Takt planning. Those methods aim to optimize workspace in construction sites consisting of multiple tasks and to eliminate waste related to product and labour flows. To contribute to enhancing those lean construction approaches with attempts to obtain real and objective data, we have developed a real-time positioning system based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology where coordinates of workers can be obtained, and heat maps of task-related workspace are generated in real time. This paper aims to develop automated process of generation of workspace based on coordinates of workers and to explore various uses of workspace heat maps to serve the purposes of lean construction principles. The successful implementation of the system in China is analysed and the results suggest that heat maps which use dimensional and temporal positioning data, could be an efficient and convenient method to define workspace of crews onsite.