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Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Item
    An automated safety planning approach for residential construction sites in Malaysia
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2014) Irizarry, Javier ; Zolfagharian, Samaneh ; Ressang, Aziruddin ; Nourbakhsh, Mehdi ; Gheisari, Masoud
    in particular residential building construction. This paper aims at proposing an Automated Safety-Planning Plug-in (ASPP) for project scheduling software applications, to mitigate the occurrence of construction accidents. To achieve this aim, frequency and severity of the common construction safety hazards in residential buildings were investigated by distributing a questionnaire to safety managers and construction managers in Malaysia. A total of 106 completed responses were received. Then, risk level associated to each hazard was calculated based on the relevant risk matrix. The ASPP extracts current construction activities from any computer based schedule (Microsoft Project® in this paper) and identifies their risks level as well as safety regulations and hazards related to each activity as a report. A case study is used to investigate the reliability and usability of the ASPP. The ASPP was found to be efficient and helpful for rigorously complying with safety regulations and control potential hazards. The practical implication of this study is to improve construction safety by promoting the project managers’ awareness of safety hazards and associated risks as well as essential safety indicators provided through a comprehensive report.
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    An ambient intelligent environment for accessing building information in facility management operations; A healthcare facility scenario
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013-11-21) Gheisari, Masoud
    The Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Operations (AECO) industry is constantly searching for new methods for increasing efficiency and productivity. Facility managers, as a part of the owner/operator role, work in complex and dynamic environments where critical decisions are constantly made. This decision-making process and its consequent performance can be improved by enhancing Situation Awareness (SA) of the facility managers through new digital technologies. SA, as a user-centered approach for understanding facility managers’ information requirement, together with Mobile Augmented Reality (MAR) was used for developing an Ambient Intelligent (AmI) environment for accessing building information in facilities. Augmented Reality has been considered as a viable option to reduce inefficiencies of data overload by providing facility managers with an SA-based tool for visualizing their “real-world” environment with added interactive data. Moreover, Building Information Modeling (BIM) was used as the data repository of the required building information. A pilot study was done to study the integration between SA, MAR, and BIM. InfoSPOT (Information Surveyed Point for Observation and Tracking) was developed as a low-cost solution that leverage current AR technology, showing that it is possible to take an idealized BIM model and integrate its data and 3D information in an MAR environment. A within-subjects user participation experiment and analysis was also conducted to evaluate the usability of the InfoSPOT in facility management related practices. The outcome of statistical analysis (a one-way repeated measure ANOVA) revealed that on average the mobile AR-based environment was relatively seamless and efficient for all participants in the study. Building on the InfoSPOT pilot study, an in-depth research was conducted in the area of healthcare facility management, integrating SA, MAR, and BIM to develop an AmI environment where facility mangers’ information requirement would be superimposed on their real-word view of the facility they maintain and would be interactively accessible through current mobile handheld technology. This AmI environment was compared to the traditional approach of conducting preventive and corrective maintenance using paper-based forms. The purpose of this part of the research was to investigate the hypothesis of “bringing 3D BIM models of building components in an AR environment and making it accessible through handheld mobile devices would help the facility managers to locate those components easier and faster compared to facility managers’ paper-based approach”. The result of this study shows that this innovative application of AR and integrating it with BIM to enhance the SA has the potential to improve construction practices, and in this case, facility management.
  • Item
    Mobile Application Prototype for On-Site Information Management in Construction Industry
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2012) Nourbakhsh, Mehdi ; Zin, Rosli Mohamad ; Irizarry, Javier ; Zolfagharian, Sameneh ; Gheisari, Masoud
    Purpose: This paper presents the results of a study aimed at investigating the information requirements for broad use mobile applications for construction projects. It also presents the results of usability testing of a mobile application prototype for improving information management in construction projects. Design/methodology/approach: To achieve the research objectives, the information required to properly design the mobile application was collected by distributing an online questionnaire among construction professionals. Then a server-based application prototype was developed based on enterprise content management concepts. The mobile application was tested in a laboratory by setting a group of construction management postgraduate students who had experience on working in construction industry. Finding: This study determines and ranks the critical on-site information artifacts, considered highly important from the perspective of clients, consultants, and contractors. The study also illustrates the development of a mobile application prototype and results of a usability test. The test results demonstrate that the application is well designed, user friendly, and meets user requirements. Practical implications: The results of this study are useful for developing a functional mobile application to manage on-site information in construction projects. Originality/value: The paper makes an original contribution of investigating information requirements of a mobile application for on-site information management.