Date of Award

8-2017

Degree Name

Master of Science in Engineering

Department

Civil and Construction Engineering

First Advisor

Dr. Abiola Akanmu

Second Advisor

Dr. Jiansong Zhang

Third Advisor

Dr. Osama Abudayyeh

Keywords

Swarm node, proximity sensing, wireless technology, Kalman filter, safety management

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

One of the key requirements for the successful delivery of construction projects is the access to critical information regarding the proximity of construction resources. Such information offers opportunities for enhancing quick decision making regarding the progress of activities and construction site safety. Emerging sensing systems such as swarm nodes promises to provide this real-time proximity information. However, little is known regarding their performance on construction sites. This thesis presents an evaluation of the performance of swarm node systems in the construction industry. The objective of the research was to establish the accuracy of the proximity sensing system in both static and dynamic modes under conditions that can commonly occur on construction sites. A number of factors affecting the performance of the swarm nodes system on construction sites were identified, namely: the orientation, number, elevation and velocity of the swarm nodes, and the type of material that the nodes are attached to. A number of experiments were conducted in which the impact of each factor was simulated. The experiments were designed to reflect scenarios that typically occur on construction sites. Based on the obtained results, recommendations have been provided for effective utilization of the swarm nodes in tracking the proximity of resources on construction sites. The findings of this research are essential to assess the feasibility of using swarm nodes for different construction site applications, such as component installation status tracking and safety management.

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