Schedulers consider a variety of constraints when they analyze a project to schedule the construc... more Schedulers consider a variety of constraints when they analyze a project to schedule the construction work for it. Often they will start from some schedule that they recall from a previous project and modify it to meet the new project's constraints. In doing so, they may add, delete, or change activities and links in their working schedule. The knowledge pertaining to identifying constraints and to reapplying them is reusable planning and can be stored with the project data as cases. Besides articulating scheduling constraints to be captured in cases, this paper presents a case-based planner for construction, named CasePlan. CasePlan accumulates planning knowledge based on the causal relationship established by schedulers between constraints, project descriptions, and construction alternatives used for the project. CasePlan stores this planning knowledge as cases, and uses those cases to plan new projects. The implementation of CasePlan is under way.
Building information modeling (BIM) is the digital representation of physical and functional char... more Building information modeling (BIM) is the digital representation of physical and functional characteristics (such as geometry, spatial relationship, and geographic information) of a facility to support decisions during its life cycle. BIM has been extended beyond 3D geometrical representations in recent years, and now includes time as a fourth dimension and cost as a fifth dimension, as well as such other applications as virtual reality and augmented reality. The Internet of Things (IoT) has been increasingly applied in various products (smart homes, wearables) to enhance work productivity, living comfort, and entertainment. However, research addressing the integration of these two technologies (BIM and IoT) is still very limited, and has focused exclusively on the automatic transmission of sensor information to BIM models. This paper describes an attempt to represent and visualize sensor data in BIM with multiple perspectives in order to support complex decisions requiring interdi...
Abstract Fall accidents are a major safety issue and a perennial problem in the construction indu... more Abstract Fall accidents are a major safety issue and a perennial problem in the construction industry. However, few studies have focused on detecting fall portents, identification of which may prevent falls from occurring. This study developed an accelerometer-based fall portent detection system that employed a hierarchical threshold-based algorithm. We designed tiling experiments to evaluate the performance of the proposed system. The participants performed the tasks under normal, inebriation, and sleepiness conditions on a scaffold while four accelerometers were attached to their chest, waist, arm, and hand. The results revealed that the traditional threshold-based algorithms had unacceptable accuracies of less than 30.66%. Most false warnings could be attributed to misidentifications of work-related motions. However, the work-related motions had a limited effect on the hierarchical threshold-based algorithm, which exhibited a satisfactory detection rate and accuracy of 76.86% and 79.13%, respectively.
During the conceptual phase of a construction project, numerous uncertainties make accurate cost ... more During the conceptual phase of a construction project, numerous uncertainties make accurate cost estimation challenging. This work develops a new model to calculate conceptual costs of building projects for effective cost control. The proposed model integrates four mathematical techniques (sub-models), namely, (1) the component ratios sub-model, (2) fuzzy adaptive learning control network (FALCON) and fast messy genetic algorithm (fmGA) based sub-model, (3) regression sub-model, and (4) multi-factor evaluation sub-model. While the FALCON- and fmGA-based sub-model trains the historical cost data, three other sub-models assess the inputs systematically to estimate the cost of a new project. This study also closely examines the behavior of the proposed model by evaluating two modified models without considering fmGA and undertaking sensitivity analysis. Evaluation results indicate that, with the ability to more thoroughly respond to the project characteristics, the proposed model has...
Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, 2016
AbstractMost construction management courses comprise only lectures on procurement and negotiatio... more AbstractMost construction management courses comprise only lectures on procurement and negotiation; therefore, students lack practical experience. In this study, an educational game was developed to help students make procurement and negotiation decisions for procuring the steel required for construction projects. An experiment comprising a lecture, pretest, negotiation game, and posttest was conducted at three different universities with a total of 87 student participants. The study not only analyzed the learning effectiveness resulting from the inclusion of games in a traditional lecture setting, but also quantitatively examined the problems related to the strategies used by the players from different perspectives. The results revealed that the game increased the average test score by at least 20.16%, and a strong correlation was observed between the winners of the game and the students with high test scores. The strategies used by the winners were different from those used by the nonwinners. Compared w...
Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, 2015
Function space assignment determines the function of all spaces and is essential to the design of... more Function space assignment determines the function of all spaces and is essential to the design of a remodeled building. Optimization of function space assignment that relies upon users' activities is difficult due to the lack of quantifiable and detailed data about users' activities. In this paper, an activity-based simulation process model consisting of five phases is proposed and applied to an actual project. The phases include activity data collection, activity simulation, space movement pattern mining, function-space assignment optimization, movement simulation and assessment. The process also allows the building administrator to adjust the optimized assignment to accommodate hard-to-quantify preferences via a variety of indexes such as movement distance, corridor flow, and other space usage-related indexes. Results from application of the proposed model to an actual remodeling project indicated that the model offered the administrator a better assignment than the contracted architect, with a 5.79% increase in the objective function and a 23.92% decrease in movement distance. The adjusted assignment based on service-related indices, such as noise interference, further improved service by accounting for parameters that were not easily included in the objective function for optimization.
The adverse effects of night-shift work and alcohol consumption on performance have received cons... more The adverse effects of night-shift work and alcohol consumption on performance have received considerable attention. However, how night shifts and alcohol affect productivity in workers has not been quantified. This paper describes the experiments featuring multiple tiling tasks and patterns. The tiling quality performed by the graduate student participants in four different statuses was objectively evaluated by an edge-detection computer program. The results indicate that both night shift and alcohol significantly reduce the quality in general, and the effects of the factors on position and alignment-angle qualities were dissimilar in distinct areas due to tile patterns and size. Both night-shift and alcohol conditions affected the basic (-34.01% and -25.79%) and advanced tiling abilities (-40.14% and -26.16%), and night shift had a larger impact than alcohol. These results provide jobsite managers with usable information regarding how night shifts and alcohol affect workers' abilities to execute basic and advanced tasks.
2015 12th International Conference on Fuzzy Systems and Knowledge Discovery (FSKD), 2015
The construction industry is one of the most hazardous industries. Potential hazards are common i... more The construction industry is one of the most hazardous industries. Potential hazards are common in construction sites due to the variability and open elevated working environment. Hazard identification, detecting and correcting potential hazards before an accident occurs, is one of practical and effective methods that are commonly adopted. However, hazard identification relies on tacit knowledge that requires sufficient experience. The current training of trainees (e.g., inspectors and students) in general still relies on lectures to provide them with the knowledge on safety management, regulation, and past accidental cases. Such traditional lectures are not effective in nourishing the required identification ability. This research created a 3D digit construction site model, and developed an interactive hazard-identification game that allows trainees to have realistic hands-on identification experience. We also designed an experiment to evaluate the learning effects and satisfactions of the hazard-identification game as compared with the traditional lectures. The results showed that the hazard-identification game was significantly (p <; 0.001) better than the traditional lectures in safety education and training. Also, the students satisfied with the game-based training courses significantly (p <; 0.001) more than the other students satisfied with the traditional courses. Virtual environment provides the feasibility of creating various types of job sites and hazards depending on the training objectives, and allows trainees to learn by experiencing in a safe environment. This research establishes and develops a game-based hazard identification training system, which can improve trainees' learning effectiveness and learning satisfaction. The training system can also improve workers' and site managers' hazard awareness, and help them find hazards in their workplace.
Schedulers consider a variety of constraints when they analyze a project to schedule the construc... more Schedulers consider a variety of constraints when they analyze a project to schedule the construction work for it. Often they will start from some schedule that they recall from a previous project and modify it to meet the new project's constraints. In doing so, they may add, delete, or change activities and links in their working schedule. The knowledge pertaining to identifying constraints and to reapplying them is reusable planning and can be stored with the project data as cases. Besides articulating scheduling constraints to be captured in cases, this paper presents a case-based planner for construction, named CasePlan. CasePlan accumulates planning knowledge based on the causal relationship established by schedulers between constraints, project descriptions, and construction alternatives used for the project. CasePlan stores this planning knowledge as cases, and uses those cases to plan new projects. The implementation of CasePlan is under way.
Building information modeling (BIM) is the digital representation of physical and functional char... more Building information modeling (BIM) is the digital representation of physical and functional characteristics (such as geometry, spatial relationship, and geographic information) of a facility to support decisions during its life cycle. BIM has been extended beyond 3D geometrical representations in recent years, and now includes time as a fourth dimension and cost as a fifth dimension, as well as such other applications as virtual reality and augmented reality. The Internet of Things (IoT) has been increasingly applied in various products (smart homes, wearables) to enhance work productivity, living comfort, and entertainment. However, research addressing the integration of these two technologies (BIM and IoT) is still very limited, and has focused exclusively on the automatic transmission of sensor information to BIM models. This paper describes an attempt to represent and visualize sensor data in BIM with multiple perspectives in order to support complex decisions requiring interdi...
Abstract Fall accidents are a major safety issue and a perennial problem in the construction indu... more Abstract Fall accidents are a major safety issue and a perennial problem in the construction industry. However, few studies have focused on detecting fall portents, identification of which may prevent falls from occurring. This study developed an accelerometer-based fall portent detection system that employed a hierarchical threshold-based algorithm. We designed tiling experiments to evaluate the performance of the proposed system. The participants performed the tasks under normal, inebriation, and sleepiness conditions on a scaffold while four accelerometers were attached to their chest, waist, arm, and hand. The results revealed that the traditional threshold-based algorithms had unacceptable accuracies of less than 30.66%. Most false warnings could be attributed to misidentifications of work-related motions. However, the work-related motions had a limited effect on the hierarchical threshold-based algorithm, which exhibited a satisfactory detection rate and accuracy of 76.86% and 79.13%, respectively.
During the conceptual phase of a construction project, numerous uncertainties make accurate cost ... more During the conceptual phase of a construction project, numerous uncertainties make accurate cost estimation challenging. This work develops a new model to calculate conceptual costs of building projects for effective cost control. The proposed model integrates four mathematical techniques (sub-models), namely, (1) the component ratios sub-model, (2) fuzzy adaptive learning control network (FALCON) and fast messy genetic algorithm (fmGA) based sub-model, (3) regression sub-model, and (4) multi-factor evaluation sub-model. While the FALCON- and fmGA-based sub-model trains the historical cost data, three other sub-models assess the inputs systematically to estimate the cost of a new project. This study also closely examines the behavior of the proposed model by evaluating two modified models without considering fmGA and undertaking sensitivity analysis. Evaluation results indicate that, with the ability to more thoroughly respond to the project characteristics, the proposed model has...
Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice, 2016
AbstractMost construction management courses comprise only lectures on procurement and negotiatio... more AbstractMost construction management courses comprise only lectures on procurement and negotiation; therefore, students lack practical experience. In this study, an educational game was developed to help students make procurement and negotiation decisions for procuring the steel required for construction projects. An experiment comprising a lecture, pretest, negotiation game, and posttest was conducted at three different universities with a total of 87 student participants. The study not only analyzed the learning effectiveness resulting from the inclusion of games in a traditional lecture setting, but also quantitatively examined the problems related to the strategies used by the players from different perspectives. The results revealed that the game increased the average test score by at least 20.16%, and a strong correlation was observed between the winners of the game and the students with high test scores. The strategies used by the winners were different from those used by the nonwinners. Compared w...
Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering, 2015
Function space assignment determines the function of all spaces and is essential to the design of... more Function space assignment determines the function of all spaces and is essential to the design of a remodeled building. Optimization of function space assignment that relies upon users' activities is difficult due to the lack of quantifiable and detailed data about users' activities. In this paper, an activity-based simulation process model consisting of five phases is proposed and applied to an actual project. The phases include activity data collection, activity simulation, space movement pattern mining, function-space assignment optimization, movement simulation and assessment. The process also allows the building administrator to adjust the optimized assignment to accommodate hard-to-quantify preferences via a variety of indexes such as movement distance, corridor flow, and other space usage-related indexes. Results from application of the proposed model to an actual remodeling project indicated that the model offered the administrator a better assignment than the contracted architect, with a 5.79% increase in the objective function and a 23.92% decrease in movement distance. The adjusted assignment based on service-related indices, such as noise interference, further improved service by accounting for parameters that were not easily included in the objective function for optimization.
The adverse effects of night-shift work and alcohol consumption on performance have received cons... more The adverse effects of night-shift work and alcohol consumption on performance have received considerable attention. However, how night shifts and alcohol affect productivity in workers has not been quantified. This paper describes the experiments featuring multiple tiling tasks and patterns. The tiling quality performed by the graduate student participants in four different statuses was objectively evaluated by an edge-detection computer program. The results indicate that both night shift and alcohol significantly reduce the quality in general, and the effects of the factors on position and alignment-angle qualities were dissimilar in distinct areas due to tile patterns and size. Both night-shift and alcohol conditions affected the basic (-34.01% and -25.79%) and advanced tiling abilities (-40.14% and -26.16%), and night shift had a larger impact than alcohol. These results provide jobsite managers with usable information regarding how night shifts and alcohol affect workers&#39; abilities to execute basic and advanced tasks.
2015 12th International Conference on Fuzzy Systems and Knowledge Discovery (FSKD), 2015
The construction industry is one of the most hazardous industries. Potential hazards are common i... more The construction industry is one of the most hazardous industries. Potential hazards are common in construction sites due to the variability and open elevated working environment. Hazard identification, detecting and correcting potential hazards before an accident occurs, is one of practical and effective methods that are commonly adopted. However, hazard identification relies on tacit knowledge that requires sufficient experience. The current training of trainees (e.g., inspectors and students) in general still relies on lectures to provide them with the knowledge on safety management, regulation, and past accidental cases. Such traditional lectures are not effective in nourishing the required identification ability. This research created a 3D digit construction site model, and developed an interactive hazard-identification game that allows trainees to have realistic hands-on identification experience. We also designed an experiment to evaluate the learning effects and satisfactions of the hazard-identification game as compared with the traditional lectures. The results showed that the hazard-identification game was significantly (p <; 0.001) better than the traditional lectures in safety education and training. Also, the students satisfied with the game-based training courses significantly (p <; 0.001) more than the other students satisfied with the traditional courses. Virtual environment provides the feasibility of creating various types of job sites and hazards depending on the training objectives, and allows trainees to learn by experiencing in a safe environment. This research establishes and develops a game-based hazard identification training system, which can improve trainees' learning effectiveness and learning satisfaction. The training system can also improve workers' and site managers' hazard awareness, and help them find hazards in their workplace.
Uploads
Papers by Ren-Jye Dzeng