José L. Perdomo

Interactive 3D visualization as a tool for construction education

Throughout the years, various teaching methods have been adopted to assist students to better understand building assemblies and construction details. Many current teaching techniques for explaining building assemblies use various mediums such as 2D drawings, isometric and perspective drawings, photographs of assemblies and also field trips to the construction jobsite. Such detail needs to be complemented with plans, elevations and sections. This is necessary because in any drawing only 2 dimensions are visible. 3D CAD modeling addresses the third dimension that is not present in 2D CAD drawings, and allows better viewing, validating and understanding building components and their construction. This paper addresses the impact of using 3D in teaching and its advantages over current approaches. The paper describes a pilot study conducted with students from the Virginia Tech Architecture and Building Construction departments. The experiment investigated the advantages of 3D representation as compared to 2D drawings, in understanding construction assemblies and details. The paper also discusses the shortcomings of the traditional methods and compares the suitability of using 3D as a teaching aid. A new approach utilizing pocket PCs and/or laptop computers via wireless connectivity, to allow students to access and view 3D models remotely, is briefly presented.

Material Management Practices for the Electrical Contractor

This paper will describe current materials management practices for the electrical contractor. The review is mainly based on interview visits to electrical contractors, suppliers/distributors, and software providers. Based on these site visits, the typical material management process for purchasing, delivery and handling will be presented. The paper will specifically address material management processes associated with purchasing strategies and scenarios, alternative delivery options to the construction site or to a warehouse for prefabrication and/or storage, and on-site material handling and distribution. Based on the information collected from the interviews, problems and bottlenecks in current material management practices are identified and summarized.

Automatización de la Inspección y Administración de Proyectos de Construcción de Carreteras en Puerto Rico

The construction industry is distinguished by generating large amounts of data which are used in the production of documents. Some of these documents include: quality control reports, daily inspection reports, change order reports and logs, memoranda, payment certifications, project progress certifications, activity progress logs, as well as inventory, among others. These documents are used by construction managers to monitor the development and quality control of the project. However, the quality control and administrative control processes of road construction projects in Puerto Rico are mainly done on paper. Such processes can be efficiently streamlined through the automation of tasks relevant to each activity within the project. The main objective of the research presented in this technical article is the creation of a conceptual framework, a mobile application and a web based application for the automation of inspection and administrative processes of road construction projects in Puerto Rico. The methodology developed has the potential to accelerate the administrative and inspection tasks through the digitalization and automation of the data collection and processing during the road construction inspection process. This digitalization and automation of project data simplifies the project manager’s generation and management of documents thus eliminating the use of paper and providing an organized document storage system which can be accessed through the Internet.

Automating the Administration Process in Highway Construction Projects

Effective management of the construction phase is essential for the successful completion of a project. Continuous monitoring is required to ensure that construction is proceeding as planned or to correct any deviation from the planned duration or cost. Moreover, data management is essential for effective and timely communication between the project participants. This is particularly important in the construction industry since data related to the project is generated on a daily basis. As noted in previous research effort, managing this data can take considerable time from the project manager. In order to improve the data collection and transmission in the field, a research team from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez presented a mobile application for automating the collection process of field inspection data and reporting using mobile devices. This paper presents a continuation of the previous research effort and presents a web component that complements the mobile application to automate and enhance the administration process for highway projects. This web based system is generated from the daily inspection data collected with mobile devices to create reports and to perform analyses that are critical for project administration and control.

Smart Pipeline Infrastructure Network for Energy and Water (SPINE)

The United States is critically dependent upon more than 5 million miles of pipeline (lifeline) infrastructure systems to transport water, natural gas, oil, and nuclear facility coolant and waste. Pipelines provide the lifeblood to society by transporting energy, water, waste, and other critical services; yet, the pipeline infrastructure in North America is inadequately prepared to support a growing economy dependent on sustainable growth, public health, and community resilience. Approaching pipeline systems installation, operation, and retrofitting by continuing to use the same 20th century processes, practices, technologies, and materials will likely yield the same results: increasing instances of service disruptions, higher operating and repair costs, and the possibility of catastrophic, cascading failures. How a nation operates, retrofits, and expands its pipeline infrastructure will help determine the quality of life for future generations and that nation’s competitiveness in the global economy. If a nation is to meet important challenges of the 21st century, a new paradigm for the building and retrofitting of critical pipeline infrastructure system is required, one that addresses the conflicting goals of diverse economic, environment, societal, and policy interests. This paper presents the workshop outcome focused on transforming the nation’s capability to plan, design, install, monitor, control, retrofit, and asset manage energy and water pipeline infrastructure systems to be both resilient and sustainable.