Robert F. Cox

A measurement model of building information modelling maturity

Purpose – There is a growing requirement for a rating system of building information modelling maturity (BIMM) to compare the effectiveness of modelling processes in construction projects. The literature related to BIMM contains theoretical proposals and description of their maturity models. However, the research efforts are limited and lacking substantial theoretical and empirical justifications. This paper is a unique attempt to integrate previous models by performing empirical investigations of key factors for measuring BIMM in construction projects. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – A national survey was designed to extract the perception of 124 BIM-related practitioners and academicians about the conceptual model. Then, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were employed to identify and test the key factors underlying the 27 areas. Findings – A principal component factor analysis of the collected data had suggested a five-factor model, which explained 69.839...

Environmental Thermal Energy Scavenging Powered Wireless Sensor Network for Building Monitoring

In recent years there has been increasing interest in innovative design and construction of sustainable highperformance buildings. Among the innovative techniques proposed to increase building performance is to dynamically sense, control and manage the ambient building environment, such as temperature, humidity, air quality, artificial lighting, etc. through the installation of a distributed wireless sensor network (WSN). It has been reported that such an intelligent building monitor and control system can result in an approximately 20% savings in energy usage, a substantial step toward the realization of smart building management. In conventional WSNs, battery power is used to energize these micro-scale sensors. The small space permitted for battery integration in these miniaturized systems is a limiting factor. The small battery will be quickly depleted requiring frequent battery replacement or the WSN system will cease operation. Frequent battery replacement is impractical due to the tremendous number of sensor nodes embedded in a typical WSN system. This key design challenge in WSN based building monitoring and control must be overcome in order to significantly prolong the life of the overall system operation. In this paper, the authors investigate the construction of a novel WSN system for intelligent building environment monitoring powered through the use of micro-scale thermoelectric generators (TEG). In the TEG, the ambient thermal gradient between two surfaces of the device is converted into electrical energy. To verify the feasibility of the proposed idea, an experiment was conducted and the results demonstrated the concept of harvesting ambient thermal energy to power wireless sensors.

Intelligent Building Hazard Detection Using Wireless Sensor Network and Machine Learning Techniques

Research and innovation in the design of sustainable intelligent buildings has gained much interest recently. Among various technologies, wireless sensor network is a promising option that enables real-time building monitoring and control. In addition to utilizing the collected data points for building operation management, it is attractive to analyze the real time building information for hazard detection. In this paper, the authors implemented an indoor wireless sensor network that transmits the sensed nearby air temperature. A machine learning algorithm is developed to analyze the collected data and automatically generate early warning signals for hazards. Experimental results validate the proposed algorithm and the effectiveness of using a wireless sensor network for early detection of building hazards.

Structural Equation Model of Building Information Modeling Maturity

AbstractFor the implementation of building information modeling (BIM), an incompatible development among various aspects of a business can lead to different levels of BIM maturity (BIMM) or even project failure. Therefore, it is important to identify key causal factors of BIMM. This research develops a structural equation model of BIMM through three-step multivariate analysis. It starts with exploratory factor analysis to identify three key BIMM factors, which are further tested with confirmatory factor analysis. The causal relationships among the three factors and BIMM are then proposed and validated with structural equation modeling. This research has both practical and theoretical contributions. Practically, the proposed model can be used by practitioners to initiate and evaluate their BIM implementation. Theoretically, the result provides empirical evidence for the multidimensional nature of BIMM and insights into the causal relationships among the factors. Specifically, the factors of process managem...

Novel Sensor Network Architecture for Intelligent Building Environment Monitoring and Management

Innovations in the design and construction of sustainable green buildings have gained significant interest in recent years. It has been estimated that the deployment of an intelligent monitor and control systems can result in around 20% savings in energy usage and play a crucial role in green buildings. Among various emerging technologies, wireless sensor network (WSN) for building management has been becoming an increasingly feasible approach. However, because of the extreme constraints on system size (and hence the battery capacity), frequent battery recharging or replacement for a sensor node is unavoidable and suffers from unaffordable labor cost. Thus, limited energy availability in a WSN poses a big challenge and obstacle to wide deployment of WSN based building automation and management systems. In this paper, the authors introduce and discuss two emerging techniques (i.e., energy harvesting and power line communication) that have potentials to be integrated together and provide a significant improvement on cost, performance, convenience and reliability. To achieve low-cost high-efficiency building automation and management, a hybrid system diagram and operation mechanism is proposed in this paper. A case study is also provided to demonstrate how the proposed system mitigates the inherent weakness of WSN systems.

The Learning Styles of Undergraduate Students in CM Bachelor’s Degree Programs in the U.S.

ABSTRACT This article presents the findings of a study analyzing the learning styles of undergraduate construction management (CM) students in bachelor’s degree programs in the United States. The study utilized the Felder-Silverman model and the Index of Learning Styles (ILS) as a survey instrument. The survey population consisted of 1,069 CM students from 36 university CM programs across the Associated Schools of Construction regions. Demographic information, the raw ILS responses, and the ILS web-based survey report were collected from the students. The results were analyzed and compared to both the CM students themselves and to similar studies done with engineering students. It was found that CM students were visual, active, sensing, and sequential learners. This study provides recommendations for how CM instructors might align their teaching styles with CM-student learning styles, and discusses impacts on the CM industry.

USA Practitioners’ Perception of BIM Maturity

This paper examines the USA practitionerOs perspective of Building Information Modeling Maturity (BIMM). The objective is to better identify the BIMM indicators from practitionersO perspective as it would provide better insight and feedback into the use and practice of BIM in the USA industry. This would help fill the gap in understanding and breaking down the complexity of BIM and will allow for better approaches to BIM education and more tangible adoption in Industry. The study is structured based off the four BIMM factors of Technology, Information, Process and People. A survey was used as the research methodology with a breakdown of the survey responses based on their business type and number of years working with BIM. The research findings indicate that Information is the most important maturity factor, followed by Process and the lowest ranked maturity factor is People followed by Technology. The findings of this study has both academic and industry value as it gives greater insight to the practitioners perspective of the different maturity indicators and as such can be used to develop better BIM education and industry adoption practices.

Use of Project Specific Web Sites (PSWS) in Construction Education

The use of technology has become an everyday affair in business, pleasure, and in education. As computerization takes hold of more and more of our everyday activities students must be even more prepared as they graduate from a university to stay abreast of the technology power curve hitting the construction industry. Fortunately for most students in college today, they grew up in a time that was not without computers, automation, remote controls, and virtual reality. Given that technology has been and will continue to play a major role in the business lives of our college graduates, the use of project specific web sites (PSWS) as an educational tool is promoted in the M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Building Construction at the University of Florida. The PSWS is utilized during the students final semester as an undergraduate for several key reasons: 1) exposure to the newest technology being utilized by leading edge construction finns and forces/reinforces the students computer usage immediately prior to graduation, 2) increased ability to interact with industry via the internet, 3) provides a mechanism for archiving projects, 4) provides the students with great reference information through the review of past projects, 5) provides students with a means of showing potential employers their work product via the web. Associate Prof. And Associate Director, M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Building Construction, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL32611-5703. E-MAIL: robcox@ufl.edu 2 Professor and Director Graduate and Distance Education Programs, M.E. Rinker, Sr. School of Building Construction, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL32611-5703. E-MAIL: raymond-issa@ufl.eflu