Shang-Hsien Hsieh

Transformation from ifc data model to gml data model : Methodology and tool development

Abstract To facilitate the incorporation of 3D CAD objects into the 3D‐GIS environment, this paper proposes a feasible approach to transform the 3D geometric information of CAD objects expressed by the IFC model into geometric objects for the GML model. The discussions include not only the proposed model transformation methodology but also the development of a software tool that implements the proposed methodology. In addition, a simple model transformation example is provided to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed methodology and the functionalities of the developed tool.

Development of user interface for tele-operated cranes

This research focuses on one of the major challenges in a tele-operated crane system, namely the user interface (UI). This UI should provide rich information retrieved from the field and display it properly in order to enhance the operation and decision-making processes involved in crane activities. In this research, we have designed two UIs specifically for a tele-operated crane system. The first UI is a four view system (quad-view) with a top view, left-side view, right-side view, and global view. The second UI has four views but uses additional guidance from Augmented Reality (AR) technologies. To test the UIs, we used a robot arm (KUKA KR16) to simulate a tele-operated crane in a testing environment. We also compared the UIs we designed against a conventional operation interface (i.e. operators view with oral guidance from the ground). We conducted a user test with two groups of participants: 5 crane operators and 30 students. Students constitute a novice group, and their results are interpreted from a statistical perspective. Using the student group, the interfaces learning curve can be evaluated. Operators constitute an expert group, which provides evidences for evaluating if the developed UIs are realistic and fit the needs of the field. We found that use of the UIs we designed resulted in a shorter erection time (336 and 343s) than if the participants used the conventional operation interface (380s). A self-evaluated index showing the difficulty of the tasks, the NASA task loading index (TLX), was calculated for each of the UIs. The UIs resulted in a higher TLX (52.0 and 53.2) than the conventional operation interface (32.2). In summary, the two UIs developed in this research are able to assist operators in operating remote cranes more efficiently and with less mental load than by using the conventional operation interface.

Developing critical success factors for the assessment of BIM technology adoption: part I. Methodology and survey

There is no clear holistic approach or methodology to assess the adoption of building information modeling (BIM) technology at corporate level. This paper proposes an approach for developing critical success factors (CSFs) that can be further developed for assessment of BIM adoption at organizational level in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. This first part of the paper presents an overview and literature review of important factors related to decision-making, technology implementation, or both aspects for an organization to adopt BIM technology. Then, discussions are given on the empirical approach proposed for developing CSFs through a questionnaire survey and a sequence of data analysis, a conceptual framework on BIM technology adoption developed to facilitate the questionnaire survey and BIM adoption assessment, and a questionnaire designed with 123 influencing factors (IFs) identified from the literature and domain experts. For the purpose of demonstration and validation of the proposed approach, this study conducted a survey in Taiwan’s AEC industry, and the data collected were examined by reliability and ranking analysis, including inferential statistical tests. Ranking analysis was employed to obtain 80 key factors (KFs) out of the 123 IFs. Among these KFs, three factors were found to be the most important: ‘support from top management’ and the ‘functionality’ and ‘design validation’ of BIM tools; two factors were found to be very important: ‘the definition of project goals before forming teams’ and ‘coordination and integration among the professions.’ Other findings are that owners perceive the ‘initial investment cost’ of BIM tools as more expensive than do the owners-cum-managers who manage projects themselves. Architects seem to find ‘LOD 300’ and ‘LOD 400’ more important than contractors. Further data analysis on the 80 KFs for developing CSFs for BIM adoption assessment will be presented in the second part of the paper, and finally, 58 CSFs are derived. Based on this study, the proposed approach is not only generally applicable for CSFs development in regions other than Taiwan, but also capable of handling the small number of questionnaire respondents commonly encountered in a society still at an early stage of BIM technology adoption.

Lessons learnt from customization of a BIM tool for a design-build company

This paper summarizes the five-year development project of Construction Director, a BIM (Building Information Modeling) tool. During the first year, the development team from National Taiwan University (NTU) completed the architectural design of the system after conducting intensive interviews and meetings with key CTCI Corporation (CTCI) stakeholders. The NTU team then implemented the BIM tool for 4D simulation in the second year. During the following year, the NTU team tested and modified the system to overcome any usability problems. In the fourth year, the NTU team worked closely with CTCI and created a process to integrate the BIM tool into the company workflow. The system was then officially deployed on a design-build project in the final year. This paper summarizes the Lessons Learnt during each year of the project, and concludes that a trusting environment was the key contributing factor to the success of the project. This paper is not expected to only be beneficial for large companies who are planning to develop their own customized solutions, but it is also meant to be useful for software developers who are involved in similar projects. The experiences may help reduce overall investment risks, simplify the development process and guarantee the eventual success of introducing a new solution to a company.

Improvement of a computer-based surveyor-training tool using a user-centered approach

This paper presents the experiences of improving an existing surveyor-training tool, called SimuSurvey, using a user-centered approach. As few users were involved during the initial development of SimuSurvey, many instructors and students were skeptical about the innovative application of SimuSurvey in actual surveying classes. To address this problem, we proposed and applied an iterative and incremental user-centered design method to redevelop the tool. Three hundred and forty-six users including 5 instructors, 4 surveying experts, and 337 students, with different backgrounds were introduced at different stages of the redevelopment process. After two iterations of complete redevelopment cycles with five intermediate prototype systems generated, a much improved version of the tool, namely SimuSurvey R2, was developed. From the final interviews with students and the field observation on user groups, SimuSurvey R2 has been shown to be more practical for use in actual surveying classes. In addition, the proposed user-centered approach and several techniques it employs, such as storyboards and content diagrams, paper-based prototyping, high-fidelity prototyping, and usability tests, have been found to be effective for improvement (or redevelopment) of software systems.

An UML-XML-RDB Model Mapping Solution for Facilitating Information Standardization and Sharing in Construction Industry

To facilitate information standardization and sharing in Construction Industry, this paper presents a simple but effective approach that maps the UML (Unified Modeling Language) object-oriented information model related to a construction project to an XML schema, then to a Relational DataBase (RDB) schema. First of all, the mapping between UML model and XML schema is discussed since UML has been a popular tool to model the static structure and dynamic behaviors of the information and processes in a construction project, while XML has become a de-facto standard for information sharing and exchange. Then, a set of consistent rules for mapping from XML schema to RDB’s Entity-Relational (E-R) model are studied and established since RDB has been the most popular choice for information management. The present study focuses on making the set of rules simple and easy-to-implement for most applications in construction industry. Finally, a mapping tool for automatically generating RDB schemas from XML Schemas is developed.

Using ontology-based text classification to assist Job Hazard Analysis

The dangers of the construction industry due to the risk of fatal hazards, such as falling from extreme heights, being struck by heavy equipment or materials, and the possibility of electrocution, are well known. The concept of Job Hazard Analysis is commonly used to mitigate and control these occupational hazards. This technique analyzes the major tasks in a construction activity, identifies all potential task-related hazards, and suggests safe approaches to reduce or avoid each of these hazards. In this paper, the authors explore the possibility of leveraging existing construction safety resources to assist JHA, aiming to reduce the level of human effort required. Specifically, the authors apply ontology-based text classification (TC) to match safe approaches identified in existing resources with unsafe scenarios. These safe approaches can serve as initial references and enrich the solution space when performing JHA. Various document modification strategies are applied to existing resources in order to achieve superior TC effectiveness. The end result of this research is a construction safety domain ontology and its underlying knowledge base. A user scenario is also discussed to demonstrate how the ontology supports JHA in practice.

A Smart Crane Operations Assistance System Using Augmented Reality Technology

With the increasing complexity of modern construction projects, maintaining operational safety while increasing the erection speeds of cranes has become an important issue. There are four major problems in current crane operations: (1) dynamically changing working environments, (2) limited viewsfor operators, (3) unclear communication between operators and other crew, and (4) oversimplified control interfaces impeding efficient and safe erections. This research proposes an integrated environment to provide a rich information environment to operators during the erection processes. To achieve the goal, we designed an augmented reality (AR) system with four modules: field information collector, virtual information collector, construction planner, and integrated AR display. Field information is collected by four video cameras and virtual information is collected from the building information model (BIM). Then, the construction planner module processes the information, calculates efficient erection paths and analyzes the possible risks in the erection environment. The results that can be delivered to operators are categorized into two groups: erection progress information and limitation information.. To verify the feasibility of the system, we implemented a control system for theKukarobot arm, which simulates a construction crane. Future work will include the conduct of a user test to verify the usability of the proposed system.

Developing critical success factors for the assessment of BIM technology adoption: Part II. Analysis and results

Building information modeling (BIM) is the process of creating and managing parametric digital models of a building (or a piece of infrastructure) during the building’s life cycle and across business functions. For developing Critical Success Factors (CSF) for assessment of BIM technology adoption at an organizational level, this second part of the paper focuses on factor analysis, causal relationship analysis, and reliability tests analysis. The first part of the paper has proposed a five-step empirical approach to derive CSFs and has identified 80 key factors (KF) that are significant attributes for BIM adoption, which are subjected to further analysis in this second part. The results find 58 CSFs that are manageable and critical for BIM adoption within architecture, engineering, and construction organizations, which insure BIM-based business objectives if they are partially or fully accomplished satisfactorily. The applicability of the CSFs for BIM adoption is illustrated using a hypothesized framework for BIM adoption assessment. The framework consists of eight BIM performance criteria and two outcomes modeled as a BIM business value chain. Although only a small amount of survey data have been collected (but of good quality), the proposed approach is shown to be able to handle this small collection of data and derive useful CSFs for the current practices of BIM adoption in Taiwan, where BIM adoption is still at an early stage.

Workflow re-engineering of design-build projects using a BIM tool

The use of design-build delivery methods and building information modeling (BIM) tools in the construction industry has been growing rapidly in recent years due to the increasing demand for more efficient construction project management. The successful implementation of these tools by engineering firms on projects, however, is still not being achieved consistently. This paper shares the experiences of the implementation of an in-house BIM tool by a large engineering, procurement, and construction firm that has an extensive reputation for design-build projects. A new workflow was proposed that takes full advantage of the BIM tool to both enhance the construction management performance and to minimize the impact on the firm’s existing workflow. The development of a new workflow was conducted by interviewing key personnel in various departments of the firm and by carefully examining probable impacts of the BIM tool’s introduction into the firm’s business processes.