Combined Ultra-Wideband Positioning and Range Imaging Sensing for Productivity and Safety Monitoring in Building Construction

This research focuses on the approach of leveraging the advancements of wireless Ultra-Wideband (UWB) positioning and reflectorless Range Imaging (RIM) sensing technology in the construction domain. Although emerging sensing technology and its potential applications promise to have large benefits for the construction industry, they often are not applied in the field for various reasons. Since data collection and analysis are too far apart, site management personnel relies on existing management methods rather than innovative sensing technology that can assist and provide information for intelligent decision making tools. In today's competitive business environment, however, timely and accurate decision making becomes increasingly necessary and requires keeping track of productivity to ensure that the construction project is on budget and on time, as well as that all work tasks are performed safely. This paper presents the initial framework of a proposed research in tracking resources on construction sites for productivity and safety performance measurements. The literature review includes a discussion of potential enabling technologies. The main part focuses on the potential of merging the advantages of the selected sensing technologies in regards to productivity tracking as well as safety. The proposed research methodology and an experimental plan with preliminary results are presented.