Multiuser Virtual Reality-Enabled Collaborative Heavy Lift Planning in Construction
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 150, Issue 4
Abstract
Crane-lift planning is critical but challenging to ensure construction safety and efficiency for the installation of heavy components. It engages a group decision-making process that involves various stakeholders to exchange knowledge of crane capabilities, site characteristics, and operational feasibility. However, conventional planning methods based on drawings, animations, and standalone virtual prototypes are inefficient in enabling collaborative decision-making due to rigid visualization and inflexible interactions among different stakeholders. This paper aims to develop a collaborative heavy lift planning (Co-HeLP) system that engages crane suppliers, site managers, and crane operators in an immersive and shared environment for crane layout optimization and lifting simulation. Specifically, the system incorporates a multiuser networking unit to enable stakeholders to design crane-lift layouts concurrently and synchronize changes in real time for facilitating information-sharing and collaborative planning. In addition, a cross-platform virtual reality (VR) unit is developed to provide stakeholders with role-tailored interactions of crane allocation and first-person operation. Automatic feasibility checking is also formulated to assist stakeholders in appraising jib reach limits and loading capacities more efficiently. The system is demonstrated using a real-life modular building project that involves the installation of multiple bulky modules. To evaluate the system, two groups of industry practitioners from crane suppliers and main contractors conducted heavy lift planning using Co-HeLP, where their responses were collected using questionnaire-based surveys and interviews. Results show that the system is rated highly on automatability (), collectiveness (), and applicability (), with the advantages of full-scale visualization and multirole interactions. This paper opens up new possibilities for stakeholders to jointly manage crane-lift constraints and build consensus on layout plans through a mutually interactive and role-independent shared environment. More broadly, the paper derives a generic multiuser VR mechanism to address fragmented coordination and inefficient knowledge transfer, thereby facilitating collective planning and management in construction.
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Data Availability Statement
The data that support the study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
The work described in this paper was supported by grants from the Research Impact Fund and General Research Fund of the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (Project no. HKU R7027-18; Project no. 17206923). Also acknowledged are the Architectural Services Department of the HKSAR Government and Yau Lee Construction Company Limited for providing data access for the case study and all participants in the experiments.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 150 • Issue 4 • April 2024
Copyright
© 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 4, 2023
Accepted: Nov 8, 2023
Published online: Feb 5, 2024
Published in print: Apr 1, 2024
Discussion open until: Jul 5, 2024
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Automation and robotics
- Business management
- Computer vision and image processing
- Construction engineering
- Construction equipment
- Construction management
- Cranes
- Decision making
- Engineering fundamentals
- Equipment and machinery
- Feasibility studies
- Methodology (by type)
- Models (by type)
- Modular structures
- Practice and Profession
- Research methods (by type)
- Simulation models
- Structural engineering
- Structures (by type)
- Systems engineering
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