Applications of building information modeling (BIM) have widely infiltrated various construction fields. BIM serves as a set of technologies to maximize productivity, increase collaboration, and improve work efficiency throughout the project life cycle. BIM also supports the best practices of other emerging technologies by creating a platform for integration and coordination. The process, approach, and strategy of implementing BIM can impact the entire project's cost and schedule performance. A need exists to evaluate the effectiveness and practicability of the current BIM practices. First, this study reviewed 84 selected BIM projects from 21 countries based on their features, including project information, delivery methods, BIM approaches, level of development, software, and emerging technologies. Second, the challenges and limitations of adopting BIM in the construction project were evaluated. One significant outcome of the research was the identification of key attributes that facilitate the effective use of BIM on construction projects. The result of this study can assist practitioners in making better decisions on project planning and BIM adoption.

The hazardous nature of the construction environment and current incident statistics indicate a pressing need for safety performance improvement. One potential approach is the strategic analysis of leading indicators for measuring safety performance as opposed to using only lagging indicators, which has protractedly been the norm. This study presents a systematic safety performance measurement framework and statistical modeling processes for analyzing safety incident data for accident prediction and prevention on construction sites. Using safety incident data obtained from a construction corporation that implements proactive safety management programs, statistical modeling processes are utilized to identify variables with high correlations of events and incidents that pose dangers to the safety and health of workers on construction sites. The findings of the study generated insights into the different types and impacts of incident causal factors and precursors on injuries and accidents on construction sites. One of the key contributions of this study is the promotion of proactive methods for improving safety performance on construction sites. The framework and statistical models developed in this study can be used to collect and analyze safety data to provide trends in safety performance, set improvement targets, and provide continuous feedback to enhance safety performance on construction sites.

Highway construction work zones are hazardous environments characterized by a dynamic and limited workspace. A host of interactions between workers, passing commuter vehicles, and moving construction equipment occurs in highway work zones, fostering dangerous situations that can result in injury or death. Active strategies, such as the deployment of intrusion sensing and alert technologies in highway work zones and in transportation infrastructure construction and maintenance, can be effective at mitigating these unforeseen conditions. The main objective of this study was to conduct both conceptual analysis and experimental evaluation of intrusion sensing technologies for work zone safety. To achieve the objectives of this research, an exploratory review of the applicable technologies was conducted to identify the intrusion technologies that can be implemented for work zone safety. An objective assessment of each technology was provided based on selected evaluation metrics to elicit their capabilities. Candidate commercially available technologies were selected and evaluated using field experiments in simulated work zones. The findings of the study indicate that the commercially available technologies have the potential to enhance safety of work zone workers by providing warning alerts when hazardous situations exist. This research contributes to the body of knowledge by providing strategies for selecting and implementing intrusion sensing technologies for active work zone safety.

The high frequency of work-related injuries and fatalities experienced on construction sites makes the construction process a very hazardous endeavor. The collection and analysis of safety data is an important element in measurement and improvement strategy development. Wearable sensing devices (WSDs) and the internet of things (IoT) have been identified as emerging technologies with strong potential for a transformative change in many aspects of construction workers safety monitoring including tracking and transmitting workers safety information in real-time. This paper provides an evaluation of the potential applications of WSDs and IoT for the continuous collection, analysis, and monitoring of construction workers' safety metrics to mitigate safety hazards and health risks on construction sites. Wearable sensors and systems that can be used for physiological monitoring, environmental sensing, proximity detection, and location tracking of a wide range of construction hazards and vital signals which can provide early warning signs of safety issues to construction workers are reviewed. A schematic model for integrating wearable sensors for interoperability and multi-parameter monitoring to capture and track several safety metrics is also presented. The challenges facing the widespread adoption of WSDs and IoT in construction are also identified and evaluated. Based on the outcomes of the review completed, recommendations are made on how WSDs and IoT can be effectively implemented to enhance safety performance on construction sites.

Equipment travel path planning is one of the significant components of construction site layout design. Navigating a terrain and determining the shortest path on a construction site is one fundamental concern in path planning. The major constraints used for our path planning process is the shortest path between desired cycle locations and obstacle avoidance. By implementing building information modeling ( BIM) as a project communication platform, automated equipment path planning within a dynamic construction environment becomes possible. This created BIM-based path planning strategy also enables construction managers to plan and schedule equipment operations with other project stakeholders. The objective of this research is to design a BIM-based strategy and automated path planning method to calculate and display an efficient equipment travel path in a BIM environment. The research framework is tested with active construction sites data. The feedbacks from workforce and management is assessed and integrated into the research approach.

The construction industry experiences a disproportionately high number of injuries and fatalities among the total U.S. employed workforce. Although correlations have been identified between physiological information, worker fatigue, and safety, minimal research efforts have collected and analyzed construction-worker physiological metrics. The objective of this case study was to quantify and analyze physiological data of two individual construction-equipment operators over a consecutive 5-day duration. Physiological metrics, including human heart rate, breathing rate, upper body posture angle, traveling speed, and acceleration, were automatically collected and assessed. Experimental trials were also conducted to validate measurement data collected by the physiological status monitoring system. The main contributions of this case study were found in the framework for assessing physiological properties of construction-equipment operators and scientifically collected and analyzed physiological data. (c) 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.

The construction industry continues to rank as one of the most hazardous work environments. As a result, construction safety remains a critical concern for both practitioners and researchers. Several construction industry members and government agencies have identified a lack in the number of safety personnel within the construction industry. Also, there seems to be incongruity in the formulas and strategies used for determining appropriate safety health and environment staffing needs. The objective of this study was to collect and analyze information concerning safety professionals, including the number of safety employees engaged in the construction companies, their credentials, and their experience levels. A structured survey was developed and administered to safety personnel working in different construction companies in the United States to elicit information about safety professionals in the construction industry. The findings of the study indicate that construction firms engage a higher number of safety personnel to manage construction activities than the staffing size obtained using the existing guides for determining staffing needs for safety professionals across industries. The findings also suggest that having the correct number of safety personnel with the required educational and professional qualifications can help reduce the total recordable incident rates (TRIR) of construction companies. Also, adequate staffing of safety personnel with the required educational and professional qualifications can enhance safety management in construction. (c) 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.

Capital projects are increasing becoming more complex and shorter in duration while the engineering and construction industry remains fragmented. A knowledge transfer gap exists between large groups of retiring experienced employees and minimally experienced newly hired personnel. A need exist for an organization to facilitate sharing best practices and innovation between all project professionals (business, engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning) and stakeholders on capital projects (owners, contractors, suppliers, academics and students). A group of capital project personnel have created the first association for capital project professionals across the entire supply chain, Capital Projects Professional Exchange (CPX), the objective of this organization is to virtually connect capital project stakeholders as an online community to enhance professional development by supporting and encouraging sharing of best practices, resources and opportunities. The initiative is currently in its research phase which includes social media integration and crowdsourcing techniques as a method to exchange knowledge between various capital project stakeholders. Initial feedback indicates that such an organization can accelerate the learning curve of new professionals entering the capital projects construction industry and facilitate the exchange of best practices and innovation.