Sensor-Based Resource Tracking for Monitoring the Progress of Rebar Installation

Traditional paper-based methods for construction activity monitoring are inefficient and error-prone. In this paper, an automated approach is proposed for monitoring the progress of construction activities by tracking major construction equipment and bulk material, using sensor-based technologies. Data obtained from sensor-based technologies will be fused to determine the completed steps of the activities, and consequently to identify the overall progress of the activities. Also, human-generated data, such as daily site reports, will be used to support the sensor data. A rule-based approach is developed for fusion of the collected data. This paper describes the initial field tests that were performed to monitor the rebar installation activity at a pilot construction site. To collect data about the ongoing rebar installation activity, the embedded sensors (e.g., position and load sensors) of a tower crane anti-collision system, and the site reports and quantity takeoffs were used. Initial results show that the developed approach can estimate the progress of rebar installation activity with 98% accuracy.