Kim, C; Kim, H; Ryu, J and Kim, C (2011) Ubiquitous sensor network for construction material monitoring. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 137(2), pp. 158-165. ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Timely acquisition of construction resource information is an essential task for construction engineers and managers. Due to the harsh and dynamic construction environment, it is not easy to acquire construction information in real time. This paper presents a radio frequency identification (RFID) and ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4)-based system to manage materials on a busy construction site where a data communications system is not in place. RFID tags are attached to and used to identify various kinds of construction materials, and the ZigBee communication technology is used to wirelessly transfer this information. To confirm the viability of our system, the RFID and ZigBee technologies were assessed using an indoor experiment. Following this, a field experiment was then conducted. On a building construction site, a range of construction materials was identified using RFID tags and this information was transferred to an end user with the help of ZigBee multihop networking. The results of the field experiment showed an acceptable reading range and rate for the proposed system. Therefore, the integrated system with RFID and ZigBee modules demonstrated great potential for improving the existing management processes for construction resources on large and complex construction sites.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction management; radio frequency identification; resource management; ubiquitous sensor network; ZigBee |
| Index terms: | building construction, integrated system, module, real time, networking, manager, construction material, engineer, radio frequency identification, end user, resource management, monitoring, acquisition, experiment, construction site |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, communication, design methods, profession, building materials, work location, business, control systems, building construction, digital technology, practitioner, architectural elements, stakeholder, project controls |
| Topics: | Construction Technology, Site Management, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Design Practice, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Digital Applications, Roles and Professions, Time Control |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here