Alkass, S T (1988) An expert system applied to earthmoving operations and equipment selection. PhD thesis, Loughborough University, UK.
Abstract
The thesis represents an effort to assess the current and future development of expert systems relating to civil engineering problems. It describes the development and evaluation of an Expert System (ESEMPS) that is capable of advising on earth allocation and plant selection for road construction similar to that of an expert in the domain. Knowledge for this particular domain was acquired from field practitioners such as planning engineers and equipment specialists. The development of the appropriate knowledge acquisition techniques are covered in details together with evidence provided on suitable methods for interpreting the information gathered into a form capable of being manipulated by computer programme. The system was tested both with practitioners and novices and the concept of the a consultation validated. It was also tested against a real data from a road construction project under construction. During the evaluation of ESEMPS on site It's decisions were considered acceptable to the practitioners who reviewed them. The system has significant potential for making an immediate contribution to inexperienced engineers as well as to the practitioners in the field of the road construction. While not all the decisions were equal to those of experts. this should be expected because no two experts will usually arrive at the same decision at the same way. ESEMPS will have a significant benefit if used in developing countries where experts are rare and very expensive to employ.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | civil engineering; expert system; road construction; civil engineer |
| Index terms: | engineer, equipment selection, earthmoving, knowledge acquisition, road construction, programme, civil engineer, developing country, evidence, expert system, practitioner |
| Subjects: | practitioner, profession, evaluation and assessment methods, construction operations, development economics, procurement capability, civil engineering, student development, project controls, data management |
| Topics: | Digital Applications, Supply Chain Management, International Construction, Education, Time Control, Site Management, Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Roles and Professions |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCA |
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