Nassereddine, H M (2019) Design, development and validation of an augmented reality-enabled production strategy process for the construction industry. PhD thesis, University of Wisconsin - Madison, USA.
Abstract
Production Strategy is an integral part of production planning and control and is essential to developing a reliable and balanced production plan. The Production Strategy Process (PSP) involves a massive information transfer and communication need among the project team. While BIM can improve the flow of the work, the paradox of designing the 3D models in 2D space remains. This paradox indicates that new visualization technologies are needed to leverage the use of information in the PSP. Moreover, the increased competition and customer expectation add more pressure on construction companies to remain competitive and grow in the modern construction – much like the Darwinian theory, industry must adapt or die. As Industry 4. 0, the fourth industrial revolution, continues to evolve, it is imperative that construction firms seek, find, and adopt new technologies. Augmented reality (AR), a pillar of Industry 4. 0, can be employed as a new user interface technology that introduces a new perspective for developing the PSP. In order to incorporate AR into the PSP, both the technology and the process must be understood. While AR has been of interest to researchers for some time, no single research effort has yet comprehensively investigated the opportunities, benefits, challenges, and future paths toward implementing AR in modern construction. This study starts with a holistic assessment of AR in construction that explores the potential of the technology from the perspective of the industry. The results of this analysis provide the construction industry with a roadmap to guide the implementation of AR. Next, the study focuses on designing and developing an AR-Enabled PSP. The current state of practice of the PSP is investigated and current challenges and pain points in the current state are identified. The opportunities to integrate AR are then identified, and an AR-Enabled future state of the PSP is proposed. Next, an AR-Enabled PSP prototype is built for the Microsoft HoloLens headset and validated on an ongoing construction project. The results of the validation show than the AR-Enabled PSP has the following benefits over the Traditional PSP: improved collaboration, reduced miscommunication, increased quality and detection of errors, enhanced decision-making, increased integration of safety considerations, increased input accuracy, better information access, improved information flow, and better documentation. These benefits were tested through a series of hypotheses comparing both processes. However, no significant difference was found between the Traditional and AR-Enabled PSP in terms of spatial cognition and time efficiency of the process.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Hanna, A S |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | accuracy; competition; project team; construction firms; construction project; collaboration; communication; documentation; integration; production planning; safety; visualization; validation |
| Index terms: | production strategy, pain, new technology, 3D model, fourth industrial revolution, construction industry, implementation, project team, microsoft hololens, prototype, user interface, production planning, information flow, documentation, construction firm, construction company, accuracy, cognition, construction project, collaboration, decision-making, time efficiency, integration, validation, augmented reality, competition, visualization, paradox |
| Subjects: | modelling and simulation, technology adoption, social theory and frameworks, project delivery, management, design practice, professional development, organizational analysis, decision analysis, health conditions and diseases, industry analysis, information systems, computational design, organization, visualization, contractual arrangements, innovation and technology management, manufacturing engineering, production management, market analysis, cognitive psychology, human-computer interaction |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Design Practice, Digital Applications, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Information Management, Risk Management, Procurement, Health and Safety, Project Management, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
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