Buildings with spatially complex interiors poise unique challenges during operations and maintenance. A complex interior makes wayfinding difficult, which can inhibit daily occupants from finding their desired location. Additionally, it can hamper emergency responders and evacuations during extreme emergency events. An experiment was conducted to analyze the effects of different information formats and spatial cognition on individual wayfinding in unknown environments. Participants were asked to memorize either a set of two-dimensional (2D) drawings or a three-dimensional (3D) model before navigating through a series of checkpoints in an unfamiliar environment. Individual wayfinding is dependent on an individual’s use of route knowledge or survey knowledge. Route knowledge was assessed from the start of the route to Checkpoint A (i.e., the first checkpoint). Meanwhile, survey knowledge was assessed from Checkpoint A to Checkpoint B. Spatial cognition of participants was measured by administering the card rotation and cube comparison tests. The research found that 3D models have a beneficial impact on the success of individual wayfinding. Furthermore, the success rate of the participants with a low spatial cognition improved significantly when using a 3D model rather than a set of 2D drawings. However, the success rates of participants with a high spatial cognition were not affected by the format of information. While the above results are significant, more experimentation is needed to confirm whether 3D information does effectively lower cognitive demand.

Past studies have used eye-tracking glasses to analyze people’s perception of visual stimuli, usually regarding wayfinding, safety, or visual appeal. Some industries, such as the automotive industry, studied the effects of visual stimuli on task completion. However, the architecture and construction industries have mainly conducted eye-tracking experiments with surveys or search tasks instead of performing a task. This paper uses eye-tracking glasses to analyze people’s perception of visual stimuli while completing tangible tasks that simulate real-world applications. This research studies how people look at visual stimuli that influence their ability to interpret drawings with varying degrees of complexity, assess task completion performance, and inspect how people search for information. Twenty pipefitters wore eye-tracking glasses to record their eye movement patterns while completing a model pipe spool assembly. The eye-tracking glasses and Visual Eyes software measured visit metrics, fixations, fixation durations, convex hull coverage, assembly time, rework, and errors. Unlike previous studies, convex hull areas are calculated and used to measure search efficiency. This research found that people interacted more frequently with more complex visual stimuli but did not necessarily require more time to complete a task. People with lower search efficiency visited the drawings more frequently than people with higher search efficiency. People with higher search efficiency made fewer mistakes, redid less work, and completed tasks quicker than those with lower search efficiency. Search efficiency was found to be a good predictor of task performance.

State transportation agencies (STA) are relying on needs-based construction, engineering, and inspection (CEI) consultants as a primary solution to their staffing deficits. While other studies have examined the reasons STAs hire CEI consultants at an agency level, prior research has not identified potential patterns between project characteristics and STA staffing choices. A national survey was administered to examine how the use of CEI consultants differs by project type, work type, complexity level, and the authority level of inspectors. A rigorous model-building variety of Chi-squared analyses, Cochran’s Q tests, McNemar tests, and binomial logistic regression models were used to analyze the data. This research found that STAs are more likely to use consultants on projects with utilities, drainage, roadway, and/or grading because they either do not have enough staff in-house or do not have the experience in-house to complete these projects. Additionally, most STAs do not grant senior inspector consultants the same authority level as their in-house counterparts. Generally, this research indicates that socio-economic and political factors have both short- and long-term effects on staffing choices in public transportation projects and studying project characteristics might help shed more light on the effects of these decisions. Specifically, the results indicate a need for both the private and public sectors to collaborate and share knowledge to preserve institutional knowledge within agencies. These results suggest that further research into staffing trends and project characteristics is warranted.