Modular-based heavy industrial projects, which involve a large number of lifts on congested and/or dynamic site layouts, require not only the design and selection of efficient mobile crane operations but also rapid and accurate responses to design changes in the planning stage of the project to ensure successful project completion. Current tools have not yielded strategies that support informed decisions to select the most suitable mobile crane operation (e.g., the cycle time of the crane lift) among several alternatives. This paper proposes a three-dimensional-based crane evaluation system (3D-CES) which designs, verifies, and simulates three-dimensional (3D) visualization of mobile crane operation not only to support the selection of the most efficient crane operation but also to plan the crane lift schedule during crane lift studies based on identification of safety and productivity aspects. Furthermore, these aspects are shown to help increase efficiency, timeliness, and profitability of construction management through effective collaboration and communication. As demonstrated in a case study, 3D-CES can permit users to design and select the most suitable crane operation by providing crane digital lift information, even when frequent design changes, such as those to lifting sequences, crane locations, and material pick points, are encountered.

Over the years of the study (1999–2004) presented in this paper, the City of Edmonton, Canada’s Drainage and Maintenance Department has experienced an annual increase of about 12% in the installation of water and sewer services for residential facilities. According to the current estimating procedure, a discrepancy of up to 60% exists between the estimated and actual costs of these projects. A detailed analysis of all activities involved in the installation of the water and sewer services has been carried out and is presented in this paper. The proposed methodology, which is based upon the analysis of past data obtained from the City of Edmonton’s drainage division for the period of 1999–2004, is also presented. The methodology has been incorporated into a computer module, which integrates the concept of artificial neural network (ANN) with the current estimating system used by the City of Edmonton. The following research includes a description of the algorithm used in ANN, as well as an assessment of pas...

A given infrastructure system has different levels of service (LOS) for different users. To date, limited work has been done to combine these LOS to an asset level LOS. In addition, existing methods to determine LOS are based on the quantitative performance measures related to the capacity of the infrastructure systems. These methods neglect other qualitative factors, for example, neighborhood safety and appearance. This paper describes a proposed asset level of service (ALOS) determination methodology, which can be integrated with decision support systems (DSS) as a performance indicator. The proposed ALOS is a composite LOS for different users of the infrastructure system. Incorporation of ALOS with DSS will aid the municipalities in producing improved resource allocation plans in compliance with service standards, applicable codes, and regulations. In this paper, a framework of the development of ALOS in municipal infrastructure systems is presented. The analytical hierarchy process is used to model the ALOS. The developed framework is then applied to calculate the ALOS for the municipality/urban roads, to combine LOS for vehicle users, bicyclists, and pedestrians; accounting for qualitative factors, such as neighborhood safety and aesthetics.

Adequate crane position on construction site required large amount of site data to be collected, prior to any lift operation. Existed permanent/ non-permanent obstructions as well as objects being placed on their final position, must be considered for each lift. This paper presents a methodology for crane selection and on-site utilization evolutionary algorithm for multi-lifts for modular construction. The proposed methodology accounts for cranes capacity limitation as well as evaluates the crane carrier/body position and orientation. State-of-the-art methodology incorporate evolutionary algorithm that reacts to dynamic changing site conditions. This paper introduces a case study where the objectives were to simplify and optimize the field assembly operation for 5- three-storey dormitory buildings including bridges and large roofs in McGregor Village for Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA. Each dormitory contains three types of modules and a total of 18 separate modular units. Fully habitable elements were delivered securely on flatbed trailers to the site in advance. An all-terrain mobile hydraulic crane placed in the center of construction site lift each module and placed like a puzzle floor by floor for each building at predefined position. All 100 lifts were conducted in only 10 working days.

As a result of elevated labor costs, a shortage of trades personnel, and a lack of efficient construction methods, many construction companies in western Canada waste primary materials. In general, these firms suffer from a lack of effective construction guidelines and process standardizations. This paper focuses on the use of a mathematical algorithm, referred to here in this paper as CUTEX, which maximizes the use of wood materials for platform-framing residential construction. In particular, CUTEX is designed to reduce waste by generating a cutting list for wood studs and sheathing (oriented strand boards—OSB). A combinatorial analysis algorithm has been developed and applied to determine the best cutting procedure for wood stick frame houses. Restrictions, such as nominal lumber dimensions and sizes encountered in the North American market, were taken into account. A two-dimensional optimization for sheathing layout has also been developed to minimize the disposal of OSB boards, making the constructio...

Managing heavy-pressure vessel lifts on construction sites requires planning, arranging adequate crane support, and preparing collision-free rotation (from a horizontal position to a vertical position) of the vessel. Generally, selecting mobile cranes and developing engineered lift studies for vessels are done using two cranes and analyzing the lift for each crane individually on the basis of the selected cranes’ lift-capacity specifications provided by crane manufactures. This practice is relatively costly and time-consuming. Optimizing the mobile cranes’ use and location is also difficult. To assist in the field operation of mobile cranes and to provide engineers with a planning tool, this paper presents a methodology to carry out such a lift utilizing only one crane. Using the developed methodology and mechanism, heavy vessels can be rotated off the ground (in the air) with one crane. The proposed mechanism is supported with a mathematical model that has been developed into a computer system and has be...