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Start date: 2021Subject: search.filters.subject.330201 Automation and technology in building and construction

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    Adopting augmented reality to avoid underground utilities strikes during excavation : a thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, School of Built Environment, College of Science, Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2025) Khorrami Shad, Hesam
    The construction industry constantly pursues innovative methods to improve safety, enhance productivity, and reduce costs and project durations. Augmented Reality (AR) is a promising technology, potentially bringing about transformative changes in construction. AR is a promising technology for visualizing data in construction sites and preventing clashes and accidents. One of its promising applications is in the excavation sector, where accidental strikes on underground utilities pose serious safety risks, delays, and costly damages. However, while AR has gained increasing attention in recent years, its integration into construction practice remains limited. To address this limitation, this research investigates the potential of AR to facilitate identifying underground utility locations through a systematic review, industry engagement, and user-centred experimentation. Initially, a systematic literature review was conducted to explore the current applications of AR in construction safety. This review identified the safety purposes of AR across three project phases: pre-event (e.g., training, safety inspections, hazard alerting, enhanced visualization), during-event (e.g., pinpointing hazards), and post-event (e.g., safety estimation). However, the review also revealed a notable lack of studies focused on AR applications in excavation activities, particularly for underground utility strike prevention. In response, a study was undertaken to understand the needs, expectations, and challenges associated with adopting AR in the excavation sector. 31 professionals from the excavation industry participated in the within-subject experiment, interacting with two AR prototypes, delivered via Optical See-Through (OST) and Video See-Through (VST) devices. The findings indicated a clear preference for AR over traditional methods such as paper-based drawings. Participants showed a preference for VST rather than OST, given their familiarity with VST devices such as tablets. Further, accessibility emerged as the primary barrier to adopting AR within the excavation industry. Building on the literature and industry insights, an experimental study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of different AR visualization methods in underground utility detection. A within-subject experiment involving 60 participants was conducted to compare four of the most cited visualization techniques for underground utilities: X-Ray, Shadow, Cross-Sectional, and a newly developed Combination method. Drawing on the Theory of Affordances and Task Load analysis, the study found that the Combination and X-Ray visualization methods perform superior to the Shadow. These results provide empirical support for the user-centered design of AR visualization techniques in excavation practice. This research contributes to the fields of human-computer interaction, construction safety, and digital technology adoption by advancing the use of AR for underground utility strike prevention. The study shifts the focus of AR from general safety training to real-time, spatial visualization for excavation, offering both theoretical insights and practical applications. Methodologically, it follows a structured mixed-methods approach, combining literature review, industry engagement, and experimental testing. Practically, it identifies user preferences, visualization methods, and key adoption factors such as usability and accessibility. Overall, this thesis fills the gap between emerging AR technologies and their integration into safer excavation practices.
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    Construction projects status tracking : a real-time data-driven framework for delay management and analysis : a thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Building and Construction, School of Built Environment, College of Science, Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2025-10-16) Radman, Kambiz
    Construction delays remain one of the most critical challenges in project delivery, often resulting in cost overruns, schedule slippages, and weakened stakeholder confidence. Traditional delay management methods are largely reactive, relying on periodic reporting and fragmented communication across project teams. In contrast, the increasing availability of digital tools offers the opportunity to adopt more proactive, data-driven approaches. This study introduces a framework that centralises and analyses real-time project data from multiple stakeholders, including head contractors, subcontractors, consultants (via Building Information Modelling—BIM), and on-site teams. By integrating these diverse inputs into a unified Power BI dashboard, the framework enhances early detection of delays, improves coordination, and supports timely decision-making. Earned Value (EV) metrics are embedded as key control points, providing early signals of deviations and potential risks. Despite these advances, several research gaps remain. Existing systems are often costly and complex, highlighting the need for simple, inexpensive, and user-friendly solutions. Real-time data acquisition and centralisation are still underdeveloped, limiting the speed and reliability of insights. Current practice focuses heavily on retrospective reporting, with limited capability for real-time analytics or predictive forecasting. Stakeholder communication and coordination remain fragmented, while systematic early notification systems for emerging delays are rarely implemented. Ultimately, it is necessary to integrate historical and real-time data to facilitate predictive delay analytics. Addressing these gaps would help shift construction delay management from reactive intervention towards proactive risk mitigation. Guided by these gaps, the research is shaped around three central questions: (1) What causes delays in major construction projects, and how do these delays affect stakeholder collaboration? (2) How are digital technologies currently being deployed to improve project performance in relation to delays and risks? (3) How can a new framework be designed and evaluated to strengthen early delay detection and enhance project outcomes? To answer these questions, five objectives are established. First, to identify and analyse the key project stakeholders and the principal causes of delay. Second, to review and assess the role of digital technologies in construction projects. Third, to develop a framework that integrates real-time data for enhanced monitoring, reporting, and early detection of delays. Finally, to evaluate this framework in practice, assess its effectiveness in enhancing transparency, facilitating stakeholder coordination, and improving overall project performance. In doing so, this research contributes to the advancement of digital construction management by embedding real-time analytics into live project environments. The proposed framework not only enhances transparency and resource allocation but also lays the groundwork for predictive delay management, thereby aligning construction practices with the broader objectives of Industry 4.0.
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    Development of a decision support tool for automation adoption and optimisation in precast concrete plants : a New Zealand case study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Construction Project Management at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2022) Ansari, Reza
    In response to the growing demand in the New Zealand construction market, this study aims to develop a decision-support framework for adopting and optimising automation in precast concrete plants, which are increasingly recognised for their numerous benefits. The primary resources required by these plants include labour, equipment, and materials, and their efficient use is essential for maintaining competitiveness. Automation has been identified as a potential solution for improving productivity and profitability in precast concrete manufacturing; however, an appropriate decision-support tool is currently lacking. The current study commences with a comprehensive literature review, followed by historical data collection, face-to-face interviews, and site observations of precast concrete plants to address this research gap. These methods help identify attributes that affect profitability, leading to developing and validating of a theoretical framework named the Precast Plant Automation System Tool (PPAST) through a case study. The PPAST framework comprises two sequential phases: the strategic phase, which uses the direct rating method for preliminary feasibility evaluation of automation adoption, and the tactical phase, where the AHP method assesses the appropriate automation sequence for the plant. The study’s main findings indicate that the developed decision support system enables decision-makers to articulate their objectives and attitudes towards risk as they explore the feasibility of automation and formulate an optimal automation strategy. Specifically, the system aids in evaluating the impact of automation on cost and quality and identifying necessary process changes before implementing new technologies. The primary contribution of this research is its novel approach to systematically evaluating alternative automation scenarios in precast concrete production plants. The results demonstrate that the proposed model is a valuable and effective decision-making tool for adopting and optimising automation in precast concrete plants. This research fills a critical knowledge gap concerning the crucial measurements of precast concrete plant profitability and the absence of an automation adoption tool. The developed framework can be extended to investigate automation adoption and optimisation in other precast concrete plants across New Zealand. This study's practical implications include empowering precast plants to meet their organisation's profitability measures, thus satisfying stakeholder value propositions. A thriving precast concrete industry will lead to more satisfied clients, attract additional investment, and improve the overall construction industry's quality, productivity, and profitability at the national level. Theoretically, this research contributes a reliable benchmark for future studies by developing decision support tools that facilitate selecting optimised automation methods for precast concrete plants and contributing to theoretical knowledge by establishing an optimised automation decision support method that guides researchers in exploring other avenues for maximising profitability.
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    Digital technology applications on indoor environment quality : a research thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Construction, Massey University, New Zealand
    (Massey University, 2021) Liao, Ruochen
    Under the background of understanding various digital technologies, the aim of this research is to investigate the current application of digital technology in indoor environment quality. Indoor environment quality is closely related to residents' health. In modern times, digital technologies have become more sophisticated and widely used. But research on the application of digital technology to indoor environment quality is relatively limited. This research examines the results using a systematic literature review to develop a conceptual framework around the current digital technology situation, indoor environment factors that can be affected by digital technology, and digital technology application methods. This research has proven that 7 digital technologies, such as BIM, IoT, AR, VR, smart sensor, tridimensional laser scanning, and HDRI can be used to monitor, control, evaluate building performance, and assess occupant preferences in relation to indoor air quality, indoor thermal comfort, and other factors related to indoor environment quality. Moreover, it has contributed to providing convenient monitoring, maintaining the room in a healthy environment in real-time, as a reference for designers to achieve an optimal design, and so forth. However, the negative factors such as the cost of digital technology and energy consumption are not mentioned in this research, and the types of indoor spaces involved are also relatively wide, which are the limitations.