A navigation and positioning-integrated system for construction quality inspection under self-discipline of responsible personnel

Abstract

Construction quality control is one of the major factors that ensure a project completed within budget and schedule. However, the quality inspection and management (QIM) process is usually inefficient and invalid, due to the scattered construction codes, the overlooked process monitoring, the complex data entry process, and especially the weak sense of responsibility. To address above issues, this paper proposes a UWB (Ultra-Wideband)-based Quality Inspection and Management System (UWB-QIMS). By integrating the application of BIM (Building Information Modeling), UWB and PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), navigation and indoor positioning for inspectors can be realized. Thus the UWBQIMS can promote the effective construction QIM under self-discipline of responsible personnel, which benefits mainly in two ways: 1) assisting the site work of inspectors by pushing navigation paths and checklists through a PDA, and then guiding inspectors to work on site effectively; 2) assisting the supervision and decision making of managers by tracing the inspection coordinates in BIM environment, and supporting to supervise the inspector’s working condition and issue timely warnings. Finally, the prototype system was tested and evaluated in a quality inspection scene, aiming at the construction phase of a residential building. The testing results illustrated the effectiveness of the UWBQIMS in supporting effective QIM focusing on the sense of responsibility of responsible personnel. Besides, the potential applicability of integrating BIM, UWB, and PDA in construction quality control was proved.