Churches and chapels. Their arrangements, construction and equipment, supplemented by plans, interior and exterior views of numerous churches of different denominations, arrangement and cost. 200 illustrations.

Mode of access: Internet.

An elementary outline of mechanical processes, giving a brief account of the materials used in engineering construction and of the essential features in the methods of producing them, also describing shop processes and equipment for the shaping of metals into forms for engineering and general uses;

Mode of access: Internet.

Listed Construction Materials and Equipment and Methods of Construction and of Installation of Equipment Conforming to the Fire and Panic Safety Standards

Mode of access: Internet.

A novel system for the measurement of body shape and construction of seating supports for patients

Patients with severe back deformities can greatly benefit from customized medical seating. Customized medical seating is made by taking measurements of each individual patient and making the seat as per these measurements. The current measuring systems employed by the industry are limited to use in clinics which are generally located only in major population centres. Patients living in remote areas are severely affected by this as the clinics could be far away and inaccessible for these patients. To provide service of customized medical seating requires a new measurement system which is portable so that the system could be transported to the patients in remote areas. The requirements for a new measurement system are analysed to suite the needs of Equipment Technology Services of the Cerebral Palsy League of Queensland. Design for a new measurement system was conceptualised by reviewing systems and technologies in various scientific disciplines. Design for a new system was finalised by optimizing each individual component. The final approach was validated by measuring difficult models and repeating the process to check for process variances. This system has now been adopted for clinical evaluation by ETS Suggestions have been made for further improvements in this new measurement approach.

Safety impacts of alcohol and other drugs in the construction industry : a research methodology

Anecdotal evidence from the infrastructure and building sectors highlights issues of drugs and alcohol and its association with safety risk on construction sites. Operating machinery and mobile equipment, proximity to live traffic together with congested sites, electrical equipment and operating at heights conspire to accentuate the potential adverse impact of drugs and alcohol in the workplace. While most Australian jurisdictions have identified this as a critical safety issue, information is limited regarding the prevalence of alcohol and other drugs in the workplace and there is limited evidential guidance regarding how to effectively and efficiently address such an issue. No known study has scientifically evaluated the relationship between the use of drugs and alcohol and safety impacts in construction, and there has been only limited adoption of nationally coordinated strategies, supported by employers and employees to render it socially unacceptable to arrive at a construction workplace with impaired judgement from drugs and alcohol. A nationally consistent collaborative approach across the construction workforce - involving employers and employees; clients; unions; contractors and sub-contractors is required to engender a cultural change in the construction workforce – in a similar manner to the on-going initiative in securing a cultural change to drink-driving in our society where peer intervention and support is encouraged. This study has four key objectives. Firstly, using the standard World Health Organisation AUDIT, a national qualitative and quantitative assessment of the use of drugs and alcohol will be carried out. This will build upon similar studies carried out in the Australian energy and mining sectors. Secondly, the development of an appropriate industry policy will adopt a non-punitive and rehabilitative approach developed in consultation with employers and employees across the infrastructure and building sectors, with the aim it be adopted nationally for adoption at the construction workplace. Thirdly, an industry-specific cultural change management program will be developed through a nationally collaborative approach to reducing the risk of impaired performance on construction sites and increasing workers’ commitment to drugs and alcohol safety. Finally, an implementation plan will be developed from data gathered from both managers and construction employees. Such an approach stands to benefit not only occupational health and safety, through a greater understanding of the safety impacts of alcohol and other drugs at work, but also alcohol and drug use as a wider community health issue. This paper will provide an overview of the background and significance of the study as well as outlining the proposed methodology that will be used to evaluate the safety impacts of alcohol and other drugs in the construction industry.

Service enhanced manufacturing in the building and construction product system

This report examines the involvement of manufacturers in value-adding through service-enhancement of product offerings. This focus has been prompted by:  emphasis in the knowledge-economy literature on the increasing role played by services in economic growth; and  recent analysis which suggests that the most dynamic sector of many economies is an integrated manufacturing-services sector (see Part One of this report). The report initially describes the emergence of an integrated manufacturing-services sector in the context of increasingly knowledge-based economic systems. Part Two reports on the results of a survey of manufacturers in the building and construction product system, investigating their involvement in service provision. Parts Three and Four present two case studies of exemplary manufacturers involved in adding value to their manufacturing operations through services offered on building and construction projects. The report examines manufacturers of materials, products, equipment and machinery used on building and construction projects. The two case study sections of the report, in part, focus on a major project undertaken by each of the manufacturers. This project element of activity is focussed on (as opposed to wholesale or retail supply), because this area of activity involves a broader array of service-enhancement mechanisms and more complex bundling of products and services.

A crash avoidance framework for heavy equipment control systems using 3D imaging sensors

This paper presents a preliminary crash avoidance framework for heavy equipment control systems. Safe equipment operation is a major concern on construction sites since fatal on-site injuries are an industry-wide problem. The proposed framework has potential for effecting active safety for equipment operation. The framework contains algorithms for spatial modeling, object tracking, and path planning. Beyond generating spatial models in fractions of seconds, these algorithms can successfully track objects in an environment and produce a collision-free 3D motion trajectory for equipment.

Automated object identification using optical video cameras on construction sites

Visual recording devices such as video cameras, CCTVs, or webcams have been broadly used to facilitate work progress or safety monitoring on construction sites. Without human intervention, however, both real-time reasoning about captured scenes and interpretation of recorded images are challenging tasks. This article presents an exploratory method for automated object identification using standard video cameras on construction sites. The proposed method supports real-time detection and classification of mobile heavy equipment and workers. The background subtraction algorithm extracts motion pixels from an image sequence, the pixels are then grouped into regions to represent moving objects, and finally the regions are identified as a certain object using classifiers. For evaluating the method, the formulated computer-aided process was implemented on actual construction sites, and promising results were obtained. This article is expected to contribute to future applications of automated monitoring systems of work zone safety or productivity.

Intelligent computing and sensing for active safety on construction sites

On obstacle-cluttered construction sites where heavy equipment is in use, safety issues are of major concern. The main objective of this paper is to develop a framework with algorithms for obstacle avoidance and path planning based on real-time three-dimensional job site models to improve safety during equipment operation. These algorithms have the potential to prevent collisions between heavy equipment vehicles and other on-site objects. In this study, algorithms were developed for image data acquisition, real-time 3D spatial modeling, obstacle avoidance, and shortest path finding and were all integrated to construct a comprehensive collision-free path. Preliminary research results show that the proposed approach is feasible and has the potential to be used as an active safety feature for heavy equipment.

Using game technologies to improve the safety of construction plant operations

Many accidents occur world-wide in the use of construction plant and equipment, and safety training is considered by many to be one of the best approaches to their prevention. However, current safety training methods/tools are unable to provide trainees with the hands-on practice needed. Game technology-based safety training platforms have the potential to overcome this problem in a virtual environment. One such platform is described in this paper - its characteristics are analysed and its possible contribution to safety training identified. This is developed and tested by means of a case study involving three major pieces of construction plant, which successfully demonstrates that the platform can improve the process and performance of the safety training involved in their operation. This research not only presents a new and useful solution to the safety training of construction operations, but illustrates the potential use of advanced technologies in solving construction industry problems in general.

Virtual prototyping for planning bridge construction

4D simulation, building information modeling, virtual construction, computer simulation and virtual prototyping are emerging topics in the building construction industry. These techniques not only relate to the buildings themselves, but can also be applied to other forms of construction, including bridges. Since bridge construction is a complex process involving multiple types of plant and equipment, applying such virtual methods benefits the understanding of all parties in construction practice. This paper describes the relationship between temporary platforms, plant and equipment resources and a proposed-built model in the construction planning and use of Virtual Prototyping Simulation (VPS) to implement different construction scenarios in order to help planners identify an optimal construction plan. A case study demonstrates the use of VPS integrated with temporary platform design and plant and equipment-resource allocation to generate different construction scenarios.

The use of virtual prototyping to rehearse the sequence of construction work involving mobile cranes

Purpose – Rehearsing practical site operations is without doubt one of the most effective methods for minimising planning mistakes, because of the learning that takes place during the rehearsal activity. However, real rehearsal is not a practical solution for on-site construction activities, as it not only involves a considerable amount of cost but can also have adverse environmental implications. One approach to overcoming this is by the use of virtual rehearsals. The purpose of this paper is to investigate an approach to simulation of the motion of cranes in order to test the feasibility of associated construction sequencing and generate construction schedules for review and visualisation. Design/methodology/approach – The paper describes a system involving two technologies, virtual prototyping (VP) and four-dimensional (4D) simulation, to assist construction planners in testing the sequence of construction activities when mobile cranes are involved. The system consists of five modules, comprising input, database, equipment, process and output, and is capable of detecting potential collisions. A real-world trial is described in which the system was tested and validated. Findings – Feedback from the planners involved in the trial indicated that they found the system to be useful in its present form and that they would welcome its further development into a fully automated platform for validating construction sequencing decisions. Research limitations/implications – The tool has the potential to provide a cost-effective means of improving construction planning. However, it is limited at present to the specific case of crane movement under special consideration. Originality/value – This paper presents a large-scale, real life case of applying VP technology in planning construction processes and activities.

Predicting freeway pavement construction cost using a back-propagation neural network : a case study in Henan, China

The objective of this research was to develop a model to estimate future freeway pavement construction costs in Henan Province, China. A comprehensive set of factors contributing to the cost of freeway pavement construction were included in the model formulation. These factors comprehensively reflect the characteristics of region and topography and altitude variation, the cost of labour, material, and equipment, and time-related variables such as index numbers of labour prices, material prices and equipment prices. An Artificial Neural Network model using the Back-Propagation learning algorithm was developed to estimate the cost of freeway pavement construction. A total of 88 valid freeway cases were obtained from freeway construction projects let by the Henan Transportation Department during the period 1994−2007. Data from a random selection of 81 freeway cases were used to train the Neural Network model and the remaining data were used to test the performance of the Neural Network model. The tested model was used to predict freeway pavement construction costs in 2010 based on predictions of input values. In addition, this paper provides a suggested correction for the prediction of the value for the future freeway pavement construction costs. Since the change in future freeway pavement construction cost is affected by many factors, the predictions obtained by the proposed method, and therefore the model, will need to be tested once actual data are obtained.

A 4D automatic simulation tool for construction resource planning: A case study

Purpose Traditional construction planning relies upon the critical path method (CPM) and bar charts. Both of these methods suffer from visualization and timing issues that could be addressed by 4D technology specifically geared to meet the needs of the construction industry. This paper proposed a new construction planning approach based on simulation by using a game engine. Design/methodology/approach A 4D automatic simulation tool was developed and a case study was carried out. The proposed tool was used to simulate and optimize the plans for the installation of a temporary platform for piling in a civil construction project in Hong Kong. The tool simulated the result of the construction process with three variables: 1) equipment, 2) site layout and 3) schedule. Through this, the construction team was able to repeatedly simulate a range of options. Findings The results indicate that the proposed approach can provide a user-friendly 4D simulation platform for the construction industry. The simulation can also identify the solution being sought by the construction team. The paper also identifies directions for further development of the 4D technology as an aid in construction planning and decision-making. Research limitations/implications The tests on the tool are limited to a single case study and further research is needed to test the use of game engines for construction planning in different construction projects to verify its effectiveness. Future research could also explore the use of alternative game engines and compare their performance and results. Originality/value The authors proposed the use of game engine to simulate the construction process based on resources, working space and construction schedule. The developed tool can be used by end-users without simulation experience.