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The purpose of this paper is to report on the results of an exploratory study on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) as a visual data collection tool in the architecture, engineering, construction and facility management industry for the inspection of pathological manifestations in building facades.

The methodology used a field research experimental approach, where three case studies were carried out involving buildings of medium and high elevation. The protocol of activities included image collection and processing stages, as well as detailed analysis of the collected visual data for the identification of pathological manifestations in building facades.

The findings emphasize the technical feasibility and efficacy of inspections with UAV, showing that among the visual assets produced, digital photographs collected with the aircraft were more effective for the detection of pathologies when compared to the three-dimensional models and orthomosaics generated by digital photogrammetry software.

The research has formulated the protocol for the inspection of facades using UAV and the comparative analysis of visual assets that can be generated for inspection purposes.

The purpose of this paper is to establish and evaluate the concrete loss and labor productivity (LP) indicators in the concreting step of aluminum formwork system (AFS) in construction in Brazil. The loss and productivity indicators are directed to a regional database (Pernambuco, Brazil).

Case study was selected as the most appropriate approach. The methodology included data collection in the construction project with 10 residential towers of 320 apartments, in the city of Jaboatão dos Guararapes, Brazil, throughout 82 concrete pouring days using 415 concrete mixer trucks, with a total of 2,582.50 m³ of concrete.

The findings identified an average concrete loss of 2.6 percent and the LP indicator varying between 0.15 and 0.97 WH/m³. It could be verified that the loss indicators were influenced mainly by the learning effect associated to the qualification of the labor. In addition, the productivity indicators were strongly influenced by delays at the beginning of the concrete pouring and by problems coming from the sequence of concrete supply.

LP indicators are still literature restricted, especially considering only the concreting step. The direct observations of this study allow the identification of factors that inhibit productivity. The comparison of indicators for the concreting service between the ASF and the conventional system attests to the speed, low cost and efficiency of the system studied in this paper.

The design for production of wall partitions (DPWP) offers high potential for improving the design process of building in Brazil. However, one of the problems worth mentioning is the lack of accurate definition of scope which leads to doubts about what, when and how it should be prepared, developed and delivered by the designers. The purpose of this paper is to assess the application of the Brazilian Association of Design Managers and Coordinators (AGESC) handbook scopes of DPWP in building construction.

A case study involving a field investigation of eight construction organisations and DPWP designers in the cities of Recife and Sao Paulo in Brazil.

The results obtained have shown that conformity (with specification) – the reference scope adopted AGESC handbook DPWP – was not entirely fulfilled by the companies, while the agreement (personal opinion on the appropriateness of the specification) with the scope was even lower among them. The major difference was found between conformity and agreement among the construction companies.

Guidelines concerning how to use the AGESC handbook for DPWP, description of potential uses and amplifying of the contributions to greater integration between expectations and resulting products, call for rational design and execution of non-loadbearing masonry in the Brazilian construction industry.