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The swivel construction method is a specially designed process used to build bridges that cross rivers, valleys, railroads and other obstacles. To carry out this construction method safely, real-time monitoring of the bridge rotation process is required to ensure a smooth swivel operation without collisions. However, the traditional means of monitoring using Electronic Total Station tools cannot realize real-time monitoring, and monitoring using motion sensors or GPS is cumbersome to use.

This study proposes a monitoring method based on a series of computer vision (CV) technologies, which can monitor the rotation angle, velocity and inclination angle of the swivel construction in real-time. First, three proposed CV algorithms was developed in a laboratory environment. The experimental tests were carried out on a bridge scale model to select the outperformed algorithms for rotation, velocity and inclination monitor, respectively, as the final monitoring method in proposed method. Then, the selected method was implemented to monitor an actual bridge during its swivel construction to verify the applicability.

In the laboratory study, the monitoring data measured with the selected monitoring algorithms was compared with those measured by an Electronic Total Station and the errors in terms of rotation angle, velocity and inclination angle, were 0.040%, 0.040%, and −0.454%, respectively, thus validating the accuracy of the proposed method. In the pilot actual application, the method was shown to be feasible in a real construction application.

In a well-controlled laboratory the optimal algorithms for bridge swivel construction are identified and in an actual project the proposed method is verified. The proposed CV method is complementary to the use of Electronic Total Station tools, motion sensors, and GPS for safety monitoring of swivel construction of bridges. It also contributes to being a possible approach without data-driven model training. Its principal advantages are that it both provides real-time monitoring and is easy to deploy in real construction applications.

This paper aims to focus on identifying key health-care issues amenable to digital twin (DT) approach. It starts with a description of the concept and enabling technologies of a DT and then discusses potential applications of DT solutions in healthcare facilities management (FM) using four different scenarios. The scenario planning focused on monitoring and controlling the heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system in real-time; monitoring indoor air quality (IAQ) to monitor the performance of medical equipment; monitoring and tracking pulsed light for SARS-Cov-2; and monitoring the performance of medical equipment affected by radio frequency interference (RFI).

The importance of a healthcare facility, its systems and equipment necessitates an effective FM practice. However, the FM practices adopted have several areas for improvement, including the lack of effective real-time updates on performance status, asset tracking, bi-directional coordination of changes in the physical facilities and the computational resources that support and monitor them. Consequently, there is a need for more intelligent and holistic FM systems. We propose a DT which possesses the key features, such as real-time updates and bi-directional coordination, which can address the shortcomings in healthcare FM. DT represents a virtual model of a physical component and replicates the physical data and behavior in all instances. The replication is attained using sensors to obtain data from the physical component and replicating the physical component's behavior through data analysis and simulation. This paper focused on identifying key healthcare issues amenable to DT approach. It starts with a description of the concept and enabling technologies of a DT and then discusses potential applications of DT solutions in healthcare FM using four different scenarios.

The scenarios were validated by industry experts and concluded that the scenarios offer significant potential benefits for the deployment of DT in healthcare FM such as monitoring facilities’ performance in real-time and improving visualization by integrating the 3D model.

In addition to inadequate literature addressing healthcare FM, the study was also limited to one of the healthcare facilities of a large public university, and the scope of the study was limited to IAQ including pressure, relative humidity, carbon dioxide and temperature. Additionally, the study showed the potential benefits of DT application in healthcare FM using various scenarios that DT experts validated.

The study shows the practical implication using the various validated scenarios and identified enabling technologies. The combination and implementation of those mentioned above would create a system that can effectively help manage facilities and improve facilities' performances.

The only identifiable social solution is that the proposed system in this study can manually be overridden to prevent absolute autonomous control of the smart system in cases when needed.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the only study that has addressed healthcare FM using the DT approach. This research is an excerpt from an ongoing dissertation.

The construction industry remains one of the most hazardous industries worldwide, with a higher number of fatalities and injuries each year. The safety and well-being of workers at a job site are paramount as they face both immediate and long-term risks such as falls and musculoskeletal disorders. To mitigate these dangers, sensor-based technologies have emerged as a crucial tool to promote the safety and well-being of workers on site. The implementation of real-time sensor data-driven monitoring tools can greatly benefit the construction industry by enabling the early identification and prevention of potential construction accidents. This study aims to explore the innovative method of prototype development regarding a safety monitoring system in the form of smart personal protective equipment (PPE) by taking advantage of the recent advances in wearable technology and cloud computing.

The proposed smart construction safety system has been meticulously crafted to seamlessly integrate with conventional safety gear, such as gloves and vests, to continuously monitor construction sites for potential hazards. This state-of-the-art system is primarily geared towards mitigating musculoskeletal disorders and preventing workers from inadvertently entering high-risk zones where falls or exposure to extreme temperatures could occur. The wearables were introduced through the proposed system in a non-intrusive manner where the safety vest and gloves were chosen as the base for the PPE as almost every construction worker would be required to wear them on site. Sensors were integrated into the PPE, and a smartphone application which is called SOTER was developed to view and interact with collected data. This study discusses the method and process of smart PPE system design and development process in software and hardware aspects.

This research study posits a smart system for PPE that utilises real-time sensor data collection to improve worksite safety and promote worker well-being. The study outlines the development process of a prototype that records crucial real-time data such as worker location, altitude, temperature and hand pressure while handling various construction objects. The collected data are automatically uploaded to a cloud service, allowing supervisors to monitor it through a user-friendly smartphone application. The worker tracking ability with the smart PPE can help to alleviate the identified issues by functioning as an active warning system to the construction safety management team. It is steadily evident that the proposed smart PPE system can be utilised by the respective industry practitioners to ensure the workers' safety and well-being at construction sites through monitoring of the workers with real-time sensor data.

The proposed smart PPE system assists in reducing the safety risks posed by hazardous environments as well as preventing a certain degree of musculoskeletal problems for workers. Ultimately, the current study unveils that the construction industry can utilise cloud computing services in conjunction with smart PPE to take advantage of the recent advances in novel technological avenues and bring construction safety management to a new level. The study significantly contributes to the prevailing knowledge of construction safety management in terms of applying sensor-based technologies in upskilling construction workers' safety in terms of real-time safety monitoring and safety knowledge sharing.

Gas transmission pipelines are at constant risk of gas leakage or fire due to various atmospheric environments, corrosion on pipe metal surfaces and other external factors. This study aims to reduce the human and financial risks associated with gas transmission by regularly monitoring pipeline performance, controlling situations and preventing disasters.

Facility managers can monitor the status of gas transmission lines in real-time by integrating sensor information into a building information modeling (BIM) 3D model. Using the Monitoring Panel plugin, coded in C# programming language and operated through Navisworks software, the model provides up-to-date information on pipeline safety and performance.

By collecting project information on the BIM and installing critical sensors, this approach allows facility manager to observe the real-time safety status of gas pipelines. If any risks of gas leakage or accidents are identified by the sensors, the BIM model quickly shows the location of the incident, enabling facility managers to make the best decisions to reduce financial and life risks. This intelligent gas transmission pipeline approach changes traditional risk management and inspection methods, minimizing the risk of explosion and gas leakage in the environment.

This research distinguishes itself from related work by integrating sensor data into a BIM model for real-time monitoring and providing facility managers with up-to-date safety information. By leveraging intelligent gas transmission pipelines, the system enables quick identification and location of potential hazards, reducing financial and human risks associated with gas transmission.

The digital media recording and broadcasting classroom using Internet real-time intelligent image positioning and opinion monitoring in communication teaching is researched and analyzed.

First, spatial grid positioning and monitoring and image intelligent recognition technologies were used to extract and analyze teaching images by mastering Internet of Things (IoT) technology and establishing an intelligent image positioning and opinion monitoring digital media recording and broadcasting system framework. Next, a positioning node algorithm was utilized to measure the image distance, and then a moving node location model under the IoT was established. In addition, a radial basis function (RBF) neural network was used to realize the signal transmission function. The experimental data of the adopted RBF based on the optimization of the adaptive cuckoo search (ACS-RBF) neural network, particle swarm algorithm neural network, and method of least squares optimization were compared and analyzed. In addition, a more efficient RBF neural network was adopted. Finally, the digital media recording and broadcasting classroom scheme of real-time intelligent image positioning and opinion monitoring was designed. In addition, the application environment of digital media actual teacher teaching was detected, and recording and broadcasting pictures were analyzed and researched.

The actual value, predicted value, and the number of predicted samples of the ACS-RBF model were all better than those of the two other neural networks. According to the analysis and comparison of the sampling optimization Monte Carlo localization (SOMCL), Monte Carlo, and genetic algorithm optimization-based Monte Carlo positioning algorithms, the SOMCL algorithm showed better robustness, and its positioning efficiency was superior to that of the two other algorithms. In addition, the SOMCL algorithm greatly reduced the positioning and monitoring energy consumption.

The application of real-time intelligent image positioning and monitoring technology in actual communication teaching was realized in the study.

Despite the opportunities of digital twins (DTs) for smart buildings, limited research has been conducted regarding the facility management stage, and this is explained by the high complexity of accurately representing and modelling the physics behind the DTs process. This study thus organises and consolidates the fragmented literature on DTs implementation for smart buildings at the facility management stage by exploring the enablers, applications and challenges and examining the interrelationships amongst them.

A systematic literature review approach is adopted to analyse and synthesise the existing literature relating to the subject topic.

The study revealed six main categories of enablers of DTs for smart building at the facility management stage, namely perception technologies, network technologies, storage technologies, application technologies, knowledge-building and design processes. Three substantial categories of DTs application for smart buildings were revealed at the facility management stage: efficient operation and service monitoring, efficient building energy management and effective smart building maintenance. Subsequently, the top four major challenges were identified as being “lack of a systematic and comprehensive reference model”, “real-time data integration”, “the complexity and uncertainty nature of real-time data” and “real-time data visualisation”. An integrative framework is finally proposed by examining the interactive relationship amongst the enablers, the applications and the challenges.

The findings could guide facility managers/engineers to fairly understand the enablers, applications and challenges when DTs are being implemented to improve smart building performance and achieve user satisfaction at the facility management stage.

This study contributes to the knowledge body on DTs by extending the scope of the existing studies to identify the enablers and applications of DTs for smart buildings at the facility management stage and the specific challenges.

Digital data acquisition is crucial for operations in the digital transformation era. Reality capture (RC) has made an immeasurable contribution to various fields, especially in the built environment. This paper aims to review RC applications, potentials, limitations and the extent to which RC can be adopted for cost monitoring of construction projects.

A mixed-method approach, using Bibliometric analysis and the PRISMA framework, was used to review and analyse 112 peer-reviewed journal articles from the Scopus and Web of Science databases.

The study reveals RC has been applied in various areas in the built environment, but health and safety, cost and labour productivity monitoring have received little or no attention. It is proposed that RC can significantly support cost monitoring owing to its ability to acquire accurate and quick digital as-built 3D point cloud data, which contains rich measurement points for the valuation of work done.

The study’s conclusions are based only on the Scopus and Web of Science data sets. Only English language documents were approved, whereas others may be in other languages. The research is a non-validation of findings using empirical data to confirm the data obtained from RC literature.

This paper highlights the importance of RC for cost monitoring in construction projects, filling knowledge gaps and enhancing project outcomes.

The implementation of RC in the era of the digital revolution has the potential to improve project delivery around the world today. Every project’s success is largely determined by the availability of precise and detailed digital data. RC applications have pushed for more sustainable design, construction and operations in the built environment.

The study has given research trends on the extent of RC applications, potentials, limitations and future directions.

Built asset management processes require a long transition period to collect, edit and update asset conditions information from existing data sets. This paper aims to explore and explain whether and how digital technologies, including asset information model (AIM), Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain, can enhance asset conditions assessment and lead to better asset management.

Mixed methods are applied to achieve the research objective with a focus in universities. The questionnaire aims to test whether the integration of AIM, IoT and blockchain can enhance asset condition assessment (ACA). Descriptive statistical analysis was applied to the quantitative data. The mean, median, mode, standard deviation, variance, skewness and range of the data group were calculated. Semi-structured interviews were designed to answer how the integration of AIM, IoT and blockchain can enhance the ACA. Quantitative data was analysed to define and explain the essential factors for each sub-hypothesis. Meanwhile, to strengthen the evaluation of the research hypothesis, the researcher also obtained secondary data from the literature review.

The research shows that the integration of AIM, IoT and blockchain strongly influences asset conditions assessment. The integration of AIM, IoT and blockchain can improve the asset monitoring and diagnostics through its life cycle and in different aspects, including financial, physical, functional and sustainability. Moreover, the integration of AIM, IoT and blockchain can enhance cross-functional collaboration to avoid misunderstandings, various barriers and enhance trust, communication and collaboration between the team members. Finally, costs and risk could be reduced, and performance could be increased during the ACA.

The contribution of this study indicated that the integration of AIM, IoT and blockchain application in asset assessment could increase the efficiency, accuracy, stability and flexibility of asset assessment to ensure the reliability of assets and lead to a high-efficiency working environment. More importantly, a key performance indicator for ACA based on the asset information, technology and people experience could be developed gradually.

This study can break the gap between transdisciplinary knowledge to improve the integration of people, technology (AIM, IoT and blockchain) and process value-based ACA in built asset management within universities.

Cyber-physical systems (CPS) enable the synergistic integration of virtual models with the physical environment. This integration is gaining recognition for its potential to enhance construction project information management, thereby contributing to improved cost management in construction. Similarly, quantity surveyor (QS) plays a key role in construction projects by estimating and monitoring construction costs. Consequently, this research aims to explore redefining the role of QSs by integrating CPS.

The research adopted an interpretivism stance to collect and analyse data. Two rounds of 21 and 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted, with experts selected through heterogeneous purposive sampling. Code-based content analysis was used to analyse the data using NVivo12. MS Visio data visualisation tool was used to present the findings.

It is empirically proven the potential of CPS to facilitate nine key roles of QSs in all stages of the RIBA plan of work through the identification of 15 CPS applications and technologies. Nine key roles of QSs that CPS can facilitate were identified as preliminary estimation, measurement and quantification, contract administration, preparation of BOQ, interim valuation and payments, tender and contract documentation, cost planning, cost control and procurement advice. The study explored how adopting CPS technologies can transform traditional quantity surveying practices and enhance their value within the construction industry.

The findings add to the body of knowledge by redefining the role of QS through the integration of CPS for the first time and then by highlighting the usages of CPS in the construction industry rather than limiting it to a specific sector of the construction industry, as previous studies have done. This research uncovers several other research arenas on CPS as being the very first research to evaluate CPS to facilitate key roles of QSs. The findings can enhance the awareness and the practical implementation of CPS by intervening to form more partnerships among application developers and industry leaders.

Construction activities conducted in urban areas are often a source of significant noise disturbances, which cause psychological and health issues for residents as well as long-term auditory impairments for construction workers. The limited effectiveness of passive noise control measures due to the close proximity of the construction site to surrounding neighborhoods often results in complaints and eventually lawsuits. These can then lead to delays and cost overruns for the construction projects.

The paper proposes a novel approach to integrating construction noise as an additional dimension into scheduling construction works. To achieve this, a building information model, including the three-dimensional construction site layout object geometry, resource allocation and schedule information, is utilized. The developed method explores further project data that are typically available, such as the assigned equipment to a task, its precise location, and the estimated duration of noisy tasks. This results in a noise prediction model by using noise mapping techniques and suggesting less noisy alternative ways of construction. Finally, noise data obtained from sensors in a case study contribute real values for validating the proposed approach, which can be used later to suggest solutions for noise mitigation.

The results of this study indicate that the proposed approach can accurately predict construction noise given a few available parameters from digital project planning and sensors installed on a construction site. Proactively integrating construction noise control measures into the planning process has benefits for both residents and construction managers, as it reduces construction noise-related disturbances, prevents unexpected legal issues and ensures the health and well-being of the workforce.

While previous research has concentrated on real-time data collection using sensors, a more effective solution would also involve addressing and mitigating construction noise during the pre-construction work planning phase.