Civl11203.qxd 1. Introduction Generally, the impact of most research results in the field of construction shows that IT has not had a signif- icant impact on the construction industry as noted by some authors Amor et al. (2002). Most construction IT solutions such as integrated building models, including complex modular and process models, require highly organized and standardized project environments, which are not found in real-life construction projects. Partners in a construction project consortium are typically at very dif- _______________________________________ *Corresponding authors E-mail: mnjadid@yahoo.com ferent levels of organization and IT use. Therefore, they are forced to use mutual digital communication at quite a low level. Typically, isolated IT solutions which did have a tremendous impact on the construction industry such as e-mail and telefax machines connected at different sites, made it possible to quickly share drawings, specifications and other documents needed in a technical environment during the cycle of a construction project. The widespread use of mobile phones was another IT solution which made it possible to reach nearly anywhere at any time, thus, pro- viding significant support for an undisturbed flow of infor- mation, but once again with an automation level of nearly zero, unfortunately. During the past few years, another device has evolved to a mature level - the handheld per- Using Mobile Computing and Information Technology in Civil Engineering Construction Projects M.N. Jadid*1 and M.M. Idress2 1Department of Building Science & Technology - University Campus Projects, General Supervisor for the University Campus Projects, P.O. Box 30973, Alkhobar 31952 - Saudi Arabia 2 University Campus Projects - IT Consultant, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam, Saudi Arabia Received 1 December 2003; accepted 14 April 2004 Abstract: Mobile computing technology has an enormous potential in civil engineering, mainly in the field of construc- tion management. This paper presents an approach by using mobile computing in a civil engineering construction proj- ect, exploring how information can be exchanged at a construction site, and how billing of quantities (BOQ), drawings and specifications are shared for the benefit of the project. One of the major obstacles in using information technology (IT) when applied to civil engineering is due to the dynamic changes in the construction activities and the diversity of construction methods as compared to other industries. This has proved to be a great disadvantage when trying to give construction sites adequate IT support. Computers require infrastructure, which can be transferred easily to the head office, but rarely to the construction site itself in a systematic way. Therefore, the impact of IT on the way the construc- tion industry actually works has not been significantly utilized. This paper consists of two main parts. The first part defines the concept of mobile computing, describes some recent research, and stresses the potential for the construc- tion industry. The second part is focuses on an approach, implementing mobile computing in a real construction site. Keywords: Mobile computing, Networking, Personal digital assistant (PDA), Site, Soil. 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Its speed, memory capacity, communication possibilities, reliability, small size and long power independence, as well as its level of hardware and software standardization gives the PDA a powerful potential in the information chain of a construction project at the site. However, it does not operate on an isolated individual level, but rather in an integrated and systematic way, which means an organized combination of PDAs, mobile phones providing wireless data transmission, and network-based document management. 2. An Overview of the Wireless Lan and Mobile Computing Wireless LAN based mobile computing enables users to establish and maintain a wireless network connection throughout or between buildings, without the limitations of wires or cables Gast, (2003). With a WLAN, the cov- ered area is analogous to a standard local area network. This might be a building or a campus environment, or even a small office or home environment. In large applica- tions, by deploying a series of access points throughout a building or campus, you can achieve full coverage, pro- viding the benefits of high-speed data rates, the freedom of mobility, and the ability to access broadband data any- where within the local area network. Wireless LAN- solu- tions are becoming quite prevalent in many horizontal applications in the construction, general office and vertical industries, such as health care, manufacturing, universities and retail. Here are important but introductory facts about wireless LANs: * Most wireless LANs operates in multiple frequency ranges - unlicensed 902-928 ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) band, unlicensed 2.4 GHz band and licensed 18-23 GHz band. * IEEE 802.1x delivers a centrally managed, standards- based, and open wireless network security scheme. In addition, the EAP framework is extensible to wired networks, enabling an enterprise to use a single securi- ty architecture for every access method * There are two technologies used in wireless LANs: direct sequence (DS) coding or frequency hopping (FH). * Key hardware components of a wireless LAN are a wireless LAN adapter along with an antenna that resides in the mobile computer device (notebook or PDA) and an "Access Point" which acts as the hub and connects multiple mobile devices to a server. You can realistically support only 10-30 mobile devices per access point, depending on the network traffic. * When the 14 dB antennas are added, the outdoor wire- less configuration is extended to 3.5 miles at an impressive 11 Mbps throughput. When combined with any third party 24 dB antenna, distances of 25 miles at 11 Mbps can be achieved. 2.1 Network Configuration The access point's default configuration is as a root unit on a wired LAN. The other two possible roles, repeater unit and central unit in an all-wireless network, require specific changes to the default configuration. 2.1.1 Central Unit in an All-Wireless Network In an all-wireless network, an access point acts as a stand-alone root unit. The access point is not attached to a wired LAN; it functions as a hub linking all stations 26 The Journal of Engineering Research Vol. 2, No. 1 (2005) 25-31 Figure 1. Base station point to point configuration (C-Spec’s Web Site) together as shown in Fig. 1. The access point serves as the focal point for communications. 2.1.2 Repeater Unit that Extends Wireless Range An access point can be configured as a stand alone repeater to extend the range of your infrastructure or to overcome an obstacle that blocks radio communication (Fig. 2). The repeater forwards traffic between wireless users and the wired LAN by sending packets either to another repeater or to an access point connected to the wired LAN (Fig. 3). 2.2 Mobile Computing Architecture Wireless LAN consists of a hardware access point that generates wireless signals in a specific region (Fig. 3). PDA's Wireless notebook or cellelular devices are used to access the features. A user can access text/email, text/email, Web browsing and all internet features. The IEEE 802.1x Protocol is used in this technology. 2.3 Availability of Software and Hardware Mobile computing fundamentally differs from desktop computing. Mobile devices including PDAs, mobile phones and digital cameras, when compared to desktop computers have low computational power, small memory and often no mass storage. Communication links to other mobile devices or to a stationary network are usually wire- less. 27 The Journal of Engineering Research Vol. 2, No. 1 (2005) 25-31 Figure 2. Use of repeater (Cisco-Aironet) Hand held computer Laptop computer Access Point WWW Cluster Cellular Device In te ro pe ra tib ili ty Mobile Computing Technilogies Graphics/ Pictures Text /Email Web Browsing Instant Messaging Word Processor Spread Sheet Application Server Database SQL server Applications Exchange Server Firewall Figure 3. Mobile computing architecture Four groups responsible for the implementation of activities in parallel are: * Existing hardware, software and organization on site and in related offices, * Mobile computers and suitable application software, * Wireless communication technology (local networks, mobile phones and services), * Project management, implementation of document management system. 2.4 Data Formats Supported through Wireless Communication * Text File, * Pictures, * Drawing, * Video /Multimedia. Figure 4 shows an emulation of foreman's equipment demonstrating Mobile CAD running on PDA at King Faisal University construction site. 2.5 General Software (CAD, PMS, GIS) General software includes * Island applications, * Wickes lumber construction-management software (ordering of material), * SHERPA (pipling operations), * Bidcom (recording project data), * AirWavz, * Job Cost. 3. Mobile Computing in Construction Industry There are a number of project tasks that can be auto- mated in the construction industry - a few common exam- ples are provided above. Some more applications are dis- cussed in the following section. 3.1 Site Inspection in Construction Industry Site inspection and project status reporting is consid- ered as a high value mobile application by construction engineers because it reduces the number of site visits by supervising engineers by half or greater. While the con- struction industry has been slow in adopting mobile com- puting and automation in the field, things are changing quite fast now, since low-cost handheld devices are avail- able and several construction automation applications have been developed by vendors. 3.2 Impact of Changes of Site Locations It is a fact that the locations of construction sites fre- quently change which can cause a delay in collecting data from the field, and therefore produces a great need and importance for mobile computing. The field client not only collects data, but it also provides information to the progress engineer. The annual report by Daito (2000) men- tioned four main benefits of the system: * It eliminates redundancy in project task operations, * Reduces the response waiting time, * Greatly limits revision of job tasks, * Enables access to new construction standards. But, how many companies working together on a con- struction project would be able to follow this approach? It becomes evident that standard devices and services have to be available on the market at affordable prices in order to be attractive. Special devices that could be highly applicable to con- struction activities include all the necessary input and out- 28 The Journal of Engineering Research Vol. 2, No. 1 (2005) 25-31 Figure 4. King Faisal University Construction Site (the foreman’s equipment) put devices where the user's hands are left free Xybernaut, (2000) (Fig. 5). The difficulty of controlling mobile com- puters by voice, which is also a requirement for wearable computers, has excited the interest of some researchers. In the field of civil engineering there are two interesting reports, one dealing mostly with inspection-oriented appli- cations Garrett, (2000), and other focusing on navigation through drawings Reinhardt and et al. (2000). 3.3 Construction Industry Applications * Dispatch of construction crew to a job site, * Project status monitoring and reporting, * On-site estimation of small jobs, * Scheduling of construction equipment like graders, trucks, etc., * Ordering of rental equipment to meet sudden demands, * Transfer of equipment from one site to another, * Tracking of labour time spent and the material used for cost plus projects, * Crew card automation and transmittal through wireless networks. 4. Mobile Use at a Construction Site The new site for the King Faisal University (KFU) cam- pus in Dammam, Saudi Arabia is located on the coast between cities of Dammam and Alkhobar. These two developing cities along with Dhahran city are expected to evolve into a single integrated urban complex that will be the administrative and industrial center of the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia. The total area of the campus is about 3,000,000 m2 and will be constructed in several phases. The total building area at the completion of the contract is about 570,000 m2. The new campus will accommodate male and female students in two distinct areas. Each area will carry its own educational facilities, public services and housing. The main campus is divided into five main areas as shown in Fig. 6 while Table 1 shows the subdivision for each area. This division was made in order to acquire an efficient outcome in mobile computing at this construction site. With mobile computing, engineers, architectures, technicians and workmen can take advantage by means of timely and targeted information. The jobs can transmit through a fast medium like wireless devices to a particular engineer or technician, as well as collect data or daily 29 The Journal of Engineering Research Vol. 2, No. 1 (2005) 25-31 Figure 5. Daily activity plan (Bill of Quantities-BOQ), Excel & Pocket Excel sheet Figure 6. Master plan for King Faisal University (Divided into five main areas) 30 The Journal of Engineering Research Vol. 2, No. 1 (2005) 25-31 1. Main Hospital Area The Psychiatric Center Main Hospital The Dental Clinic The Rehabilitation Center The Mosque The Nurses’ Resident 2. Female Medical Center and Administration College of Dentistry College of Medicine College of Nursing College of Applied Science Administration Building Basic Science College Female Housing and Activity Center Food Services, Telephone and Telecommunication Building 3. Male Medical Center and Administration College of Dentistry College of Medicine College of Nursing College of Applied Science Administration Building Basic Science College Male Housing and Activity Center Food Services Telephone and Telecommunication Building 4. Sports Area and the Utility Building Open Sports Facilities Student Housing Open Sports Fields Closed Sports Facilities Stadium Housing Utility Building 5. Housing Unmarried Faculty Housing Married Faculty Housing Married Student Housing Married Staff Housing Table 1. Colleges and facilities within the areas Servers Client Site Office Consultant Site Office Contractor Site Office Hub Et he rn et Access Point Access Point Repeater Supervisor / Foreman Hand held computer Infrastructure Construction in Progress Infrastructure Construction in Progress Building Construction in Progress Building Construction in Progress Building Construction in Progress Drawings Documents Drawings Documents Drawings DocumentsAccess Point Repeater FLOW OF INFORMATION THROUGH MOBILE COMPUTING IN A CONSTRUCTION SITE. Figure 7. Logical flow of information suggested at the KFU construction site reports from the field. The mobile computing technique can be used effectively in civil engineering in general. 4.1 Infrastructure and Buildings Site Conditions The preliminary geotechnical consultant's report (Saudi Services Consultant, 2001) has revealed that the soil is very loose to loose, silty sand up to minimum of 4.0 m depth, followed by dense to very dense, silty sand up to 12 m. The resulting sub-grade shall be compacted by a heavy vibratory roller to a minimum of 70% of the relative density for cohesionless soil or to a minimum of 95% of modified proctor density for cohesive and well-graded soil. The recommended fill by the designer should be placed in layers not exceeding 300 mm each and compact- ed according to the type of material used. The above information revealed that the soil condition for the site is poor therefore soil treatment is recommended by the con- sultants. The scope of the infrastructure and buildings for the site includes but not limited to: * Excavation and backfilling including slope protection, * Roads and parking that requires base course, asphalting marking and signage, * Walkways, curbs and gutters, * Storm water drainage, * Water, sewer, irrigation and chilled water networks, * Electrical network and lighting systems, * Sewer and storm pump stations, * Reverse osmosis (RO) plant, * Sewage treatment plant, * Hospital, Academic buildings, administration, hous- ings, sport areas and the utility building. To overcome these shortcomings of the site conditions, an approach was suggested to provide mobile communica- tion in order to utilize the flow of information between the client, consultant and the contractor effectively. The main approach proposed consists of the following tasks: * Exploring the characteristics and potential of commer- cially available hand held devices for the construction industry, * Evaluating the use of Wifi or blue tooth technology with Palms for data transmissions at the construction proj- ect site, * Ensuring flow of information among King Faisal University supervisors, consultants, contractors and the engineers at the construction site, * Providing a document management system for mobile computing, transfer of text, drawings and spreadsheets through the software of latest hand held devices. The logical flow of the suggested information is shown in Fig. 7, which represents the mobile computing works in construction process at the KFU site. 5. Conclusions Construction management can be achieved by using current mobile computing and web services. Their full potential has not been utilized and there are rooms for improvement expected in the future. The commercially available PDAs already offer abun- dant functionality and processing speed, however, suitabil- ity under stress conditions like dust, strong light, rain, which is normal at a construction site, is another problem which needs to be addressed seriously in the future. There is also the ever-present problem of screen size: either the screen is too small for a good information overview, or too big to fit in a pocket. It is clear that devices not fitting into a foreman's pocket will not be carried around, but rather left back at the site office. Utilizing the latest in mobile computing at the construc- tion site will provide innovation and customized solutions which would allow individuals in the construction site to maximize the efficiency when collecting data and access- ing important information. Acknowledgments The authors express their sincere thanks to King Faisal University for providing the necessary data and informa- tion. References Amor, R., Betts, M., and Coetzee, G., 2002, “Information Technology for Construction: Recent Work and Future Directions,” ITcon 17: pp. 245-258. Daito Trust Construction Co. (2000), Annual Report, http://www.kentaku.co.jp/e/tcs/. Garrett, J.H., Buergy, C., Reinhardt, and Sunkpho, J., 2002, "An Overview of the Research in Mobile/Wearable Computer-Aided Engineering Systems in the Advanced Infrastructure Systems Lab at Carnegie Mellon University," In the CD Proceedings of the BAUEN MIT Computern (Computer-Aided Construction) conference, Bonn, Germany, April 11-12, 2002. Matthew, S. and Gast, 2003, "802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide,” (O'Reilly Networking). Reinhardt, J., Garrett, J.H. and Scherer, J., 2000, "The Preliminary Design of a Wearable Computer for the Supporting Construction Progress Monitoring," Internationales, Kolloquium Uber die Anwedung der informatik under Mathematik in Architecture und Weimar, Germany, June 2000. Saudi Consulting Services, 2001, King Faisal University Permanent Campus, Soil Report, Saudi Arabia. Xybernaut wearable computers. www.xybernaut.com/ 31 The Journal of Engineering Research Vol. 2, No. 1 (2005) 25-31