Development of a Wireless Real-Time Productivity Measurement System for Rapid Construction Operations

Abstract

Existing on-site construction productivity measurement methods have some common limitations, such as the inability to provide data to engineers and project managers for real-time analyses and the difficulties of sharing data among participants involved in construction operations. To address these shortfalls, a wireless real-time productivity measurement (WRITE) system was developed. To validate the system, field experiments were conducted at highway and bridge construction sites. Statistical methods, such as the hypothesis test, the normality test, the paired t-test, and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test, were conducted to systematically analyze the experimental data. Results of the statistical analyses proved that the developed system generated identical productivity measurements compared to the stopwatch method, which is considered the classic productivity measurement method. In addition, a procedure to improve the on-site construction using the WRITE System and benchmarking technique was developed. The WRITE System has a potential to strengthen communication and coordination among participants involved in the infrastructure construction process by providing more accurate productivity information in real time.