Digital As-Built Database Population for Material Delivery Location Estimation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing digital as-built databases often lack precise location information for construction materials, leading to inaccuracies and inefficiencies in project management, as load tickets do not consistently provide site location data.
Innovation Solution
An automatic system that populates a digital as-built database by correlating electronic load tickets with operational data from construction equipment, such as pavers, to infer and record the actual location of material delivery, using filters and historical data to enhance accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If load tickets are used to track construction materials, then material accounting is achieved, but location information is missing
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges load ticket data with GPS tracking data and construction equipment operational data into a unified database. This integration combines material accounting information with location information, allowing the system to retrieve both types of data through a single query interface, thereby resolving the information loss without complicating material accounting operations
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a database as an intermediary layer between load tickets and location tracking. The database stores both material accounting data and GPS/equipment data, and uses queries to match them through common identifiers like load IDs and timestamps. This intermediary enables location information retrieval without directly modifying the load ticket system
2Manufacturing precision
If digital as-built databases are created from construction plans, then project documentation is established, but actual construction deviations are not captured
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously collects real-time GPS location data and equipment operational data during construction, then compares this actual data against the planned construction specifications stored in the database. This feedback mechanism automatically identifies and records deviations from the plan, updating the as-built documentation to reflect actual construction conditions without requiring complex manual verification processes
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses automated data collection from GPS trackers and equipment sensors that self-report their status and location. The database automatically processes this incoming data, matches it with relevant load tickets and project specifications, and generates as-built records without requiring intensive human intervention, thereby capturing actual construction deviations efficiently
3Loss of information
If thermal images are used for construction site documentation, then visual records are created, but detailed material and method information is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system employs a multi-functional data collection approach that simultaneously gathers GPS location data, equipment operational mode data, material load information, and chain of custody data through a single integrated database system. This universal platform captures diverse construction data types without requiring separate specialized systems for each data type, thereby preserving detailed material and method information while maintaining ease of data collection
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces visual documentation methods like thermal imaging with digital data tracking systems. Instead of capturing images that lack detailed information, the system uses electronic sensors and databases to automatically record precise material types, quantities, locations, and construction methods, providing searchable and analyzable data that supersedes the limitations of image-based documentation
4Device complexity
If load tickets lack location data, then material tracking is simplified, but as-built database accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-establishes a database structure that can accommodate both simplified load ticket data and detailed location information. GPS trackers and equipment sensors are pre-configured to collect and store location data with timestamps and load identifiers. When load tickets are entered, the system automatically queries this pre-collected location data and attaches it to the corresponding ticket records, thereby maintaining tracking simplicity while ensuring delivery location accuracy in the as-built database
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and methods automatically populate a digital as-built database from information about loads of construction materials delivered to construction projects, even if load tickets for the construction materials lack data indicating locations to or from which respective the loads were hauled. Construction machine sensor data is automatically collected from on-project construction equipment and matched with a filtered set of digital material load tickets collected from suppliers who provided the construction materials. These matches are used to estimate locations where the delivered construction materials are ultimately placed in the construction projects, and these locations are added to the as-built database, in association with their respective load tickets. In some cases, inferences are automatically drawn to automatically smooth or adjust location information in the machine sensor data, for example based on load ticket data, historical equipment or inspection information, and/or other data sources. These systems can generate a digital as-built on demand.