Intelligent Construction Systems & Technologies Workshop

Written by Marco Cecala

Created on Sunday, 02 October 2011 12:03

During the first week of September, I had the opportunity to attend a workshop of the Intelligent Construction Systems & Technologies (ICST) in St. Louis. The event was hosted by the Federal Highway Administration, http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ and was well attended. There were representatives from State and Federal Highway Departments, Software and Hardware manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, and consultants in bridge, pavement and data design.

We broke into groups and assembled informational presentations that were shown to the group on the last day. The groups were Structures, Surveying, Construction/Project Management, Earthworks, Traffic Management and Work Zones and Pavements. The group decided what technologies and systems were available, their maturity and potential obsticles for effective implementation.  The results of the workshop were enlightening and beneficial to the future of our industry. I don’t like dealing in catch phrases, but in this case they make sense. There were several threads that ran through the groups. I will highlight those and discuss them in detail.

·       Pre-Con Sub surfaces. Everyone wants to know what lies below. Sundt Construction here in Phoenix performed the work on the initial stretch of light rail in the city. Dan Russell with Sundt halted construction and did a complete subsurface model of the proposed rail line. This is after the second gas line break resulting from incorrectly marked utilities. The technology for non-invasive location is improving for this process but not as reliable as pot-holing to find active utilities. Expect some exciting news within a year regarding utility locating.

·       Standards. Sure, we are talking about using technology to its best advantage. The fact remains that none of this can exist without the establishment of standards for design and implementation of a project. If we are to fully implement intelligent construction systems, the process needs to change right from the beginning. This will take quite a while to accomplish. I cannot even guess when this will be done. This conference let the Federal Highway Administration realize the need for a change.

·       Is it better? Safer, faster, better? Are we doing this as an exercise in cool technology, or really setting the stage for monumental improvements in efficiency and quality. Some of the things I heard were; “How many different ways do we need to inspect bridges and pavements” “Not every job needs to be modeled and utilize these systems” The technology is profitable in the hands of the end user. Contractors have made technology indispensable on many construction sites.

·       Robust Engineered Model. Everybody talked about “the model”. Besides making me happy for my career choice 20 years ago, it opens a can of worms. What this means is a model that not only shows the completed surface of a road for example, but much more. We need sub surface utilities, smart objects that allow the user to click on a pipe, pavement or curb and get all the details of what that entity really is. It will happen, I just don’t know how soon.

·       Certification and Ownership. The biggest question of all. To put it simply, who is responsible for the data as it becomes a job. No DOT gives a thumb drive to the contractor and tells them to build the job. All information is provided as-is with a signed release of liability. We review these files on a regular basis and they need work to get them ready for the field. This is one to watch.

These are some of the high points in no particular order. Technology like this makes our work safer, faster and results in higher quality jobs. There are obstacles to overcome, but that is the same thing people like me said when GPS was in its infancy. We got over those hurdles efficiently; we will do the same here. I am proud to be on the leading edge of this effort, I look forward to more positive reporting in the future.

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