• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2020.12a
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• pp.409-416
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• 2020

This paper proposes a study measuring productivity improvement by using a type of technology called "Machine Guidance" through work sampling in earthwork. Earthwork is the activity typically on the critical path, indicating that productivity for the activity is critical for managing schedule on time. Thanks to the development of sensing and information system technologies, productivity for earthwork has been improved. While there have been many studies investigating the application of a certain type of technology to earthwork, few studies have measured the productivity improvement and presented how the technology leads to productivity improvement. Based on the thorough literature review, it is hypothesized that Machine Guidance contributes to improving productivity of earthwork by reducing indirect workhours spent for information waiting and inspection. In addition to the literature review, this paper presents a research model to test the hypothesis by using the work sampling technique. By proving and quantifying the productivity improvement from the technology use, this study can help practitioners justify the investment for technology use, which will contribute to the deployment of technology and more effective execution of earthwork.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Building Construction Conference
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• 2021.05a
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• pp.149-150
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• 2021

Earthwork is the starting work of construction process, which has the greatest impact on the productivity of the construction project among the works. However, it is difficult to derive accurate productivity becuase the earthwork plan is affected by geological condition of the jobsite. Therefore, a simulation model for productivity analysis of earthwork was developed using CYCLONE modeling method in this study. In this paper, simulation model was made considering the impact factors of earthwork productivity. The proposed model can be utilized for sensitivity analysis in future studies.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Building Construction
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.751-760
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• 2023

Enhancing productivity in earthwork projects is crucial, significantly affecting both time and cost efficiencies. However, existing research in this domain predominantly relies on qualitative data and methodologies, which may not suffice given its critical significance. This study employed the fuzzy DEMATEL method to conduct a structural analysis of variables affecting productivity in construction projects. The findings reveal that plan changes possess the most substantial overall influence on earthwork productivity, with a comprehensive strength rating of 4.58. Additionally, it was observed that precipitation data exerted the most pronounced positive impact, with a rating of 0.48. These insights are anticipated to aid in identifying and prioritizing areas for productivity enhancement in construction projects.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2022.06a
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• pp.1194-1201
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• 2022

The existing literature has witnessed the importance of productivity assessment and deducing factors affecting it. However, yet many models have shown limitations in practical applications in actual construction sites for process planning due to uncertainty and lack of data. This research presents a productivity assessment and database generation framework using simulation and compares the results with RSMeans to derive appropriate equipment combinations alternatives for earthwork operations. Data of 15 different conditions was collected from 5 different construction sites. Prediction accuracy above 90% were achieved for the simulation models with average error rate of 7.4%. The construction productivity assessment framework presented in this study is expected to be highly applicable to operation planning for earthwork operations.

• Korean Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.78-86
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• 2020

Dozer is an expensive construction equipment and has a significant performance impact on earthwork performance. A machine guidance system has been applied to dozer equipment as a solution that can improve the performance. The system can provide earthwork-related information to equipment operators so that earthworks can be carried out with minimum support from surveyors. Construction Equipment Machine guidance has the function of supporting earthwork according to an earthwork plan by providing excavation-related information to machine operators. The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance improvement of a machine guidance system for an dozer earthwork operation, and to compare the machine guidance method with the traditional method. The performance has been evaluated in two folds: 1) productivity and 2) accuracy. The productivity shows the quantity of earthwork for a given unit time. The accuracy shows the deviation of grading level from the designed level on the construction drawing for earthwork. The machine guidance system has been applied to a testing bed in a construction site. Data comparison analysis showed that the earth earthwork had 46.59% improvement in productivity as well as 46.96% improvement in accuracy, and is expected to provide a tool for applying smart constrction to the earthwork operation.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2015.10a
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• pp.673-673
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• 2015

Earthwork is an operation that provides space for structures, and it takes up a large portion of the construction costs in a construction project. In large-scale earthwork, numerous types of construction equipment are used in the operation. The types of equipment should be selected based on the field conditions and the construction methods. These construction vehicles are constantly changing positions during the earthwork operation. Therefore, the equipment operators require effective communication to ensure the efficiency of the earthwork operation. All equipment operators should exchange information with the other equipment operators. Information should be exchanged continuously to support decision making and increase productivity during the earthwork operation at the construction site. This paper investigates the attributes required for an information interface between construction vehicles during an earthwork operation. This paper 1) discusses the importance of an information interface for construction vehicles in order to increase productivity during an earthwork operation, 2) analyses the types of attributes that need to be communicated between construction vehicles, and 3) provides a database that has been built for attribute control. The database built for the information interface between construction vehicles will enhance communication between vehicle operators. Table I shows the typical attributes that should be shared between the excavator operator and the dump truck operator. This information needs to be shared among the operators, as it helps them to plan the earthwork operation in a more efficient manner. A database has been developed to store this information in an entity relation diagram. A user-interface display environment is also developed to provide this information to the operators in the construction vehicles. The proposed interface can help exchange information effectively and facilitate a common understanding during the earthwork operation. For example, the vehicle operators will be aware of the planned volume, excavated volume, transportation time, and transportation numbers. As a part of this study, mobile devices, such as mobile phones and google glasses, will be used as hands-on communication tools.

• Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.58-65
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• 2013

Earthwork activities are typically performed by heavy duty diesel (HDD) construction equipment that consumes large quantities of diesel fuel use and emits large quantities of pollutants, including nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matters (PM), hydrocarbon (HC), carbon monoxide (CO), and carbon dioxide ($CO_2$). This paper presents the framework for a model that can be used to estimate the production rate, activity duration, total fuel use, and total pollutants emissions for earthwork activities. A case study and sensitivity analysis for an excavator performing excavations are presented. The tool is developed by combining the multiple linear regressions (MLR) approach for modeling the productivity with the EPA's NONROAD model. The excavator data from RSMeans Heavy Construction Data were selected to build the productivity model, and emission factors of all type of pollutants from NONROAD model were used to estimate the total fuel use and emissions. The MLR model for the productivity rate can explain 92% of the variability in the data. Based on the model, the fuel use and emissions of excavator increase as the trench depth increase, but as the bucket size increase, the fuel use and emissions decrease.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Industry Convergence
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.529-536
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• 2019

Recently, various efforts have been tried in the construction industry to improve productivity by applying the fourth industrial revolution technology. Among the various technologies, researches for the automation and digitization of earthworks are being carried out steadily. As the interest in the benefits of digitalization of the earthwork field has increased, there have been more cases of technology development and application for digitalization of the earthwork field. However, there is not enough case study to present the analysis results of application cases. The purpose of this study is to verify the feasibility of applying the digitization technology of the earthwork in actual worksite. In order to digitize the worksite terrain, it is required the process of field measurement, measurement data registration, earthwork information input, and analysis cell generation. Particularly, it is possible to achieve information-enabled digitization rather than digitalizing only the shape through the input of the earthwork information and the analysis cell generation. By using the digital information of the earthwork field, it is possible to visually recognize the change of the earthwork field, so that it is expected to enhance the worker 's understanding and to be highly applicable to the management work. It is expected that the digital technology of earthwork site will be able to know the precise amount of volume change of the earthwork numerically, and it will be highly applicable to construction management.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.1191-1202
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• 2013

The former researches on earthwork automation were mainly focused on GPS and sensor application, environment modelling, equipment path planning, work information management, and remote control etc. Recently, reducing $CO_2$ emission becomes one of main focuses for an automation research. In the case of earthwork operations, many kinds of construction machines or robots are involved, which can cause high level of $CO_2$ in a construction site. An effective earthwork plan and construction machine operation can both increase productivity and safety and decrease $CO_2$ emission level. In this research, some automation concepts for green earthworks are suggested such as a 3D construction site model, a 3D earthwork distribution based on two different earthwork methods, and an earthwork package construction method. A excel-based simulator is developed to generate the 3D earthwork distribution and to estimate the level of $CO_2$ emission for the given earthwork.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.587-596
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• 2015

3D scanners are applied to many industries, such as manufacturing, construction, and shipbuilding. Recently, 3D scanner is used in 3D imaging of worksite in order to control and guide earthmoving heavy equipments, which provides basic information for intelligent excavation. This study compares the accuracy and productivity between total stations and high-resolution 3D scanners. The analysis results show that 3D scanner has high accurate rate of greater than 99 percent and has low error rate of less than 2.0mm compared to total stations. In terms of productivity, 3D scanner saves 71 percent of measuring time compared to the total station. This study confirms that 3D scanner can measure the earthwork sites with high accuracy and better productivity.