Automated productivity measurements for construction projects

The project addresses productivity in the construction sector through the application and development of industrial processes for automation and AI interpretations of data. The project is carried out in collaboration between PEAB, LTU, LTH and Cognibotics. Developing and implementing methods and systems for progression and productivity measurements is an important area for construction contractors. Today, follow-up of the construction project against schedule is done manually, it is time consuming and often a structured follow-up is therefore prevented. In addition, today it is most often done by men with a Swedish background, which is why a more generic and automatic method could be used as a piece of the puzzle in increased diversity, gender equality and equal treatment in construction companies.

Developments have now come so far that robots equipped with inspection hardware such as high-quality cameras and laser scanners can autonomously collect raw data on construction sites.

The purpose of the project is to test and evaluate semi- or fully automatic progression measurement, productivity measurement and creation of relationship documents (As-Built) in a multi-year house construction project.

The project investigates two data collection techniques: Smart helmet, a construction helmet with scanner and positioning, and a Boston Dynamic Spot robot as a carrier for a fully automatic method. The project is carried out as a test bed with so-called sprint methodology. It has been shown that an iterative development with sprint methodology goes well in harmony with how a house-building project is developed.

The project is mainly located in the theme area innovations and new applications and will contribute to the effect goals increased productivity in the sector and that construction projects are implemented in industrial processes with the support of digitization by creating a "Proof-of-Use" for structured productivity measurements through automation.