Rapid Automated Monitoring of Construction Site Activities Using Ultra-Wide Band

Monitoring construction site activities is a critical concern to most stakeholders (owners, contractors, architects, engineers, suppliers, etc.) in a construction project. Successful projects are often determined by the level of awareness of project status or work task performance. Thus, information has inherent value for real-time or near real-time decision making. Good resource procurement and resource allocation of workforce, material, and equipment comes in play when job site conditions can be efficiently and effectively assessed. Semi- or automated technologies in the data collection and assessment process can assist in making fast and confident decisions. This paper introduces an emerging technology called Ultra Wide Band (UWB) for real-time location sensing and resource tracking. The technology, its use as data collection tool, preliminary data processing algorithms, experiments, and results are presented in the context of active work zone safety and material location tracking. Many more application areas exist where UWB might impact the field and project management level to overall benefit the construction industry’s competitiveness.