Anatomy of Construction Equipment Move and Algorithms for Collision Detection

Equipment-involved accidents are a long-lasting problem of the construction industry. Collisions between pieces of equipment are responsible for a significant portion of damages resulting from those accidents. This study discusses strategies for preventing such collisions on the construction jobsites. The strategies are built up on two premises: (1) equipment operators can prevent construction equipment from colliding with each other when they are timely aware of approaching equipment in close proximity; and (2) the understanding of the patterns of moves that equipment makes during operation can increase the capability of predicting potential collisions more proactively. Noting that precision tracking technologies can contribute to increasing equipment operator’s situation awareness, this study evaluates such technologies in a systematic way so as to identify a technology that is best suited for the proposed strategies. This study analyzes and simplifies the patterns of equipment moves and classifies those into axial-rotation and random-move. The strategies address various collision scenarios for the two patterns, respectively. Incorporating Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, the strategies allow equipment operators to assess the possibility of collision in real-time.