W12_PieroAnticona_Drone Data and Project Management Software

1)    Step 1- Problem or Opportunity Statement

Based on the analysis previously done in the post W11_PieroAnticona_Productivity Factors Measured by Drones (26^th November 2018) we have identified productivity factors that can be monitored by drones.

As there are different types of drones and also different drone's data, the following step is to determine what information from drone data helps to monitor those productivity factors. Therefore, we can get reliable information and a better use of drone’s data.   

2)    Step 2 – Feasible Alternatives

There are three types of drones in the market that can be used for construction. Main features to consider when purchasing a drone are:

-       Fixed wing versus verticle-take-off-and-landing (VTOL) verse tethered VTOL

-       Sized and payload

-       Battery life and flight time

-       Range and manoeuvrability

The following figure describes better these features:

Types of Drones

The equipment that comes with drones is also important to analyze because drones are not compatible with all the equipment. Equipment choices are:

-       Photo and video sensors (Cameras)

-       Geo-location sensors (GPS-for example)

-       Thermal Sensors for detecting heat

Drones are not able to analyze data by itself. It requires photogrammetry software to process collected data and finally based on the sector or the need to use other applications in order to analyze the information.

A drone produces imagery and videos. Drone’s data is processed by a Photogrammetry software which produces at least the following information:

-       Photos

-       Videos

-       Densified Point Clouds

-       3D Textured Mesh

-       Level Of Details (LOD) Mesh

-       Orthomosaic Maps

-       Reflectance Maps

-       Digital Terrain Models (DTMs)

-       Digital Surface Models (DSMs)

-       CAD Overlays

This information can be used depending on the application and what we want to monitor and analyze.

3)    Step 3- Develop the outcomes for each alternative

The data can be used in the following applications:

-       Contour lines generation

-       Distance and area measurements

-       Volume calculation

-       Comparing volumes between two DSMs

-       2D digitization

-       3D digitization

-       3D visualization

-       Visualization on Google applications

-       Vegetation indices - Index visualization and color editing

-       Vegetation indices - agriculture applications

-       Point cloud classification

-       Stereo viewing

-       3D printing

-       Contour lines visualization and editing

-       Web viewing and sharing

-       Video animation viewing

-       3D Digitized objects visualization and editing

-       In the field inspection (Index Map)

-       Bundle Adjustment

The description of each application will not be part of the current research. If the reader wants more information he or she can visit: https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/categories/360000059123-General , where there is a brief description of each topic.

4)    Step 4- Selection of the acceptable criteria.

The following attributes will be considered for the selection criteria:

We want to identify which applications from the previous step can help to monitor the following productivity factor’s list:

Consolidated Productivity Factors List 1.    Location Weather patterns Access Availability of logistical support Trafficability of site Transportation network Materials and equipment listed on warehouse inventory cannot be found; Wrong or defective tools issued; 2.    Project and Contract Characteristics Exposure to hazards Height or depth of work Degree of congestion or confinement 3.    Human Factors Overtime Number of breaks and duration Shift Work

5)    Step 5- Compare the outcomes from each alternative analysis done in Step 3 against the minimum acceptable criteria from Step 4.

The author has elaborated the table below where we can identify which of the applications have more use in monitoring productivity factors:

Applications vs Productivity Factors

           

6)    Step 6- Selection of the “best”.

As shown by the previous table the applications that help to monitor productivity factors are:

-       2D digitization

-       3D digitization

-       3D visualization

-       Visualization on Google applications

-       Web viewing and sharing

-       Video animation viewing

-       3D Digitized objects visualization and editing

7)    Step 7- How to plan on tracking/reporting on the recommended choice. 

From the previous analysis, it would be interesting to determine if these applications could serve as inputs for other Project Management Softwares in order to calculate progress in a traditional way or only a few methods to calculate progress are more suitable to these applications.  

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8)    REFERENCES.

1.     Guild of Project Controls. (2016, January 05). 09.03 Measuring Capturing Progress Updating the Schedule Rev1.03. Retrieved September 15, 2018, from http://www.planningplanet.com/guild/gpccar/capturing-progress-updating-schedule

2.    PROCORE EDITORIAL STAFF. (2018, June 25). Drones Can Offer A Smart Point of View | The Jobsite. Retrieved from https://jobsite.procore.com/drones-can-offer-a-smart-point-of-view

3.    Pix4D. (2018, October 24). Boosting 4D project management with drone mapping. Retrieved from https://www.pix4d.com/blog/boosting-4D-project-management-with-drone-mapping    

4.    Higgins, A. (2017, May 5). Beginner's Guide to Using Drones for Construction Management. Retrieved from https://connect.bim360.autodesk.com/drones-for-construction-management

5.    Pix4D. (2011-2018). General – Support. Retrieved from https://support.pix4d.com/hc/en-us/categories/360000059123-General

6.    DroneDeploy. (n.d.). Processing Options. Retrieved from https://support.dronedeploy.com/docs