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Selection of Wearable Sensor Measurements for Monitoring and Managing Entry-level Construction Worker Fatigue: A Logistic Regression Approach

Lee, Wonil; Lin, Ken-yu; Johnson, Peter W.; Seto, Edmund Y.w. (2022). Selection of Wearable Sensor Measurements for Monitoring and Managing Entry-level Construction Worker Fatigue: A Logistic Regression Approach. Engineering Construction & Architectural Management (09699988), 29(8), 2905-2923.

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Abstract

Purpose: The identification of fatigue status and early intervention to mitigate fatigue can reduce the risk of workplace injuries. Off-the-shelf wearable sensors capable of assessing multiple parameters are available. However, using numerous variables in the fatigue prediction model can elicit data issues. This study aimed at identifying the most relevant variables for measuring occupational fatigue among entry-level construction workers by using common wearable sensor technologies, such as electrocardiogram and actigraphy sensors. Design/methodology/approach: Twenty-two individuals were assigned different task workloads in repeated sessions. Stepwise logistic regression was used to identify the most parsimonious fatigue prediction model. Heart rate variability measurements, standard deviation of NN intervals and power in the low-frequency range (LF) were considered for fatigue prediction. Fast Fourier transform and autoregressive (AR) analysis were employed as frequency domain analysis methods. Findings: The log-transformed LF obtained using AR analysis is preferred for daily fatigue management, whereas the standard deviation of normal-to-normal NN is useful in weekly fatigue management. Research limitations/implications: This study was conducted with entry-level construction workers who are involved in manual material handling activities. The findings of this study are applicable to this group. Originality/value: This is the first study to investigate all major measures obtainable through electrocardiogram and actigraphy among current mainstream wearables for monitoring occupational fatigue in the construction industry. It contributes knowledge on the use of wearable technology for managing occupational fatigue among entry-level construction workers engaged in material handling activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of Engineering Construction & Architectural Management (09699988) is the property of Emerald Publishing Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Keywords

Construction Workers; Wearable Technology; Logistic Regression Analysis; Fatigue (physiology); Frequency-domain Analysis; Heart Beat; Lifting & Carrying (human Mechanics); Construction Safety; Information And Communication Technology (ict) Applications; Management; Technology

Lingzi Wu

Lingzi Wu is an Assistant Professor with the Department of Construction Management (CM) at the University of Washington (UW). Prior to joining UW in September 2022, Dr. Wu served as a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of Alberta, where she received her MSc and PhD in Construction Engineering and Management in 2013 and 2020 respectively. Prior to her PhD, Dr. Wu worked in the industrial construction sector as a project coordinator with PCL Industrial Management from 2013 to 2017.

An interdisciplinary scholar focused on advancing digital transformation in construction, Dr. Wu’s current research interests include (1) integration of advanced data analytics and complex system modeling to enhance construction practices and (2) development of human-in-the-loop decision support systems to improve construction performance (e.g., sustainability and safety). Dr. Wu has published 10 papers in top journals and conference proceedings, including the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering, and Automation in Construction. Her research and academic excellence has received notable recognition, including a “Best Paper Award” at the 17th International Conference on Modeling and Applied Simulation, and the outstanding reviewer award from the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management.

As an educator and mentor, Dr. Wu aims to create an inclusive, innovative, and interactive learning environment where students develop personal, technical, and transferable skills to grow today, tomorrow, and into the future.

Narjes Abbasabadi

Narjes Abbasabadi, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Architecture at the University of Washington. Dr. Abbasabadi also leads the Sustainable Intelligence Lab. Abbasabadi’s research centers on sustainability and computation in the built environment. Much of her work focuses on advancing design research efforts through developing data-driven methods, workflows, and tools that leverage the advances in digital technologies to enable augmented intelligence in performance-based and human-centered design. With an emphasis on multi-scale exploration, her research investigates urban building energy flows, human systems, and environmental and health impacts across scales—from the scale of building to the scale of neighborhood and city.

Abbasabadi’s research has been published in premier journals, including Applied Energy, Building and Environment, Energy and Buildings, Environmental Research, and Sustainable Cities and Society. She received honors and awards, including “ARCC Dissertation Award Honorable Mention” (Architectural Research Centers Consortium (ARCC), 2020), “Best Ph.D. Program Dissertation Award” (IIT CoA, 2019), and 2nd place in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Race to Zero Design Competition (DOE, 2018). In 2018, she organized the 3rd IIT International Symposium on Buildings, Cities, and Performance. She served as editor of the third issue of Prometheus Journal, which received the 2020 Haskell Award from AIA New York, Center for Architecture.

Prior to joining the University of Washington, she taught at the University of Texas at Arlington and the Illinois Institute of Technology. She also has practiced with several firms and institutions and led design research projects such as developing design codes and prototypes for low-carbon buildings. Most recently, she practiced as an architect with Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture (AS+GG), where she has been involved in major projects, including the 2020 World Expo. Abbasabadi holds a Ph.D. in Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology and Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Architecture from Tehran Azad University.

College of Built Environments’ Research Restart Fund Awards Four Grants in First of Two Cycles

The College of Built Environments launched a funding opportunity for those whose research has been affected by the ongoing pandemic. The Research Restart Fund, with awards up to $5,000, has awarded 4 grants in its first of two cycles. A grant was awarded to Real Estate faculty member Arthur Acolin, who is partnering with the City of Seattle’s Office of Planning and Community Development to understand barriers that homeowners, particularly those with lower incomes, face to building Accessory Dwelling Units…

Eero Saarinen, Eduardo Catalano and the Influence of Matthew Nowicki: A Challenge to Form and Function

Sprague, Tyler. (2010). Eero Saarinen, Eduardo Catalano and the Influence of Matthew Nowicki: A Challenge to Form and Function. Nexus Network Journal, 12(2), 249 – 258.

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Abstract

Matthew Nowicki befriended Eero Saarinen at the Cranbrook Academy and was succeeded as Chair of the School of Design at North Carolina College of Design by Eduardo Catalano. Nowicki's influence is evident in subsequent work of these two architects. Themes of function, structure and humanism resonated differently in each. All three of these interconnected individuals were engaged in the same intellectual milieu, each manifesting his own architecture in a unique yet contextual way. Taken as a whole, their endeavors stand as evidence of the shifting understanding of what modern architecture was about.

Keywords

Eero Saarinen; Eduardo Catalano; Matthew Nowicki; Modern Architecture; Hyperbolic Paraboloids; Saddle Shapes

Maximising the Net Social Benefit of the Construction of Post-Disaster Alternative Housing Projects

El-Anwar, Omar. (2013). Maximising the Net Social Benefit of the Construction of Post-Disaster Alternative Housing Projects. Disasters, 37(3), 489 – 515.

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Abstract

The widespread destruction that follows large-scale natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, challenges the efficacy of traditional temporary housing methods in providing adequate solutions to housing needs. Recognising these housing challenges, the Congress of the United States allocated, in 2006, USD 400 million to the Department of Homeland Security to support Alternative Housing Pilot Programs, which are intended to explore the possibilities of providing permanent and affordable housing to displaced families instead of traditional temporary housing. This paper presents a new methodology and optimisation model to identify the optimal configurations of post-shelter housing arrangements to maximise the overall net socioeconomic benefit. The model is capable of quantifying and optimising the impacts of substituting temporary housing with alternative housing on the social and economic welfare of displaced families as well as the required additional costs of doing so. An application example is presented to illustrate the use of the model and its capabilities.

Keywords

Public Housing; Temporary Housing; Hurricane Katrina, 2005; Natural Disasters; Socioeconomic Factors; Mathematical Models; Mathematical Optimization; United States; Alternative Housing Pilot Programs; Optimisation; Socioeconomic Benefit; Disasters

Advancing Impact of Education, Training, and Professional Experience on Integrated Project Delivery

Hyun Woo Lee; Anderson, S.M.; Yong-Woo Kim; Ballard, G.. (2014). Advancing Impact of Education, Training, and Professional Experience on Integrated Project Delivery. Practice Periodical On Structural Design And Construction, 19(1), 8 – 14.

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Abstract

With the increased interest in applying integrated forms of project delivery to complex and uncertain construction projects, the building industry has been experiencing an increased demand for integrated project delivery (IPD). With the trend, many empirical studies have examined the collaborative characteristics of IPD and reported that participants must make the necessary transition for its contractual, technological, and cultural requirements. However, little study has been done to investigate relevant education, training, or professional experience that can support the transition. In response, this study used an online survey that was designed to investigate the level and type of education, training, and professional experience of project members and their corresponding level of background knowledge for each IPD requirement. The key survey findings include (1) project members have the highest level of background knowledge on the cultural requirements of IPD, but the lowest level on the technological requirements; (2) the group with more design-build experience has more background knowledge; (3) the group that received an IPD kick-off training has more background knowledge; and (4) having a lean construction class can prepare students for the IPD environment. It is expected that the survey findings will advance the education, training, and levels of background knowledge of IPD participants, which will enhance their IPD experience accordingly.

Keywords

Buildings (structures); Construction Industry; Contracts; Cultural Aspects; Industrial Training; Professional Aspects; Project Management; Construction Project; Building Industry; Integrated Project Delivery; Ipd; Contractual Requirement; Cultural Requirement; Professional Experience; Design-build Experience; Training Impact; Education Impact

Domain Knowledge-Based Information Retrieval for Engineering Technical Documents

Shang-hsien Hsieh; Ken-yu Lin; Nai-wen Chi; Hsien-tang Lin. (2015). Domain Knowledge-Based Information Retrieval for Engineering Technical Documents. Ontology In The AEC Industry. A Decade Of Research And Development In Architecture, Engineering And Construction, chapter 1.

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Abstract

Technical documents with complicated structures are often produced in architecture/engineering/construction (AEC) projects and research. Information retrieval (IR) techniques provide a possible solution for managing the ever-growing volume and contexts of the knowledge embedded in these technical documents. However, applying a general-purpose search engine to a domain-specific technical document collection often produces unsatisfactory results. To address this problem, we research the development of a novel IR system based on passage retrieval techniques. The system employs domain knowledge to assist passage partitioning and supports an interactive concept-based expanded IR for technical documents in an engineering field. The engineering domain selected in this case is earthquake engineering, although the technologies developed and employed by the system should be generally applicable to many other engineering domains that use technical documents with similar characteristics. We carry out the research in a three-step process. In the first step, since the final output of this research is an IR system, as a prerequisite, we created a reference collection which includes 111 earthquake engineering technical documents from Taiwan's National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering. With this collection, the effectiveness of the IR system can be further evaluated onceit is developed. In the second step, the research focuses on creating a base domain ontology using an earthquake-engineering handbook to represent the domain knowledge and to support the target IR system with the knowledge. In step three, the research focuses on the semantic querying and retrieval mechanisms and develops the OntoPassage approach to help with the mechanisms. The OntoPassage approach partitions a document into smaller passages, each with around 300 terms, according to the main concepts in the document. This approach is then used to implement the target domain knowledge-based IR system that allows users to interact with the system and perform concept-based query expansions. The results show that the proposed domain knowledge-based IR system can achieve not only an effective IR but also inform search engine users with a clear knowledge representation.

Keywords

Architecture; Construction; Engineering; Knowledge Based Systems; Ontologies (artificial Intelligence); Query Processing; Search Engines; Knowledge Representation; Concept-based Query Expansions; Base Domain Ontology; Earthquake Engineering; General-purpose Search Engine; Aec Projects; Architecture/engineering/construction Projects; Complicated Structures; Technical Documents; Domain Knowledge-based Information Retrieval

Anthropotechnology: Sloterdijk on Environmental Design and the Foamworlds of Co-Isolation

Mugerauer, Robert. (2016). Anthropotechnology: Sloterdijk on Environmental Design and the Foamworlds of Co-Isolation. Architecture And Culture, 4(2), 227 – 248.

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Abstract

The paper has two primary goals. The first is to reexamine the dynamics of cultural change by applying the innovative interpretations of German theorist and cultural historian Peter Sloterdijk, who contends that the ways we traditionally have made and understood our built environment are grossly inadequate in our contemporary media-saturated, war-weary, biotechnological world. The second is to show how such a reinterpretation of space, architecture, and culture could help us to learn to design better and act by way of an anthropotechnology (Sloterdijk's word) that is simultaneously developmental and threatening - that might enable us to find an orientation in a world of complexity, and thus more positively shape our lives and future world. Sloterdijk's intriguing concepts - spheres of immunization (bubbles, globes, foams), co-isolation, dyads, tensegrity - hold great promise for the next pulse of architectural, planning, and construction theory.

Keywords

Peter Sloterdijk; Anthropotechnology; Spheres Of Immunization (bubbles, Globes, Foams); Co-isolation; Housing

Stakeholder Management in Long-Term Complex Megaconstruction Projects: The Saemangeum Project

Park, Hyoungbae; Kim, Kyeongseok; Kim, Yong-woo; Kim, Hyoungkwan. (2017). Stakeholder Management in Long-Term Complex Megaconstruction Projects: The Saemangeum Project. Journal Of Management In Engineering, 33(4).

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Abstract

This paper identifies 31 critical success factors (CSFs) and suggests a framework for effective stakeholder management in long-term complex megaconstruction (LCM) projects that require more than 10 years for multipurpose development. The results of a survey on the prioritization of these 31 CSFs reveal that LCM projects involve more stakeholders than do general construction projects and require a correspondingly wider range of changes during each project. To identify more systematic and strategic approaches to stakeholder management in LCM projects, a framework was developed through factor analysis and focus-group interviews with project management experts. The framework is composed of the following five agendas: clear understanding of stakeholders, clear definition of the project, effective communication, responding to environmental changes, and social cooperation. The analysis results show that LCM projects require a stronger emphasis on responding to environmental changes and social cooperation. These results, along with the CSF priorities, reveal the necessity of taking customized approaches to LCM projects. The results of this analysis are expected to help LCM project managers effectively manage stakeholders. (C) 2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.

Keywords

Construction; Environmental Management; Project Management; Strategic Planning; Social Cooperation; Environmental Changes; Strategic Approaches; Construction Projects; Saemangeum Project; Long-term Complex Megaconstruction Projects; Stakeholder Management; Critical Success Factors (csfs); Long-term Complex Megaconstruction (lcm) Projects