CON598 – Sensing, Modeling and Management Science for Construction Instructor: Pingbo Tang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Del E. School of Construction, Arizona State University Class Time: 4:30 – 7-15 PM, Wednesdays, Spring 2015 Course Motivation and Learning Objectives Developments of sensing and modeling technology provide construction project managers tools for achieving realtime construction project performance monitoring, integrated project information management, and project performance optimization through effective information analysis. The purpose of this course is to provide the students with a comprehensive understanding about the technical capabilities of various sensing and modeling technologies, and how these technologies can help construction project managers to achieve efficient and effective construction project planning, job site monitoring, and integrated cost-time-safety-quality management. The specific objectives of this course include:    

Apply mathematical modeling and optimization techniques for various construction applications: scheduling, life-cycle cost analysis, safety analysis, supply chain and transportation network analysis; Use various information modeling technologies for construction information management: UML, IDEF0, Building Information Modeling and GIS; Apply various sensing technologies for construction management applications: Laser Scanners, RFID, and Video Cameras; Use various data processing and analysis methods for construction management applications: data processing methods for visualizing spatial data, correlation analysis, classification, and adaptive pattern recognition for learning based on historical data

Prerequisites Open to graduate students and senior undergraduate students (for undergraduate students, the project paper part is optional, but they still need to finish the first two stages of the term project: Problem Description, and Project Proposal).

Reading Reading assignments will be given weekly. The reading assignments are critical for finishing the assignment and getting prepared for next week’s class. The major readings are from: 

Recommended textbook: “An Introduction to Management Science,” 13th edition; David R. Anderson, Dennis J. Sweeney, Thomas A. Williams, Jeffrey D. Camm, Kipp Martin; South-Western College Pub, 2010; 896 pages

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Optional textbook: “Fundamentals of Computer-Aided Engineering,” 1st edition; Benny Raphael, Ian F. C. Smith; Wiley, 2003; 324 pages In some cases, extra readings (in pdf or html links) and class notes (in ppt) will be distributed prior to the class discussing them.

Course Schedule (Tentative, some lectures may be merged) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

An Overview of Sensing and Modeling in CM Mathematical Modeling and LP for Optimization Using LP for Analyzing Construction Project Schedules Simulation and Construction Project Scheduling Life-Cycle Cost and Risk Analysis using Decision Science Tools Sensing Technology for Life-Cycle Management Time-Series and Construction Cost Index Analysis Product and Process Modeling for Construction Management Spring Break Building Information Modeling for Construction Scheduling BIM and Imaging for Construction Project Control: Data Analysis Optimizing Data Processing Workflow for Construction Management Inventory Model and RFID for Material Management Course project presentations (April 17th) Spatial Analysis for Sustainable Construction (optional)

Exams Project Problem Description – 2-page notes Project Proposal – 4-page proposal Project Paper – 10-page paper Final Exam Exams must be taken on the dates specified in the instructional sequence. If you know that you will be absent the day of an exam, please make arrangements to take the exam early. If extenuating circumstances occur, permission may be obtained to take the exam late if the department secretary is notified by phone on the day of the exam. Students should be aware of the fact that in most cases, the make-up exams will be relatively difficult than the regular ones, and the takers would not be eligible for any grade adjustments.

Term Project Project team: students can choose to work on a topic of his or her interest alone, or team up with another student (a team cannot have more than two students), while teamwork is strongly encouraged. The three-phase term project starts at the beginning of this course: 1) Pick a domain problem described in lecture 1, and select a specific topic within the scope of that problem (team information and domain problem description due date and time); 2) each person working alone or each team writes a proposal of the selected project (project proposal due date and time); 3) each person working alone or each team gives a 10-minute presentation about the findings of the selected project in class on date, in class, and submits a project paper by the midnight of date.

Grading       

(10% of total grade) Participation, Reading Assignments, and Quizzes (40% of total grade) Written Assignments (5% of total grade) Project Problem Description (5% of total grade) Project Proposal (30% of total grade) Project Paper (10% of total grade) Final Exam For undergraduate students, Project Paper is optional, and they can choose to finish it for 10 extra credits, the proportions of other parts of the grade remain the same when calculating the final grades Written assignments are due in class as indicated in each assignment. Partial credit will be given for assignments that are late. 10% will be subtracted for each day that the assignment is late for up to three days. In case a major problem is anticipated, please talk to the instructor. Collaboration is expected within the limits of discussing concepts and problems. However, each student must produce his/her own solution to the problems.

Requirements for Term Project Related Documents Project Description Write down your names on a cover page (just the project title and names on that page). The content should be about 1 page in length (A4 size, Times New Roman font size 12, single space), the following information need to be clear in your write-up:   

Overall story of the case Importance of the problem Sensing and modeling techniques you plan to explore using this case and problem (please refer to slides in Lecture 1 for the sensing and modeling techniques that we will cover in this course)

Project Proposal Write down your names on a cover page (just the project title and names on that page). The content should be about 3 to 5 pages in length (A4 size, Times New Roman font size 12, single space, you can put 1 or 2 figures/tables as needed), the following information need to be clear in your write-up:

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Background information of the studied case: introduction of the decision making company/agency, and the management decisions they are making Importance of the problem: the impacts of the decisions, the significance of the cost-time-resource savings, and various trade-offs and the importance of these the trade-offs Modeling approach description and proposed approaches for analyzing the model and interpreting the results

Term Project Paper Write down your names on a cover page. The content should be about 10 to 15 pages in length, the following information need to be in your write-up:    

Background information of the studies case: an extended description of the case by extending “overall story of the case” in the project proposal Importance of the problem extending the “importance of the problem” in the project proposal Modeling approach description and the data/information analysis methods for analyzing the model and interpreting the results Analysis results and recommendations: detailed interpretation of your results, and provide discussions about how these results can provide insights for decision makers to make informed decisions