A Systematic Review of the Benefits of Automation Inspection Tools for Quality Housing Delivery

Abstract

Efficient and effective inspection is vital for the quality delivery of housing construction. Houses are being inspected less frequently due to incapacitated inspectorates, high cost, and the long duration of the current inspection process. Furthermore, traditional inspection processes often contribute to poor quality housing delivery are inspector dependent and complex and unsafe working environment is exposed to inspectors. Automated inspection technologies play a vital role in the inspection of housing construction. Automation-assisted technologies such as laser scanners, drones and Augmented Reality (AR)-based inspection equipped with multiple imaging and sensing systems have been developed to mitigate some of these issues with the traditional method of inspection processes. This paper reviews relevant peer-reviewed articles to explore automation inspection process tools and technologies and highlight their benefits in the housing construction process. Following the systematic literature assessment methodology, five (5) databases were queried, based on the specific search string. Specifically, 26 journal articles satisfying a set of inclusion criteria were reviewed, its results highlighting the benefits of adopting an automated inspection process for quality housing delivery. The review of the journal articles revealed that the automation inspection process is available with several benefits demonstrating the potential to improve the quality housing delivery with the aid of tools and technologies like Augmented Reality (AR)-based inspection, 3D laser scanning, Drones, and BIM-based inspection. Benefits such as time-saving, limited human intervention during the construction process, inspection accuracy, reduced resource requirements, and improved collaboration between stakeholders. This study also revealed that while new technologies are evolving with benefits to improve the inspection process, there is still a gap in the practical application of these automated inspection process technologies during housing construction. The outcome of this study would benefit both the housing owners (clients), building inspection entities, building construction researchers, and the industry professionals to realise the potential of the automation inspection process and understand the requirements and benefits for their successful implementation.