Development of automated pipe spool monitoring system using RFID and 3D model for plant construction project

Abstract

For plant construction, installation of complex pipe spools is one of the integral parts of management and operation. Construction errors in such plants have been increasing as they become bigger and more complex. To reduce the number of construction errors, an efficient management mechanism for pipe spool installation with real-time monitoring is desired. A Ubiquitous Sensor Network (USN), which utilizes low-power wireless data communication technologies such as Wireless Local-Area Networking (WLAN) and RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is seen as an enabling technology for intelligent management of piping installation. This research aims to develop a real-time pipe tracking system for plant construction, utilizing state-of-the-art technologies such as RFID and 3D digital models on a handheld mobile device, which allows more efficient task management than a conventional computer.