Construction Tasks Research Articles

From HR Practices to HR Performance: A Psychological Ownership Meta-Analysis Across Cultures

This study utilizes psychological ownership theory as theoretical framework to examine high-performance work practices, and attitudinal and behavioral performance as associations of psychological ownership on the population level. Psychological ownership describes a mindset which allows individuals to experience ownership feelings for a target (e.g., organization) regardless of legal ownership rights. Further, psychological ownership theory is integrated with and extended by contingency theory to analyze the moderation effects of societal culture. These effects have been assumed for over 30 years but hardly backed by empirical evidence from cross-cultural samples. Thus, this study analyzes data from 351,919 individuals who participated in 139 published and unpublished studies, using rigorous and advanced meta-analytic techniques. The results show that compensation and benefits, job and work design, and communication practices foster psychological ownership, which in turn enhances constructive deviant behavior, task performance, and favorable attitude while weakening unfavorable attitude. Societal culture significantly strengthens these relationships.

A Review Paper on Paint Spraying Robot

Abstract: Painting interior walls is a frequent construction task that takes a lot of time and work. Robotic painting was introduced to replace human manual activity, improving accuracy, efficiency, and lowering costs. In this study, We present an independent robot that paints walls. robot that uses a cascade lift mechanism to enable it to use a paint sprayer to paint a room's interior walls. The paint sprayer can reach the necessary heights With the assistance of of this mechanism for cascading lifts mechanism. With two degrees of freedom (DOF), The robot moves fluidly in each of the six directions. thanks to the DC powered mecanum wheels mounted down to its foundation. Ultrasonic sensors are used by the robot to measure distance, make adjustments to the walls, and determine if the mister has reached the wall's summit. The robot's mecanum wheels, ultrasonic sensors, and other components are all managed by the master controller. The AC power supply powers the entire system Color is sprayed on to manage the amount of color; sprayers are employed for this purpose. Sprayers need to split liquid into droplets that are the right size, distribute them evenly across the surface, and manage the volume of liquid to prevent overapplication. One major issue thataffects workers everywhere is disease control

Estimating the Duration of Construction Works Using Fuzzy Modeling to Assess the Impact of Risk Factors

One of the most pressing issues in the implementation of construction projects is the extension of planned deadlines, significantly impacting project costs. This situation often arises due to inaccurate estimation of construction durations, which rely on normative values without accounting for factors hindering construction progress. Consequently, this article aims to develop an innovative approach for assessing construction durations, considering specific risk factors and their influence on construction activities. Given the difficulty of determining risk factors and their effects during the design phase using classical probability theory, characterized by unknown probability distributions, it is highlighted that this scenario represents planning and implementation under conditions of non-statistical uncertainty. Therefore, the article proposes an approach utilizing elements of fuzzy set theory, particularly fuzzy rules and linguistic variables, to determine delays in individual construction tasks. The proposed approach involves estimating extensions of construction timelines based on a specified probability level of occurrence for risk events and their impact. Additionally, the article provides a theoretical description of the proposed approach and practical calculation examples, demonstrating that the authors’ approach significantly enhances the accuracy of construction timeline forecasts, providing more reliable data for project planning and management.

Technology for designing structural-mental schemes for calculation tasks

The purpose of the study. Modern teaching tools and methods, as a rule, implicitly rely on the “black box” model. In contrast, the “white box” model has clear didactic advantages. Unfortunately, they are difficult to implement in the educational process due to the lack of available ways to construct this model. The purpose of the study is to develop a technology for constructing a “white box” model in the form of a structural and mental scheme of calculation tasks in the field of elementary physics. This technology involves the use of calculation primitives to design task schemes by superposition.Materials and methods. Development of technology for constructing the “white box” model in the form of a structural and mental scheme of calculation tasks in the field of elementary physics. The use of calculation primitives to construct task schemes by superposition. Determining the complexity of a specific task through the number of primitives involved in the “route” of the solution. Organization of students’ training according to the “white box” model with visualization of the process of forming skills to solve calculation tasks.Results. Schemes have the ability to ensure the strength and completeness of the formation of the ability to solve problems of the student. At the same time, the variety of routes and the set of weights of the paths make up the information model of learning. As an example, structural and mental schemes on the topic “thermal phenomena” are presented. They show the need to use several types of primitives, in particular, function primitives, sum primitives. Structural and mental schemes allow students to organize training according to the “white box” model, visualize the process of formation and development of students’ skills to solve calculation tasks, thereby ensuring control and self-control of educational activities.Conclusion. Based on the provisions of the mental approach, a technology for constructing structural and mental schemes representing a cognitive way of thinking in solving computational problems is proposed. The basic technology is computational primitives, with the help of which problem schemes are constructed by superposition. The complexity of a particular task is determined by the number of primitives involved in the “route” of the solution. The proposed technology is applicable to the construction of structural and mental schemes of computational problems in various subject areas.

Exploring construction workers' attention and awareness in diverse virtual hazard scenarios to prevent struck-by accidents

Repetitive tasks in construction reduce workers' attentiveness of hazards on sites. This decline in attentiveness can be influenced by their situation awareness level. However, research on the relationship between attentiveness and situation awareness is scarce in the construction safety domain. This study employs eye-tracking techniques to investigate how visual attention changes due to variations in workers’ situation awareness levels. A virtual reality-based experiment was conducted to evaluate the situation awareness level of individual workers and examine its relationship with attentiveness towards different hazards using the situation awareness global assessment technique and linear regression analysis. The experimental findings reveal that the overall trend of allocating attention toward hazards declined over time. Furthermore, the attentiveness of workers varied depending on their situation awareness levels and the type of hazardous condition. Throughout the experiment, the group with a low situation awareness failed to sustain their vigilance toward hazards as effectively as the group with a high situation awareness. The outcomes of this study will help construction safety trainers understand variations in workers' vigilance behavior over time and, thus mitigate the risk of accidents owing to inattentiveness at job sites.

Object-based terminal positioning solution within task-boosted global constraint for improving mobile robotic stacking accuracy

Wall building is labor-intensive and time-consuming as a typical construction task. It is expected to perform this heavy task using robots. However, laborers are still largely employed, mainly because high continuous stacking precision for mobile robots has always been a bottleneck problem. This paper examines the characteristics of continuous robotic stacking in wall-building tasks and finds the key challenge lies in precisely manipulating the robot arm terminal to the target pose and guaranteeing the wall’s verticality. We propose an object-based terminal positioning solution for this issue. The core of this solution is establishing a reference coordinate system as a measurement reference and designing a multi-sensor measurement system to measure the relative pose between the robot and the object. The solution allows the robot to reposition multiple times and iteratively correct the terminal’s pose, which greatly reduces the impact of positioning errors and loaded deflections of mobile systems on terminal positioning accuracy. Furthermore, we propose for the first time the construction of an active reference feature using a planar laser as a global constraint to provide a consistent reference for establishing reference coordinate systems. Global constraint eliminates the cumulative stacking errors due to relying only on the previously stacked object’s reference features for terminal positioning in continuous stacking tasks and guarantees the wall’s verticality. Finally, an autonomous mobile stacking robot is developed, and continuous block stacking experiments are conducted with this robot in a laboratory environment simulating real application sites. Experimental results demonstrate that the developed robotic system can achieve millimeter-level stacking accuracy, where a single vertical stack error of 3 mm meets the high requirements of the construction industry. Thus, it is reasonable to believe the proposed solution is extremely competitive compared to existing studies and provides valuable insights for improving the continuous stacking accuracy of mobile robots in large-scale unstructured environments.

Multiagent robotic systems and exploration algorithms: Applications for data collection in construction sites

AbstractThe construction industry has been notoriously slow to adopt new technology and embrace automation. This has resulted in lower efficiency and productivity compared to other industries where automation has been widely adopted. However, recent advancements in robotics and artificial intelligence offer a potential solution to this problem. In this study, a methodology is proposed to integrate multirobotic systems in construction projects with the aim of increasing efficiency and productivity. The proposed approach involves the use of multiple robot and human agents (HA) working collaboratively to complete a construction task. The methodology was tested through a case study that involved 3D digitization of a small, occluded space using two robots and one HA. The results show that integrating multiagent robotic systems (MARS) in construction can effectively overcome challenges and complete tasks efficiently. The implications of this study suggest that MARS could revolutionize the industry.

Problems of differentiation in the codes of labor laws of the RSFSR and the Labor Code of the Russian Federation

The article addresses the problem of codification of special labor law norms, justifies the importance of their consolidation in the sectoral code. The domestic historical experience of codification through the prism of differentiation is investigated. Trends in the differentiation of legal regulation of labor relations in the modern period are analyzed. The shortcomings of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation in terms of labor regulation of certain categories of employees are shown, options for solving this problem are considered. The need for differentiation in a codified act of labor law is due to the nature of labor in certain areas, as well as the special concern of the state for certain groups of employees. The Code is the main sectoral act, it must contain special norms in order to meet the requirements of completeness and consistency. In the four Russian labor codes, the issue of differentiation was resolved in different ways. With each new codification, the legislator, relying on the experience gained, approached this issue more consistently, while there was also a «field» for criticism. The task of optimal construction of special labor and legal norms is also relevant for the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, in modern conditions the relevance increases due to the increase in atypical employment. It is important, retaining in the codified act a special chapter on the features of labor, to establish uniform approaches to its regulation in relation to the main professional groups and spheres. At the same time, it is inappropriate to reflect in the code the features of labor affecting the specialization of a particular profession, turning the act of codification into a collection of instructions. The legislator should also consider the issue of consolidation in art. 2 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, devoted to the principles of legal regulation of labor relations, the principle of differentiation.

Selective cortical adaptations associated with neural efficiency in visuospatial tasks – the comparison of electroencephalographic profiles of expert and novice artists

Visuospatial cognition encapsulates an individual's ability to efficiently navigate and make sense of the multimodal cues from their surroundings, and therefore has been linked to expert performance across multiple domains, including sports, performing arts, and highly skilled tasks, such as drawing (Morrone and Minini, 2023). As neural efficiency posits a task-specific functional reorganization facilitated by long-term training, the present study employs a visuospatial construction task as a means of investigating the neurophysiological adaptations associated with expert visuospatial cognitive performance. Electroencephalogram (EEG) data acquisitions were used to evaluate the event-related changes (ER%) and statistical topographic maps of nine expert versus nine novice artists. The expert artists displayed overall higher global ER% compared to the novices within task-active intervals. Significant increases in relative ER% were found in the theta (t (10) = 3.528, p = 0.003, CI = [27.3,120.9]), lower-alpha (t (10) = 3.751, p = 0.002, CI = [28.2,110.5]), upper-alpha (t (10) = 3.829, p = 0.002, CI = [50.2,189.8]), and low beta (t (10) = 4.342, p < 0.001, CI = [37.0,114.9]) frequency bands, when comparing the experts to the novice participants. These results were particularly found in the frontal (t (14) = 2.014, p = 0.032, CI = [7.7,245.4]) and occipital (t (14) = 2.647, p = 0.010, CI = [45.0,429.7]) regions. Further, a significant decrease in alpha ER% from lower to upper activity (t (8) = 4.475, p = 0.001, CI = [21.0, 65.8]) was found across cortical regions in the novice group. Notably, greater deviation between lower and upper-alpha activity was found across scalp locations in the novice group, compared to the experts. Overall, the findings demonstrate potential local and global EEG-based indices of selective cortical adaptations within a task requiring a high degree of visuospatial cognition, although further work is needed to replicate these findings across other domains.

Methodological Possibilities of Solving Inventive Tasks in Architecture and Construction

Methodological Possibilities of Solving Inventive Tasks in Architecture and Construction

CodeKGC: Code Language Model for Generative Knowledge Graph Construction

Current generative knowledge graph construction approaches usually fail to capture structural knowledge by simply flattening natural language into serialized texts or a specification language. However, large generative language model trained on structured data such as code has demonstrated impressive capability in understanding natural language for structural prediction and reasoning tasks. Intuitively, we address the task of generative knowledge graph construction with code language model: given a code-format natural language input, the target is to generate triples which can be represented as code completion tasks. Specifically, we develop schema-aware prompts that effectively utilize the semantic structure within the knowledge graph. As code inherently possesses structure, such as class and function definitions, it serves as a useful model for prior semantic structural knowledge. Furthermore, we employ a rationale-enhanced generation method to boost the performance. Rationales provide intermediate steps, thereby improving knowledge extraction abilities. Experimental results indicate that the proposed approach can obtain better performance on benchmark datasets compared with baselines. 1

Effects of a back-assist exosuit in lab-based approximations of construction tasks performed by novices and experienced construction workers

Passive back-assist exosuits may be beneficial for construction workers, but few evaluations have been conducted with actual workers and construction-relevant tasks. This paper presents a laboratory study of the HeroWear Apex exosuit with 35 participants: 15 with significant construction experience and 20 without it. Participants completed several approximations of brief construction tasks (lifting, carrying, raising boards) and three 3-min tasks (hunched standing, kneeling, hunched walking with a nail gun) with and without the exosuit. During brief tasks, erector spinae electromyograms were reduced in all tasks (Cohen’s d up to −0.58), kinematics suggested load shifting from the back to the legs, and the exosuit was perceived as helpful. During 3-min tasks, the exosuit was perceived as helpful in all tasks, but only reduced erector spinae electromyograms during kneeling. Thus, the exosuit may benefit workers during several construction-related tasks, though objective benefits could not be shown in 3-min standing or walking.

IMPLEMENTATION OF A GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM IN MONITORING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF HOUSING CONSTRUCTION

Building the 864-unit housing complex was a significant construction undertaking. Within an implementation period of 18 months and a project area of approximately 34 hectares, this project demanded efficient management to control the time and budget that had been set. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to implement effective planning, organization, management and resource allocation processes. This process aims to break down project management into simpler tasks or activities, provide time estimates for each task, and continuously monitor their progress. Although conventional planning tools such as Primavera and Msproject can provide a time representation of the tasks to be performed, they are not yet able to provide spatial or geographic monitoring of these tasks within the scope of the project. By integrating Geographic Information Systems (GIS), this project can gain additional benefits. GIS allows identifying data about the progress of construction tasks, and then presenting them in the form of maps. This not only visualizes overall progress graphically and geographically, but also makes it easy to extract useful summaries to support project decision making. With GIS, construction project monitoring not only becomes more efficient, but also more up-to-date and relevant to the scope of the project involving various dispersed structures. It is hoped that GIS integration can improve project management control and optimize the final results of the construction of the 864 housing complexes.

A temporal evaluation of respirable crystalline silica exposure for construction tasks.

Personal air monitoring using a TSI SidePak AM520 personal aerosol monitor was performed on a northern Colorado construction site during five tasks from the OSHA Table 1: Specified Exposure Control Methods When Working With Materials Containing Crystalline Silica to estimate silica dust concentrations in real time. Photometric measurements were modified using a gravimetric correction factor and a % respirable crystalline silica adjustment. Each task was sampled once; sample time ranged from 14 min to 40 min, with a mean sample time of 27 min. The mean silica dust concentration estimates (μg/m3) (standard deviation [SD]) for the five tasks computed from the TSI SidePak AM520 respirable dust measurements were core drilling 12 μg/m3 [2.46], grinding 918 μg/m3 [1134.08], cutting with a walk-behind saw 36 μg/m3 [79.67], jackhammering 27 μg/m3 [23.24], and dowel drilling 66 μg/m3 [77.65]. Silica exposure estimates from real-time monitoring can be used to identify exposures that may be related to inadequate controls or worker behaviors that contribute to peak exposures. Respirable crystalline silica exposure estimates presented here are likely not generalizable to other construction sites or tasks.

Translation and Adaptation of Cognistat in Hindi Language: For Computerized Evaluation of Cognitive Functioning.

Cognitive assessment is a crucial element of the mental health screening process. However, there is a lack of culturally appropriate cognitive screening tools for the Hindi-speaking aging population in India. We aimed to translate and culturally tailor the English version of the computerized Cognistat test for the Hindi-speaking aging population. The computer-based Cognistat Assessment System was culturally adapted for the North Indian Hindi-speaking population. Participants with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n =30), depression (n =30), and healthy control (n =30) groups between the age range of 50 and 83years were assessed using the translated version of the tool. The group differences were analyzed using analysis of variance, multivariate analysis of variance, Tukey's post hoc analysis for continuous variables, and Fisher's exact test for categorical variables. The correlation between the Cognistat domains was analyzed using Pearson's correlation, and test reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. The MCI group had significantly lower scores as compared with the depression and control groups on orientation, language, repetition, and calculation domain tasks. For attention and construction tasks, the MCI group had lower scores than the control group. MCI group scores were significantly lower than the control group on naming domain. The Hindi version of the test was reliable for the Hindi-speaking aging population. Cognistat Hindi can be used by trained healthcare professionals with Hindi-speaking populations for culturally tailored primary evaluation of cognitive difficulties. Future research should focus on further validation and assessment of its properties.

Automated quantification of construction workers’ exposure to struck-by falling object hazards

The construction industry is among the most hazardous industries, and its continuously changing and complex environment results in a labour-intensive task to plan and prevent hazards. The current manual safety planning procedures cannot keep up with the construction progress. This leads to unplanned durations and an increased responsibility for the individual workers to analyse and act accordingly to an emerging situation. This work proposes an automated approach to identify and measure the amount of struck-by falling objects hazard exposure to the construction tasks and their assigned work crews. Additionally, falling objects can originate from activities not foreseen or planned due to planning resolution (e.g., crane lift paths or temporary impassable access routes). Therefore, it is investigated how to extend the current practises of safety analysis in both the planning and construction stages using BIM artificial intelligence and sensor techniques. The proposed strategy is to identify hazard sources and subjects based on their topology and nature in a spatiotemporal analysis. The proposed combinatorial analysis approach is validated in the case study performed on a real construction project in Finland. It yields new insights, which can be necessary for construction sequence decisions and convince workers to improve their safety behaviour.

Теоретические и практические аспекты государственного регулирования финансового контроля в сфере строительства

The article delves into the peculiarities of financial control procedures in the construction industry and the role of the state in their optimization. It is noted that the creation of infrastructure objects of social space, erection of buildings, performance of other architectural and construction tasks is an integral part of human society, ensur-ing its full functioning. However, construction as an economic sector needs to be regulated by the state, in par-ticular, through financial control on its part. The author presents the main forms of realization of this type of su-pervisory activity in relation to objects and subjects of construction. It is emphasized that it is necessary to ex-clude abuses on the part of authorized structures in terms of implementation of inspections. The author refers to such innovations: the adjustment of the directions of state regulation of financial control in the field of con-struction in legislative form; in terms of control measures, reflect all of the above authorities in conducting fi-nancial control of the construction industry; state regulation of financial control methods, namely, the adjust-ment of the monitoring function of financial control. The practical significance of this study lies in the applica-tion of this model in the practical activities of state regulation of financial control.

The promotion of self-regulated learning in the classroom: a theoretical framework and an observation study

The paper describes a theoretical framework for the study of teachers’ promotion of self-regulated learning in the classroom. The Self-Regulated Learning Teacher Promotion Framework (SRL-TPF) utilizes the ICAP theory to assess the affordances of the learning environment for the indirect promotion of SRL, proposes new variables in the investigation of the direct promotion of SRL, and examines how these two ways to promote SRL are related. The SRL-TPF was used to examine the direct and indirect promotion of SRL in filmed observations of 23 Australian classrooms. The results revealed a paucity in the design of Constructive and Interactive lesson tasks that support the indirect promotion of SRL and a preference for the direct support of SRL through implicit strategy instruction and the provision of metacognitive reflection and support. There were important teacher differences in both the direct and indirect promotion of SRL, but the teachers who were more likely to design Constructive and Interactive lesson tasks did not necessarily promote SRL directly and vice versa. The research contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between teaching what to learn (subject content) and how to learn (SRL knowledge and strategies).

A new enhanced mountain gazelle optimizer and artificial neural network for global optimization of mechanical design problems

Abstract Nature-inspired metaheuristic optimization algorithms have many applications and are more often studied than conventional optimization techniques. This article uses the mountain gazelle optimizer, a recently created algorithm, and artificial neural network to optimize mechanical components in relation to vehicle component optimization. The family formation, territory-building, and food-finding strategies of mountain gazelles serve as the major inspirations for the algorithm. In order to optimize various engineering challenges, the base algorithm (MGO) is hybridized with the Nelder–Mead algorithm (HMGO-NM) in the current work. This considered algorithm was applied to solve four different categories, namely automobile, manufacturing, construction, and mechanical engineering optimization tasks. Moreover, the obtained results are compared in terms of statistics with well-known algorithms. The results and findings show the dominance of the studied algorithm over the rest of the optimizers. This being said the HMGO algorithm can be applied to a common range of applications in various industrial and real-world problems.

Automation of text document classification in the budgeting phase of the Construction process: a Systematic Literature Review

PurposeThis study aims to review recent advances towards the implementation of ANN and NLP applications during the budgeting phase of the construction process. During this phase, construction companies must assess the scope of each task and map the client’s expectations to an internal database of tasks, resources and costs. Quantity surveyors carry out this assessment manually with little to no computer aid, within very austere time constraints, even though these results determine the company’s bid quality and are contractually binding.Design/methodology/approachThis paper seeks to compile applications of machine learning (ML) and natural language processing in the architectural engineering and construction sector to find which methodologies can assist this assessment. The paper carries out a systematic literature review, following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines, to survey the main scientific contributions within the topic of text classification (TC) for budgeting in construction.FindingsThis work concludes that it is necessary to develop data sets that represent the variety of tasks in construction, achieve higher accuracy algorithms, widen the scope of their application and reduce the need for expert validation of the results. Although full automation is not within reach in the short term, TC algorithms can provide helpful support tools.Originality/valueGiven the increasing interest in ML for construction and recent developments, the findings disclosed in this paper contribute to the body of knowledge, provide a more automated perspective on budgeting in construction and break ground for further implementation of text-based ML in budgeting for construction.