Road Construction Sites Research Articles

Assessing optimal water quality monitoring network in road construction using integrated information-theoretic techniques

The environmental impacts of road construction on the aquatic environment necessitate the monitoring of receiving water quality. The main contribution of the paper is developing a feasible methodology for spatial optimization of the water quality monitoring network (WQMN) in surface water during road construction using the field data. First, using the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) method, the water quality index (WQI) was computed in each potential monitoring station during construction. Then, the integrated form of the information-theoretic techniques consists of the transinformation entropy (TE), and the value of information (VOI) were calculated for the potential stations. To achieve the optimal WQMNs, the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II and III (NSGA-II, and III) based multi-objective optimization models were developed considering three objective functions, including i) minimizing the number of stations, ii) maximizing the VOI in the selected network, and iii) minimizing redundant information for the selected nodes. Finally, three multi-criteria decision-making models, including Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS), Preference Ranking Organisation Method for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE), and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) were utilized for choosing the best alternative among Pareto optimal solutions considering various weighing scenarios assigned to criteria. The applicability of the presented methodology was assessed in a 22 km long road construction site in southern Norway. The results deliver significant knowledge for decision-makers on establishing a robust WQMN in surface water during road construction projects.

Vision-based full-field panorama generation by UAV using GPS data and feature points filtering

To meet the urgent requirements of safety surveillance from civil engineering management authorities, this study proposes a refined and efficient approach to generate full-field high-resolution panorama of construction sites using cameraamounted UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle). GPS (Global Position System) information extraction for pre-registration, feature points filtering for efficient registration and optimal seaming line seeking for fusion are performed in sequence to form the full-field panorama generation framework. Advantages of the proposed method are as follows. First, GPS information can sort images for pre-registration, avoiding inefficient repeated pairwise calculations and matching. Second, the feature points are filtered according to the characteristics of the construction site images to reduce the amount of calculation. The proposed framework is validated on a road construction site and results demonstrate that it can generate an accurate and high-quality full-site panorama for the safety supervision in a much efficient manner.

Ant colony optimization for slope stability analysis applied to an embankment failure in eastern India

The safety of road embankments is mainly assessed in the engineering practice by limit equilibrium analyses. Locating the critical slip surface of embankments and calculating the corresponding factor of safety is a crucial task. In this paper, the continuous ant colony optimisation algorithm is used to analyse the stability of slopes with non-circular slip surfaces. To illustrate the proposed procedure, one example from published literature and another engineering case study of a landslide at a road construction site in India is analysed. This latter study is supplemented by the results of geotechnical investigations performed before and after the failure of the embankment. The results demonstrate that the proposed technique identifies correctly the critical slip surface and can thus be used for engineering applications.

Full-Scale Crustal Interpretation of Kokkola\u2013Kymi (KOKKY) Seismic Profile, Fennoscandian Shield

The Kokkola–Kymi Deep Seismic Sounding profile crosses the Fennoscandian Shield in northwest-southeast (NW–SE) direction from Bothnian belt to Wiborg rapakivi batholith through Central Finland granitoid complex (CFGC). The 490-km refraction seismic line is perpendicular to the orogenic strike in Central Finland and entirely based on data from quarry blasts and road construction sites in years 2012 and 2013. The campaign resulted in 63 usable seismic record sections. The average perpendicular distance between these and the profile was 14 km. Tomographic velocity models were computed with JIVE3D program. The velocity fields of the tomographic models were used as starting points in the ray tracing modelling. Based on collected seismic sections a layer-cake model was prepared with the ray tracing package SEIS83. Along the profile, upper crust has an average thickness of 22 km average, and P-wave velocities (Vp) of 5.9–6.2 km/s near the surface, increasing downward to 6.25–6.40 km/s. The thickness of middle crust is 14 km below CFGC, 20 km in SE and 25 km in NW, but Vp ranges from 6.6 to 6.9 km/s in all parts. Lower crust has Vp values of 7.35–7.4 km/s and lithospheric mantle 8.2–8.25 km/s. Moho depth is 54 km in NW part, 63 km in the middle and 43 km in SW, yet a 55-km long section in the middle does not reveal an obvious Moho reflection. S-wave velocities vary from 3.4 km/s near the surface to 4.85 km/s in upper mantle, consistently with P-wave velocity variations. Results confirm the previously assumed high-velocity lower crust and depression of Moho in central Finland.

ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЕ ГРУНТА С СОДЕРЖАНИЕМ РАКУШКИ В ТРАНСПОРТНОМ СТРОИТЕЛЬСТВЕ

The article deals with the problem of using soils represented by sand with a significant content of shell in the construction of embankments of railways and highways. The review of literature sources on this topic did not yield any results, which aroused interest in the possibility of using this soil. Research has been carried out to determine the main physical and mechanical properties of shell sand. Data showing the dynamics of changes in the physical and mechanical properties of the soil during compaction are obtained. The dependence of the reduction of partial residues from 10 to 0.1 sieves is revealed. The maximum increase in the partial remainder occurs on the screen 0,1. Obviously, these changes are the result of grinding the soil under the influence of a large mechanical load and are one of the factors reducing filtration in this soil. It is found that the value of the filtration coefficient at the input control is 2.58 m/day., after compaction of the same soil in the body of the embankment, the filtration coefficient fell to-1.51 m/day. Thus, there is a decrease in the filtration coefficient after compaction of the soil by 41.5% in comparison with the input tests of the soil. The need for further research to find technological solutions for the use of such soil on road construction sites is justified.

Investigation into Road Construction Safety Management Techniques

Rwanda is undergoing rapid development in transportation through constructing new roads and upgrading existing ones. During implementation of these projects, many accidents for road workers, road users and environment issues are raised due to unsafe road construction management techniques. This existing problem was carried out within the City of Kigali for three ongoing road construction projects namely road Ruliba-Karama-Nyamirambo, Kigali Urban Road Upgrading Projects of Agatare and the Sonatube-Gahanga- Akagera road, in order to investigate about the road construction safety management techniques. From the findings, 64.28% results showed that the maintaining of health and safety policy in the road construction sites is applied and there exist different means of maintaining safety, such as the provision of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to the workers at the level of 57.14% as per the project managers; but from the field observations, it is alarming, and many workers do not wear as required. It was also found that 50% of accidents occurring in excavation works among all work performed during road construction are due to lack of adequate safety measures. The paper indicated that 85.71% of the concerned workers do conduct training and induction in their road safety construction sites, but on the other hand the level of accidents due to lack of safety recorded in the road construction sites is still high at the level of 78.57%. The mostly affected are unskilled laborers and this observation begs the question about the training and induction of workers in road safety and its effectiveness of on the concerned workers. The paper suggests some different safety measures to apply for providing safe road working environment according to the standard and gives some key recommendations for Rwanda.

Safety of transporting granular road construction materials in urban environment

This paper reviews how the technical transport traffic density impacts the safety of the overall urban traffic near road construction and repair sites. We demonstrate that there is a correlation between the load capacity of the dump trucks that are used in construction, the cost of construction, and traffic safety along the granular construction materials’ transportation route. We propose a safety evaluation for the traffic flow that includes construction dump trucks, based on the route safety index. We also develop a methodology for rationalizing the preferable load capacity of dump trucks as part of an excavation and transportation machine fleet operating in an urban environment, accounting for the traffic safety along their routes. Our study includes a practical example of using our methodology, based on road repair works at a specific site in Saint Petersburg.

Requirements for Pavement Base Layers with Unbound Granular Material

Abstract Pavement structures, layers, and parameters must meet the strict requirements of applicable standards and regulations. The thickness of layers and the choice of materials depend on the factors involved, i.e., the traffic load and climatic factors (changes in temperature, water, rain, snow); they are also dependent on the geological environment at the road construction site and the parameters and properties of the embankment (the subgrade of the pavement). In some cases, the capacity of the existing transport infrastructure is on the edge of sustainability. The increase in the traffic load and the use of lower-class roads by freight transport, together with insufficient maintenance, has resulted in a deterioration of road conditions, thereby causing many deficiencies and failures. The required serviceability and operational performance of roads can be ensured by the choice of suitable quality materials and technological construction processes. Technologies that are environmentally acceptable and economically efficient should be preferred.

Assessing Susceptibility of Debris Flow in Southwest China Using Gradient Boosting Machine

A gradient boosting machine (GBM) was developed to model the susceptibility of debris flow in Sichuan, Southwest China for risk management. A total of 3839 events of debris flow during 1949–2017 were compiled from the Sichuan Geo-Environment Monitoring program, field surveys, and satellite imagery interpretation. In the cross-validation, the GBM showed better performance, with the prediction accuracy of 82.0% and area under curve of 0.88, than the benchmark models, including the Logistic Regression, the K-Nearest Neighbor, the Support Vector Machine, and the Artificial Neural Network. The elevation range, precipitation, and aridity index played the most important role in determining the susceptibility. In addition, the water erosion intensity, road construction, channel gradient, and human settlement sites also largely contributed to the formation of debris flow. The susceptibility map produced by the GBM shows that the spatial distributions of high-susceptibility watersheds were highly coupled with the locations of the topographical extreme belt, fault zone, seismic belt, and dry valleys. This study provides critical information for risk mitigating and prevention of debris flow.

Discriminating wavenumbers selection of ATR-FTIR spectra for identifying graded asphalt

Abstract As a potential convenient and lower cost analytical technique, ATR-FTIR spectra can be used to identify graded asphalt for overcoming the drawback of traditional physical and chemical methods. However, due to the existence of many uninformative and interferential wavenumbers, it is necessary to select discriminating wavenumber to represent significant features of graded asphalt spectra before developing classification model. To get the discriminating wavenumbers, a wavenumber selection strategy is put forward in this paper. In the strategy, full-spectrum, four spectral wavenumber selection methods (competitive adaptive reweighted sampling, CARS; successive projections algorithm, SPA; Monte Carlo uninformative variable elimination, MC-UVE and moving window Partial Least Squares, mwPLS) coupling with Support Vector Machines (SVM) classifier (Full-SVM, CARS-SVM, SPA-SVM, MC-UVE-SVM, mwPLS-SVM) are applied respectively to investigate the wavenumber selection method, and then the wavenumbers selected by the best wavenumber selection method are regarded as the discriminating wavenumbers correspondingly. Experiment results show that the CARS-SVM is the best wavenumber selection method among CARS-SVM, SPA-SVM, MC-UVE-SVM and mwPLS-SVM methods, and 42 discriminating wavenumbers are selected by CARS. Furthermore, the stability of these 42 discriminating wavenumbers has been verified by new graded asphalt from different source. Hence these discriminating wavenumbers of ATR-FTIR spectra coupling with SVM classifier can be used as a fast graded asphalt identification method in road construction sites.

Analysis of Settlement of the Road with Full Scale Geotextile Reinforcement on the Very Soft Soil (Case Study in Tapin Regency, South Kalimantan)

Abstract, in case of the construction of road in soft soil, it is necessary toconsider the use of materials around the road construction site, and not touse selected material which is imported from outside the road constructionsite. Thus, aim to overcome the difficulties of using selected materials, namely the difficulty to obtain the materials, the price of expensivematerials , the freight of material that could takes a long time period, highcost, and the use of materials that tend to be environmentally unfriendly. Itis very necessary to learn about the use of nonstandard additive materials, taken to the road construction site, but with the use of geotextilereinforcement. The research method used is a full scale method in the formof trial embankment, so that the performance of the road can be observedfor a long period of time due to the traffic and soil settlement. The resultsobtained is settlement that occur on the road from the combination ofordinary embankment material and local material, most frequently occuredin a larger percentage of ordinary embankment than the local material. While the visual value is relevant to the settlement in which a largerpercentage of ordinary embankment results in a better visual value, due tothe quality of the ordinary embankment material is better than the localmaterial.

Gandhi as an Environmentalist.

Gandhi as an Environmentalist.

Lithosphere Protection with Hardening Phosphate-Containing Soil-Cement Technology

This research is relevant in the light of a need to protect lithosphere from pollution. A solution to this problem can be the exercise of a geoecoprotective function by using building and construction technologies. Phosphate-containing bonding agents usually have low solubility in water. They are made of aluminosilicates that occur in common clay. These minerals react with phosphoric acid to release phosphates and silica gel with absorption properties. The purpose of this research is to make fake rocks from phosphate clay material, intended for building and construction purposes, and to investigate their longevity. The material used was treated to neutralize and detoxify the mobile ionic contaminants and heavy metal compounds, as well as petroleum pollutants, so that at the end we could get construction material like fake rocks or improved aggregates that would be good for the environment. These cement systems are called the geoecoprotective systems. The leading methods that were applied were thermodynamic and experimental studies of service and geoecoprotective properties of phosphate-containing cement systems, more specifically fake landscape rocks. Selected studies lasted for more than 10 years, and were carried out in accordance with the guidelines, adopted in the Russian Federation. This research shows that phosphate-containing cement systems made from contaminated clay/sandy artificial soils have long-lasting properties like strength, frost resistance, water resistance and contaminant binding. From this perspective, they are good for building and construction. For example, they can be used to improve the contaminated soil on road construction sites by detoxifying it until water-resistant products, and to make long-lasting water-resistant solutions from local raw materials that would be good for waste storage.

Occupation, Caloric Intake and Rest during Day Time of Pregnant Women and Birth Weight and Gestational Age of the Baby

With the social and economic changes in recent years, women’s role has also significantly changed and with a considerable share of the job market, i.e., 42%. If the burden of pregnancy and child birth is added to it, it could be stressful to the mother and likely to affect the birth weight as well as gestational age of the baby adversely. A study to find out relationship between occupation of women and the birth weight and gestational age of the baby was undertaken at Krishna Hospital; Karad. The data was collected on randomly selected 380 pregnant women by using structured interview schedule at registration and followed them till delivery. Data was analyzed in respect to the objectives of the study by using descriptive and inferential statistics. There were 23(6.0%) heavy workers. All of them were working on road construction sites and delivered 19(82.8%) Low Birth Weight (LBW) babies out of them 06(26.1%) were preterm births. The mean birth weight and Gestational age of babies born to heavy workers were 2199.1 ± 488.5g and 262.3±18.6 days as compared to 2764.4 ± 463.7g and 274.0±13.4 days for moderate workers 2688.8± 475.5g and 275.6±13.1 days for sedentary workers respectively. The study concluded that heavy maternal physical activity had a significant deleterious effect on birth weight and gestational age.

Validity and reliability of a questionnaire developed to explore nutrition determinants among construction workers in Gauteng, South Africa

Objectives: The nutrition of construction workers is related to their health and safety (H&S) at work. Research on the factors influencing construction workers’ food choices and overall nutrition is limited, in South Africa and indeed Africa as a whole. The present paper aims to develop and validate a questionnaire on factors influencing construction workers’ food choices.Design: The study adopted a quantitative approach; 42 items, divided into six constructs, were used to develop a field-survey questionnaire after a detailed literature review.Setting: The study was conducted on eight construction sites (consisting of five building construction and three road construction sites), chosen through heterogeneity sampling, in Midrand, Centurion, Johannesburg and Samrand.Subjects: Participants included construction workers actively involved in site activities.Outcome measures: Principal components analysis (PCA) was conducted to examine the structures and validity of the constructs. Cronbach’s alpha test and mean inter-item correlations were used to examine internal consistency reliability.Results: After repeated factor analysis, the questionnaire on food-choice factors revealed seven different factors: food context, biological factors, nutritional knowledge, personal ideas and systems, economic factors, resources and cultural background. These factors explained 60.09% variance. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranged from 0.62 to 0.85, signifying good internal consistency reliability.Conclusion: The determinants of construction workers’ food choices are vital considerations when designing and implementing nutrition interventions in the South African construction industry. Future research can adopt the instrument and developed model when conducting psychometric evaluations of construction workers’ food-choice determinants.

Development of a precast slim temporary concrete safety barrier STCSB 50 for work zone applications

ABSTRACTSelecting proper restraint systems for road-work zone areas is essential in ensuring the safety of motorists and construction workers as well as preventing occurrence of severe accidents. Regulations surrounding these choices vary greatly with some countries leaving the discretion to the managers whereas others mandate the use of barriers meeting specific requirements based on how they will be used. However, some nations have very detailed specifications including requirements for barriers to meet specified performances with respect to their application areas. Identifying performance criteria and making the right choices will determine how well authorities and traffic managers are able to provide safer environments for their workers. This article summarizes performance requirements and development details of a precast slim temporary concrete safety barrier, slim temporary concrete safety barrier (STCSB 50), mainly utilized to guide the traffic flow and safely divide lanes on motorways. Having 50 cm in height with a width of only 24 cm at the base and 12 cm throughout its height makes STCSB 50 a very narrow and low-profile work zone barrier. The design was crash tested according to EN1317 requirements, and its performance clearly demonstrated its robustness as a state of the art safety barrier for work zone applications. Its implementation is therefore recommended to protect road users and construction site workers at work zone areas.

Priority setting for competency development training topics for road construction site managers to reduce the risk of construction failure

Problem in road construction project could be triggered by employing a less competent Site Manager either in terms of knowledge and skills or in attitudes in the project. Therefore, an evaluation of the competency of the Site Managers and seeking the required development training to improve the relatively weaker items of competency is needed. This paper presents an evaluation of the competency of Site Manager of road construction project in the West Sumatera Road Construction Project 2014. The evaluation was conducted using expectation and performance analysis and the evaluated items of competency were extracted from Indonesian Standard of Competency for Labour especially for Site Manager of Road Construction. The study found that construction management system, project administration, and resource procurement are among competency factors that fall under average and should be improved in the future. Therefore, development training on those items could be initiated by the owner to reduce the risk of road construction project failure in the future.

Analyzing psychological conditions of field-workers in the construction industry

The Korean construction industry has experienced poor labor productivity and high accident rates. Previous studies have reported that workers' mental health can cause negative impacts on work performance; thus, enhancing workers' psychological conditions would help achieve more productive and safer workplaces. This research aimed to understand the level of psychological conditions of construction field-workers using four categories: (1) stress (occupational stress and stress-coping style), (2) personal temperament, (3) emotional disturbance (depression and trait anxiety), and (4) drinking habits. This research used validated questionnaires commonly used in the field of clinical psychology, surveyed 430 respondents from road, bridge, tunnel, subway, and apartment construction sites in Korea, and analyzed the overall psychological tendency of construction workers with the collaboration of professional clinical psychologists using the Z-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and cross-tabulation. The research also investigated how the mental conditions differed according to different working conditions, such as demographic information, employment status, work types, work experience, and wage conditions. The results indicated that construction workers suffer from a high level of stress and showed high inclination for problem-focused coping: impulsive, cautious, and dependent on other people. Two out of five construction workers suffer from depression and experience trait anxiety. More seriously, three out of five workers show alcohol-use problems that require clinical attention. This study also revealed the particular psychological problems that occur under different working conditions. The findings can be used to promote the awareness of the importance of construction workers' mental well-being and to help in setting targets for improvement.

Safety Practices and Knowledge of Construction Workers on Hazards Associated with Working on Road Construction Sites in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State

Background: The construction industry is considered as one of the most hazardous industrial sectors in many parts of the world wherein the construction workers are more prone to accidents. Statistics maintained by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), illustrate that the Construction Industry has a consistently poor record on workers health, safety and welfare relative to other industries. The construction industry is faced with unique safety and health problems that require special attention especially in a developing country like Nigeria. There is little or no data available on morbidity and work- related injuries and associated factors among road construction workers, and in the academic circle, few studies have been conducted among road construction workers. Objectives: To assess safety practices and knowledge of construction workers on hazards associated with working on road construction sites. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was done amongst all construction site workers and their supervisors involved in road construction that have spent at least 6momths on the job in Egor LGA, Edo State. A one stage cluster sampling technique was used to select the study population. Data were collected using a structure questionnaire and were analyzed using SPSS version 16. Results: Majority of the respondents 204(94.9%) had good knowledge of road construction site hazards. Age and duration of employment was not found to statistically, significantly influence knowledge in this study. However, educational level and hours of work per week greater than 48 hours were both found to influence respondents’ knowledge of road construction site hazards positively. Conclusion: The study showed that road construction workers in Egor local government area of Edo state had good knowledge of road construction site hazards, although their knowledge did not translate to regular use of their safety devices. The study shows obvious need for thorough orientation, training and education of construction site workers in Egor LGA.

Evaluation of occupational exposure to metal dust on the liver of road construction workers in Abuja metropolis

Increasing air pollution levels due to rapid urbanization and growth in infrastructural facilities coupled with low level of standard safety procedures have been observed in Nigeria, and become a major source of concern. The study evaluated the effects of occupational exposure to metal dust on the liver of road construction workers in Abuja metropolis. Blood samples were used in the measurement of Lead, cadmium, magnesium and iron as indicators for metal toxicity. Bilirubin, liver enzymes (aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatise (ALP)) and proteins as biomarkers for liver function. Samples were collected from different road construction sites. One hundred (n = 100) subjects were recruited and served as the exposed group and another one hundred (n = 100) control as unexposed (control) group. Samples were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry for the toxic metals (Lead and Cadmium) and trace elements (Magnesium and Iron); and Selectra ProS Clinical Chemistry Auto Analyzer for the liver function tests respectively. This study showed a statistically significant increase in Lead, Magnesium and Iron (p<0.001) when exposed subjects were compared with unexposed subjects. Test for liver function showed a significant reduction in total bilirubin (p<0.01) and direct bilirubin (p<0.05) respectively. Albumin also show statistically significant increase (p<0.05) on comparison of exposed and unexposed subjects. This study indicates the presence of metal dust in road construction workers occupationally exposed, and suggestive of liver impairment following continued exposure to these toxic metals and trace elements. Key words: Occupational exposure, metal dust, liver.