Impact of steel quick connection system on steel erection labor productivity: case studies and simulation based analyses

Traditional steel connection systems rely on on-site welding and bolting, which are labor intensive and require skilled craft workers. Reducing welding and bolting efforts in structural steel erection presents an opportunity to improve steel structure construction productivity. A series of steel quick connection systems (SQCS) have been introduced in the market in the last few years, either through research prototypes or commercial products. However, their real benefits need to be confirmed and quantified at actual construction sites. Hence, the main goal of this study was to evaluate the impact of steel quick connection systems on construction productivity and cost. To accomplish this goal, the authors performed analyses of data from nine SQCS projects and conducted two case studies. The authors also utilized a building information modeling based simulation to compare the schedule impact of SQCS and conventional structural steel connections systems. This paper describes the details of this study and its ...