A coupled discrete-event and motion planning methodology for automated safety assessment in construction projects

Collisions between moving machinery and human workers in construction job sites are one of the main sources of fatalities and accidents during the execution of construction projects. In this paper, we present a methodology to identify and assess construction project plan dangers before their execution. Our methodology has the following steps: 1) Plans are translated from a high-level activity graph to a discrete event simulation model; 2) Trajectories are simulated using sampling based and combinatorial motion planning algorithms; and 3) Safety scores and risk-based heatmaps are calculated based on the trajectories of moving equipment. Finally, we present an illustrative case study to demonstrate the usability of our model.

[1]  Hadas Kress-Gazit,et al.  Transforming high level tasks to low level controllers , 2008 .

[2]  Ka Chi Lam,et al.  Cost–safety trade-off in unequal-area construction site layout planning , 2013 .

[3]  Amin Hammad,et al.  Near Real-Time Motion Planning and Simulation of Cranes in Construction: Framework and System Architecture , 2012, J. Comput. Civ. Eng..

[4]  Hadas Kress-Gazit,et al.  Translating Structured English to Robot Controllers , 2008, Adv. Robotics.

[5]  B. Faverjon,et al.  Probabilistic Roadmaps for Path Planning in High-Dimensional Con(cid:12)guration Spaces , 1996 .

[6]  Cheng Zhang,et al.  Multi-Agent-Based Approach for Real-Time Collision Avoidance and Path Re-Planning on Construction Sites , 2011 .

[7]  Julio C. Martinez,et al.  Visualizing Simulated Construction Operations in 3D , 2001 .

[8]  H. Vangheluwe.  The Discrete EVent System specification ( DEVS ) formalism CS 522 Fall Term 2001 , 2022 .

[9]  Lydia E. Kavraki,et al.  Sampling-based motion planning with temporal goals , 2010, 2010 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[10]  Steven M. LaValle,et al.  An Objective-Based Framework for Motion Planning under Sensing and Control Uncertainties , 1998, Int. J. Robotics Res..

[11]  Panos M. Pardalos,et al.  A survey of recent developments in multiobjective optimization , 2007, Ann. Oper. Res..

[12]  Julio C. Martinez,et al.  Stroboscope: State and resource based simulation of construction processes. , 1996 .

[13]  Cheng Zhang,et al.  Towards real-time simulation of construction activities considering spatio-temporal resolution requirements for improving safety and productivity , 2011, Proceedings of the 2011 Winter Simulation Conference (WSC).

[14]  Xin Wang,et al.  Lift path planning for a nonholonomic crawler crane , 2014 .

[15]  Steven M. LaValle,et al.  Planning algorithms , 2006 .

[16]  Cheng Zhang,et al.  Collaborative multi-agent systems for construction equipment based on real-time field data capturing , 2009, J. Inf. Technol. Constr..

[17]  Ming Lu,et al.  RESOURCE-ACTIVITY CRITICAL-PATH METHOD FOR CONSTRUCTION PLANNING , 2003 .

[18]  Bernard P. Zeigler,et al.  Multifacetted Modelling and Discrete Event Simulation , 1984 .

[19]  C. Zhang,et al.  Improving construction safety through real-time motion planning of cranes , 2010 .

[20]  Doron Rotem,et al.  An Algorithm to Generate all Topological Sorting Arrangements , 1981, Computer/law journal.

[21]  Leonardo Bobadilla,et al.  Ex-ante assessment of struck-by safety hazards in construction projects: A motion-planning approach , 2014, 2014 IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE).

[22]  Steven M. LaValle,et al.  Rapidly-Exploring Random Trees: Progress and Prospects , 2000 .

[23]  Jayme Luiz Szwarcfiter,et al.  A Structured Program to Generate all Topological Sorting Arrangements , 1974, Information Processing Letters.