Performance Assessment of Wireless Data Capture in Construction P.R. Zekavat a , S. Moon a and L.E. Bernold b a PhD Candidate, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW, Australia b Associate Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW, Australia E-mail: r.zekavat@unsw.edu.au, leonhard.bernold@gmail.com Abstract - The tenet of TQM is the use of measurements to monitor an operation in order to avoid poor quality outputs. The construction faces unique barriers to utilize effective technologies to capture critical process data in real time. This paper presents the results of extensive field testing of wireless systems to study the effect of the “noisy” environment on sensing and signal propagation. The findings confirmed the hypothesis that construction activities and equipment impact the performance of such networks. In an experimental application on site, ZigBee network to collect data about temperature at pre-designed locations was integrated with an off-site station. Working with the system led to the conclusion that ZigBee is a viable technology to be implemented on the construction site, reliable and easy to use. The concrete crew receiving real time data on temperature from the embedded sensors were delighted as they have never been provided with such new and important information before. Keywords - Sensing and Communication; ZigBee Thermocouple; Signal Propagation Pattern; Information Hub 1 Introduction The 1980’s brought the first comprehensive concept to manage quality within a large organization that was referred to as Total Quality Management (TQM). The central tenet of TQM was the drive for continuous improvement of the operation while delivering high- quality products and services to customers. Lean manufacturing was another concept that received a lot of attention in the 1980’s and depended on the availability of data. Maguad [1] summarized that: ―Implementing lean production is facilitated by a focus on measurement.‖ Of course, the preventive approach to reduce waste (=lean) requires in-process measurements instead of final product inspection. For example, the traditional concrete quality control procedures, like many other construction processes, are completed well after they have ended. For example, while curing temperature and moisture content affects the mechanical properties of concrete [2], limited data in project databases particularly in BIM records is associated to construction of concrete elements. The advances in sensing as well as communication technologies are the backbone of the transition toward a real-time process oriented quality approach. Boyer and Swink [3] articulated that ―… the advent of low cost data collection technologies opens opportunities for improved observations of phenomena.‖ In particular embedded sensors have been introduced to monitor long-term serviceability of concrete structures [4]. Akinci et al. [5] developed a ―formalism‖ for active quality control on construction sites using embedded sensing systems. Gordon and Akinci [6] put emphasis on mobility of implemented technology in order to collect data from the point of interest with limited access during construction. However, the quality of wireless link between nodes is affected by many factors such as: a) communication protocol, b) network configuration, c) site activities and d) weather conditions. The experiments presented in this paper aim to identify the practical challenges of implementing wireless data capture technologies such as ZigBee sensor network to collect selected process data. 2 Process Quality Measurement: The Path to Eliminating Supply-Chain Waste Bellah et al. [7], between others, reminded us that:‖ TQM is a philosophy and set of practices that aim to eliminate all forms of waste from all product manufacturing and service delivery processes.‖ How can waste elimination lead to quality while improve performance? The connection becomes clear when one equates waste to lack of quality not only of the final product but also during production because waste requires resources and adds to the cost of the product thus reducing its value. Canel et al. [8] defined waste as: ‖… anything other than the minimum amount of equipment, materials, parts, space, and workers’ time, which are absolutely essential to add value to the product or service …‖ Thus the systematic elimination The 31st International Symposium on Automation and Robotics in Construction and Mining (ISARC 2014)