Focus Areas

Automation in Construction Management:

The construction industry has become a better planner with advances in Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Information Technology (IT) but we still hear about megaprojects suffering from cost overrun and delays. The focus of this research is to automate construction project controls through advances in cognitive computing (robotics, computer vision, and machine learning) and BIM. Current research topics include:

• Autonomous indoor and outdoor navigation of ground and aerial robots (UGVs and UAVs) for construction performance (progress, quality and safety) monitoring.
• Visual data analytics for automating performance inference.
• Improving on- and off-site communication via Augmented Reality (simultaneous visualization of as-built and as-planned conditions)
• Automating and scaling personalized safety training (see also Construction Safety below)

CCEE and ECE graduate students and faculty members test an autonomous ground robot on a construction site.

Construction Safety:

Unacceptable injury rates continue to be a global challenge in the construction industry. Construction workplaces around the world report over 60,000 fatal and many more non-fatal injuries every year. Our research focuses on developing and testing life-saving interventions targeted at improving worker safety. Current research efforts include:

• Measuring and Improving Hazard Recognition
• Construction Hazard Prevention Through Design
• Technology Driven Safety Monitoring and Management
• Personalized Safety Training Interventions
• Safety Skill development

 Lean Construction:

The CON group has worked to bring Lean principles to the construction industry.
Current research topics include:

• Methods to improve workflow plan reliability
• Causes for task starting time and duration variation
• Quantity of time buffer added in task duration estimation at different management levels
• Identifying the underlying social networks for construction specialty trades
• Cost/Benefit analysis for varying levels of planning detail
• Informal and formal decision making in collaborative scheduling

The CON group works closely with member companies in the Lean Construction Institute – Carolina Community of Practice, a research-centered organization that helps owners, designers, contractors, and suppliers understand their way in learning and applying Lean Construction principles and strategies.

Asset Management:

Asset management is a relatively new concept in construction engineering. In general, the nature of construction equipment and materials renders the concept of asset management a valuable tool for operation efficiency and cost control. Asset management includes a database of assets, tools to manage the database, asset condition assessment models, and strategies for assessment, mitigation, rehabilitation, and replacement including likelihood (condition), consequence (criticality), and risk of failure.

At present, there is no systematic tool to provide electronic documentation and analysis of construction assets. The objective of this research is to design and develop an information management system for electronic documentation, management, qualitative analysis, and display of construction asset data. The development of a systematic means for cataloging and condition assessment of these assets will represent a major contribution to the ability to establish effective and sustainable, construction, maintenance, and replacement priorities. The system will assist engineers and contractors in evaluating the need for maintenance and replacement as well as capture often-lost assets for effective master planning, engineering, design, maintenance, and management.

Virtual Design and Construction:

The focus of this area includes the use of Building Information Management (BIM) systems, technology and modeling, tele-engineering and tele-presence, and laser scanning.

Sustainable Concrete Materials:

The CON group has been working on several different aspects of sustainable concrete materials here at NC State in recent years. We have found ways to quantify crack densities of concrete subjected to high temperatures to determine if new, improved sustainability mixtures respond the same as conventional mixtures to aggressive exposures. The CON group also developed the software tools now sold by PCA to provide hydrologic design of pervious concrete pavements used as a “parking pond.” This software is used nationwide by designers to mitigate the deleterious effects of urbanization on stormwater runoff and receiving water quality. We have recently added a “sedimentation app” to address issues of accumulating sediment over the life of the pervious pavement. The CON group has also examined non-portland cement based mixtures to help reduce the CO₂ emissions.

Pollutant Emission Reduction:

At NC State, we have conducted several studies examining the air pollution emissions associated with construction projects. Our research has established that typical differences in operational efficiency arising from commonly used construction contracts have little practical effect on the amount of air pollution created. We continue to work on a better understanding of how to develop contract specifications to minimize air pollution during construction, which requires an understanding of air pollution (CE 576), contract law (CE 564), highway design, operational efficiency and construction methodology (CE 765) and construction project management (CE 561).

Preparing for Successful Career

The Construction Engineering (CON) program offers one of the largest course selections in the U.S. that will prepare our students for successful careers. We are situated in the greater Raleigh area that is one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. We have a track record of maintaining a strong alumni network and a strong tie to industry partners from which the CON program and its graduates benefit. The ever-growing number of construction projects in the greater Raleigh, including the Research Triangle Park, can only mean opportunities for internships, co-ops, and full-time positions. Our program also serves the construction industry throughout the nation, especially New York City and Washington DC.

Former Ph.D. students of the CON program are tenure-track/tenured faculty in the US (i.e., Purdue University, Texas A&M, Oregon/Penn State Universities, etc.) and around the globe (i.e., South Korea, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, etc.).

Courses