Papers by Hashem Izadi Moud
Journal of Management in Engineering, 2021
While unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are extensively used for data collection in the constructio... more While unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are extensively used for data collection in the construction industry, currently, no comprehensive quantitative method measures the indirect risks workers face from flying UAVs on jobsites. Augmenting past work addressing the direct risks of UAV flights, namely, crashes and collisions, this paper assesses the indirect UAV flight risks triggered by the proximity of UAVs with humans. Risk assessment is simple in theory: any risk may be quantified by knowing the probability of a risky event, the probability of impact, and/or the severity of the event. This paper (1) discusses the nature of the probability of a risky event, the probability of impact, and the probability of severity of UAV flight indirect risks and (2) presents a model for measuring the indirect risks of UAV flights when associated with the proximity of construction workers and UAVs. The proposed model is applied to a case study using Monte Carlo Simulation, and the results show the applicability of the model to a construction jobsite environment.
ASC International Proceeding, 2020
Estimating future costs of construction is an important component to the success of any contracti... more Estimating future costs of construction is an important component to the success of any contracting company. Traditionally a cost modifier has been utilized to offset cost escalations or volatility predictions. Construction estimators and contractors have also attempted to utilize a variety of prediction models. This paper establishes a basis for reliable forecasting and explores the possibility of developing prediction models using time series Neural Networks (NN) by utilizing historic data of three accepted macroeconomic composite indicators (MEI) and two accepted construction industry cost indices. The use of these macroeconomic indicators for NN-based models may be used to predict cost escalations for construction. Nonlinear autoregressive NN models are constructed through using the macroeconomic data and the construction cost data to determine if a reliable time-series predictive model could be established. The results of these models indicated that there is a high correlation between the macroeconomic escalations, independent factors, and the construction cost escalations, dependent factors, over time. Use and knowledge of these correlations could aid in the prediction of cost escalations during construction.
2020 IEEE Green Technologies Conference, 2020
In the era of information explosion, cloud technology is the backbone of data storage. The role o... more In the era of information explosion, cloud technology is the backbone of data storage. The role of a continuous and reliable cloud system is crucial in managing the widespread emergence of "big data". Electronic data devices are generating data at an unprecedented rate that needs to be stored and managed. Data Centers (DCs) provide a place that is primarily designed for data storage and processing purposes. The progressive demand for cloud storage requires larger and more efficient data centers. The constant growth in the number of data centers created subsequent environmental impacts including carbon emissions, resource depletion, and energy and material wastes. Assessing data centers sustainability is now provided by a few third-party verification systems including the US Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The USGBC LEED as the most prominent green building assessment system in the US, added a category for data centers in the current version LEED version 4 (LEED v4). A comprehensive review of the LEED v4 scoring criteria reveals that it fails to properly address and assess the unique attributes of data centers. LEED focuses on improving sustainability measures mainly in "Energy and Atmosphere" but pays less attention to other categories. A major flaw in LEED v4 approach to data centers is that LEED assesses similar scoring criteria to data centers as other building types. This study concludes with discussing the potential areas of improvement in LEED v4 for assessing sustainability measures in data centers.
In the era of information explosion, cloud technology is the backbone of data storage. The role o... more In the era of information explosion, cloud technology is the backbone of data storage. The role of a continuous and reliable cloud system is crucial in managing the widespread emergence of "big data". Electronic data devices are generating data at an unprecedented rate that needs to be stored and managed. Data Centers (DCs) provide a place that is primarily designed for data storage and processing purposes. The progressive demand for cloud storage requires larger and more efficient data centers. The constant growth in the number of data centers created subsequent environmental impacts including carbon emissions, resource depletion, and energy and material wastes. Assessing data centers sustainability is now provided by a few third-party verification systems including the US Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). The USGBC LEED as the most prominent green building assessment system in the US, added a category for data centers in the current version LEED version 4 (LEED v4). A comprehensive review of the LEED v4 scoring criteria reveals that it fails to properly address and assess the unique attributes of data centers. LEED focuses on improving sustainability measures mainly in "Energy and Atmosphere" but pays less attention to other categories. A major flaw in LEED v4 approach to data centers is that LEED assesses similar scoring criteria to data centers as other building types. This study concludes with discussing the potential areas of improvement in LEED v4 for assessing sustainability measures in data centers.
Construction Research Congress, 2020
Unmanned Vehicles (UVs) are extensively used in the built environment on daily basis. Unmanned Ma... more Unmanned Vehicles (UVs) are extensively used in the built environment on daily basis. Unmanned Marine Vehicles (UMVs), Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have helped construction managers in marine, ground and aerial missions. While recent developments in the information technology have amplified the use of UAVs on construction job sites, use of UGVs and ground robots is still uncommon in construction. Historically UGVs were the main type of UVs that developed to take over dangerous or highly repetitive tasks in various industries. In the construction industry, UGVs have been mainly found helpful in post-disaster operations including structural health assessment. It is believed that UGVs will advance soon and replace construction equipment on job sites. Prior to bringing UGVs to construction job sites, it is important to develop risk assessment schemes that can help safety managers to decide on safe operability of UGVs. This paper presents a risk assessment scheme for UGV operations in construction environments by proposing a qualitative risk assessment model that integrates physical characteristics of the UGV and operation environment. These characteristics include UGV dimension, operation environment specifications, risks that exist within the environment, and construction workers proximity to the UGV. The paper further proposes the use of Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) technique to estimate the risks of UGV operations in less-known situations. A case study that shows use of a UGV on a job site is presented to show the applicability of the proposed model.
International Journal on Advances in Intelligent Systems, 2019
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been extensively used on construction job sites in the last ... more Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been extensively used on construction job sites in the last ten years. UAVs applications span from progress monitoring and site monitoring to structural health inspection and construction safety. While different applications of UAVs on job sites have been extensively researched, the risks and hazards of flying UAVs on construction job sites have never been quantitatively or qualitatively measured. Around the world, the general aviation industry developed sophisticated methods to evaluate risks of UAV flights over general population. However, in construction domain, discussions over risks of UAV flights is nonexistent. This is particularly interesting as the construction industry constantly maintains one of the highest rates of fatalities and injuries, among all other industries, in the world. Currently, UAVs are used in various construction activities regularly without proper risk assessment schemes or safety plans. Neither construction project managers nor construction safety officers have action plans in place for UAV safe use. This paper presents the first known quantitative and qualitative analyses of UAV flight risks in construction job sites. A quantitative model is presented and tested for UAV flight risk assessment, using the Monte Carlo Simulation technique. A case study tested the proposed model on an actual construction job site. The model proposed in this paper can be used by construction safety officers and construction project managers to take safety into account when planning UAV flights over job sites. This paper further argues that using models and methods introduced in this paper can make UAV flights in any environment safer and more reliable.
International Journal on Advances in Systems and Measurements, 2019
Knowledge of the number of upcoming projects and their impact on the company plays a significant ... more Knowledge of the number of upcoming projects and their impact on the company plays a significant role in strategic planning for project-based companies. The current horizon of planning for companies working on public projects are the latest advertised projects for bidding, which in many cases is reported less than a year in advance. This provides a very short-term horizon for strategic project portfolio planning. In this research, a multivariate regression model with elastic net regularization and a support vector machine are used to forecast the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) number of advertised projects in the future considering economic indices and other environmental factors. Two sets of analyses have been conducted, one with the current values of the independent variables and another one with up to 12 months lag of each independent variable. The results show that, of the predictors considered, the unemployment rate in the construction sector and the Brent oil price are the most significant variables in forecasting FDOT’s future project frequency using current values. Also, it is evident that including lagged values of the independent variables increase the model’s performance.
Future Technology Conference, 2019
This paper presents an implementation of smart contracts by integrating BIM and blockchain. After... more This paper presents an implementation of smart contracts by integrating BIM and blockchain. After briefly reviewing the literature regarding blockchain technology, smart contracts, and integration of the BIM and blockchain, a blockchain network using Hyperledger fabric is proposed and tested to govern a sample construction project. The proposed framework does not utilize the cryptocurrency aspect of the blockchain as the payment form. Instead, it discusses the integration of the current banking system and the use of fiat currencies in transactions. The results show that blockchain is a viable system for governing construction project contracts by automating the consequences of each transaction and maintaining a tamper proof record of project progress, which would be valuable in any kind of dispute resolution. The blockchain network developed in this study implements the smart contract as its network operation logic. As a result, the notion of having to translate all the traditional contract clauses to the computer program is shown to be unnecessary and to some extent not suitable for construction, due to the complexity, fluidity, and high uncertainties involved in each project.
In 2015, the construction had the highest rate of fatalities among all industries in the United S... more In 2015, the construction had the highest rate of fatalities among all industries in the United States. Unsafe operation of construction equipment is one of the main causes of fatal incidents. Operation, management and interactions between construction equipment and construction crews should be thoroughly regulated to minimize the risk of fatal incidents on job sites. While use of most traditional construction equipment is regulated, the construction industry has struggled with regulating new, innovative and smart equipment such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) that have recently been introduced to construction job sites. In this paper, collision avoidance and spatial safety theories in construction are discussed. The bases of these theories are extended to UAV operation in order to establish the first known theory on safe use and operation of UAVs in construction. Also, basic principles of UAV flights are discussed. By applying the basic principles of UAV flights and construction spatial safety theories, a UAV flight simulator in construction environments has been developed in Unity game engine. The flight simulator is designed for UAV pilots, construction managers and safety managers, and enables users to fly a UAV within a simulated environment extracted from a BIM model. This UAV flight simulator is tested in a case study of a building currently under construction. This simulator can be used to assess UAV pilots’ capabilities, test the risks of UAV flights in any construction environment, and UAV safe flight path planning.
The 9th International Conference on Simulation & Modeling Methodologies, Technologies & Applications, 2018
While Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been used on construction job sites for different purp... more While Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been used on construction job sites for different purposes for over a decade, the risks and hazards of flying UAVs on construction job sites has not been either quantitatively or qualitatively assessed. Quantifying the risks of flying UAVs over general populations is a common practice in the general UAV industry. This study uses an established model that has been used to quantify the risks of flying UAVs over general population, propagates the bases of the model based on the construction industry needs, tailors some of the input of the model based on the construction industry specifications, and uses the Monte-Carlo Simulation method to quantify the risks of flying UAVs over a real construction job site adopted as a case study. This model is based on mishap rate for UAVs, population density of the area that UAVs fly over and the lethal area of UAVs that could be potentially fatal in the event of a crash. While this paper presents the very first effort in quantifying the risks of flying UAVs over construction sites, there is a need in the construction industry to tailor this model based on the needs of the industry to make the model more accurate.
The Eighth International Conference on Advanced Communications and Computation (INFOCOMP) 2018, 2018
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been used on construction job sites for a variety of purpose... more Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been used on construction job sites for a variety of purposes for more than a decade. But the risks and hazards of flying UAVs on construction job sites has never been quantitatively or qualitatively evaluated. While the general aviation industry has been using sophisticated analysis techniques to quantitatively assess the risks of general aviation industry flights over the general population for decades, the risks of UAV flights over this group has never been quantitatively assessed. UAVs are being used in construction activities on a regularly without proper risk assessment. There is no action plan in place, by either construction managers or safety officers, to design UAV flights based on safety measures. This paper presents the first known quantitative and qualitative analyses of UAV flight risks for construction job sites. A quantitative model for UAV flight risk assessment is presented and tested, using the Monte Carlo simulation technique, for an actual construction job site. A qualitative risk assessment of UAV flights is also presented by combining the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules, regulations and guidelines concerning UAV flights, with the safety needs and specifications of UAV flights on a construction job site. The techniques introduced in this paper can be used by construction managers and safety officers to take safety into account when planning UAV flights over construction job sites. This paper further argues that using techniques and methods introduced in this research paper could potentially make UAV flights in any environment safer and more reliable.
Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) are remote controlled or autonomous vehicles that can safely ope... more Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) are remote controlled or autonomous vehicles that can safely operate on the surface of water bodies such as oceans, seas, and lakes. USVs, along with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can operate without direct or even indirect human control. Use of UAVs in construction has been discussed extensively in the literature, but the capabilities and potential applications of USV technologies to construction remain largely unexplored. Recent developments in information technology and artificial intelligence has made it possible to deploy and remotely operate autonomously, semi-autonomously or manually, USVs for a variety of purposes such as structural health monitoring. This paper first presents a brief literature review of USVs established body of knowledge. This is followed by a proof of concept for the use of a USV for structural health monitoring and possible application in construction and facility maintenance. A small-scale USV mounted with a camera was used to visually assess the health of a retention pond and a seawall. The paper continues with a discussion on the viability of the device and examining the possibility of automatic health assessment using machine learning and possible applications of the USV in coordination with a UAV.
It is certain that more autonomous robots and automated systems would be used in Space Constructi... more It is certain that more autonomous robots and automated systems would be used in Space Construction (SC) compared to construction work on Earth. The performance of these robots should not be locally optimized but instead, collectively be optimized as a whole, which calls for the highest level of precision and coordination among all active agents on the field. The coordination between the robots and control of each robot can be done through agent-based modeling which is an effective method to coordinate multiple agents with complex behaviors without central control. This leads to a more efficient but complex workflow, that minimizes collision between robots, decreases the idle time, and provides the optimal methods of management. In this paper, the needs for new construction management techniques for SC project is discussed. Also, a discussion over the need for implementation of agent-based modeling, as an efficient decentralized coordination technique is presented.
Construction Research Congress 2018, 2018
Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) are remotely-operated robotic agents that can safely deploy and ... more Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) are remotely-operated robotic agents that can safely deploy and maneuver on the surface of bodies of water. Although, there is an established body of literature on large, complex and expensive USVs in structural health monitoring, comparing the solutions provided with the current available UAVs and their scale, cost, and applications, shows that USVs are not yet developed at this scale. The goal of this study is to provide a proof of concept for applications and development of USV devices (small, low cost, and versatile) similar to the current available UAVs. These devices can be used for monitoring the construction progress, facility management or in other words it can basically stretch over the lifecycle of the facilities.
This paper first presents a discussion on different adaptations of the UVs and their definitions and applications. This is followed by a literature review on different health monitoring algorithms and methods to establish the body of knowledge in the area of automation of the health monitoring. This includes some related examples of small, low cost UAVs that are used to automate the health monitoring system. These are reviewed briefly to show how such systems can provide the basis for development of a similar USV. Next, deployment and use of various USVs is discussed. To provide a proof of concept for such a USV device an experiment is conducted with a small-scale commercial USV mounted with a camera to visually assess the health of a retention pond in Gainesville, Florida. The paper concludes with a discussion of the feasibility of the device and testing the possibility of automating the health assessment process using image-processing techniques.
Construction Research Congress 2018, 2018
For more than a decade, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been used on construction job sites ... more For more than a decade, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been used on construction job sites for a variety of purposes including structural inspection, and 3D mapping of the site and existing structures. Although the advantages that UAVs have brought to construction are discussed extensively in the literature, applications of other types of unmanned vehicles (UVs) in the construction industry, including unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) (operating on water surfaces), and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), have received limited attention.
Construction Research Congress 2018, 2018
Advances in information technology (IT) have provided a continuous and reliable connection to the... more Advances in information technology (IT) have provided a continuous and reliable connection to the Internet for everyone. This factor, coupled with the widespread use of digital devices like laptops, cellphones and tablets, have led to the emergence of " big data ". Nowadays, society is producing and using data at an unprecedented rate. Data centers are the primary place for storing, and processing data. Another important trend in IT is the emergence of cloud technology. The rapid rise of IT, the emergence of big data, and the shift to cloud technology have led to a high demand for newer and larger data centers. Data centers are industrial facilities that provide space for servers, hard drives, and batteries, where data is stored and processed. Having numerous servers that consume large quantities of energy makes heat management a critical issue. Heat, generated mostly by servers, needs to be controlled carefully and temperature needs to be maintained within a specified range. Removing excess heat means extensive use of energy resources by the HVAC systems. This constant high-cooling demand marks data centers as buildings that are especially problematic from an environmental standpoint. The LEED version 4 (v4) rating system now has a category for data centers. However, a review of LEED v4 reveals that it fails to address many sustainability factors related to data centers. By focusing only on specific issues, LEED attempts to make significant improvements to sustainability measures mainly in the sections of Energy and Atmosphere and Indoor Environmental Quality. In other sections of LEED, such as Water and Site Selection, points are not allocated to specifically address data centers' needs. In LEED v4, data centers have the same criteria as other building types. This paper identifies the potential areas for improvement in LEED v4 for data centers.
World Sustainable Built Environment Conference , 2017
The assessment of building materials and products in the US has been rapidly evolving since the o... more The assessment of building materials and products in the US has been rapidly evolving since the onset of the contemporary American green building movement in the early 1990s. Presently three green building organizations, the US Green Building Council (USGBC), the Green Building Initiative (GBI), and the International Living Futures Institute (ILFI), offer competing visions of criteria for sustainable products, among them how to determine the safety of products from a chemical perspective. In assessing the safety of building materials and products in their green building assessment processes, the USGBC Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and the ILFI Living Building Challenge (LBC) rely on hazard-based assessment (HBA) which entails designating specific materials that are not suitable, from a toxicity perspective, for use in a green building. A competing vision, promulgated by the GBI in the forthcoming version of the Green Globes building assessment system, is risk-based assessment (RBA) which contends that simply banning products because they contain certain chemicals is inadequate and unscientific because the dose and the exposure scenario are not considered. Recent changes to-based approach for assessing materials toxicity. Hazard-based tools include Cradle to Cradle, DECLARE, and GreenScreen. Some hazard-based tools provide a list of banned materials while others provide a more detailed analysis with various levels of action required depending on the ingredients of the product. Risk-based product assessment tools follow the procedures outlined in NSF/GCI/ANSI 355: Greener Chemicals and Processes Information Standard which provides the rules for this process. This paper will present trends in building materials/products toxicity assessment and provide an analysis of these approaches regarding their impacts on the stakeholders in the US design and construction industry.
360-degree panoramic virtual reality is a ubiquitous technique for visualizing complex constructi... more 360-degree panoramic virtual reality is a ubiquitous technique for visualizing complex construction environments that can be augmented with different layers of information. Unlike the common virtual environments that provide unrealistic computer-generated simulation of the environment, panoramic virtual reality is able to create highly realistic and detailed representations of the real environment while giving users a sense of immersion. In this study, interactive panoramas are made of a series of panoramic videos and photos, which are captured from a construction site. Various types of time/location-specific information (e.g., audio, video, virtual 2D, or 3D models) can be augmented in such panoramic virtual environments to create a natural interactive experience. Users will be able to navigate through the panoramic virtual environment of a complex construction project while interacting with augmented information to learn more about the construction project and job site. In this research a 360-degree panoramic virtual reality environment of a construction job site is created. This paper describes the development of interactive panoramic scenes using panoramic photos and videos. The procedure of creating the panoramic experience, the process of augmenting the captured panoramas with different layers of information and an integrated pilot study are described in details.
Bridges are exposed to different types of damages within their lifetime. Bridge maintenance is an... more Bridges are exposed to different types of damages within their lifetime. Bridge maintenance is an essential procedure that can significantly improve lifetime and serviceability of bridges. First step in bridge maintenance is inspection. Visual inspection has been traditionally the dominant method of bridge inspection. Although visual inspection is still used by several authorities to inspect bridges, it is prone to errors, due to human biased judgement. Using wireless sensor networks is a non-destructive method that can help bridge maintenance teams to monitor bridge health. Although there are many advantages associated with using wireless sensor networks in bridges, there are some downsides like battery failure and large volume of collected and transmitted data. Unmanned aerial vehicle is a new mobile robotic agent that can help wireless sensor networks to overcome some of its shortcomings. This paper explores the advantages and disadvantages of using wireless sensor networks in bridge health monitoring systems. Also the advantages of using unmanned aerial vehicles in bridge health monitoring systems are discussed. This paper would investigate the synergy between coupling unmanned aerial vehicles and wireless sensor networks in bridge health monitoring in order to overcome traditional limitations of bridge health inspection.
Life Science Journal
Delay in implementation and operation is one of the common problems and challenges of constructio... more Delay in implementation and operation is one of the common problems and challenges of construction projects. Generally, one of the main criteria in assessing the success of a project is delivering it on time and without delay. In most cases, the delay means increased overhead costs and exposure by inflation for contractor. Even with modern technology, project completion time still falls behind the schedule due to delays in running the projects. In the Middle East, due to changes in the structural economy, oil price fluctuations and rising international trade, these delays are more common. One of the reasons for this situation is the traditional style of governing contracts and projects. Since in the traditional styles, contracts are usually awarded to the bidder offering the lowest price. Furthermore, delays and increased costs usually occur during the construction phase rather than the pre-construction phase. To deal with these delays, the project manager needs to know what factors...
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Papers by Hashem Izadi Moud
This paper first presents a discussion on different adaptations of the UVs and their definitions and applications. This is followed by a literature review on different health monitoring algorithms and methods to establish the body of knowledge in the area of automation of the health monitoring. This includes some related examples of small, low cost UAVs that are used to automate the health monitoring system. These are reviewed briefly to show how such systems can provide the basis for development of a similar USV. Next, deployment and use of various USVs is discussed. To provide a proof of concept for such a USV device an experiment is conducted with a small-scale commercial USV mounted with a camera to visually assess the health of a retention pond in Gainesville, Florida. The paper concludes with a discussion of the feasibility of the device and testing the possibility of automating the health assessment process using image-processing techniques.
This paper first presents a discussion on different adaptations of the UVs and their definitions and applications. This is followed by a literature review on different health monitoring algorithms and methods to establish the body of knowledge in the area of automation of the health monitoring. This includes some related examples of small, low cost UAVs that are used to automate the health monitoring system. These are reviewed briefly to show how such systems can provide the basis for development of a similar USV. Next, deployment and use of various USVs is discussed. To provide a proof of concept for such a USV device an experiment is conducted with a small-scale commercial USV mounted with a camera to visually assess the health of a retention pond in Gainesville, Florida. The paper concludes with a discussion of the feasibility of the device and testing the possibility of automating the health assessment process using image-processing techniques.
located in the proximity of a large CO2 emitters, John R. Kelly
Power Plant, a concrete ready mix plant, and the Depot Park
stormwater park facility. By using emissions from the industrial
plants and the stormwater as sources of nutrition, the project plans
to cultivate microalgae in modular elements and deliver biomass
to the community. The result is a sustainable design that purifies
water, produces clean energy from biomass, reduces CO2 emissions,
creates local jobs, and educates the community about the realities of
climate change