Report+Certi

AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

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SEMINAR REPORT

VISVESVARAYA TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY BELGAUM

“AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY” – AN OVERVIEW A SEMINAR REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENTOF VIII SEMESTER, BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING (CIVIL) BY: ANANTH BABA.J

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING SRI JAYACHAMARAJENDRA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING Department of civil engineering S.J.C.E., Mysore

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MYSORE – 570006 JSS MAHAVIDYAPEETHA

SRI JAYACHAMARAJENDRA COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING MYSORE – 570006

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

Certificate This is to certify that ANANTH BABA .J bearing university seat number 4JC02CV005 has successfully completed seminar titled “AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY- AN OVERVIEW” carried out during the VIII semester of the Bachelor of engineering course.

Signature: …………. Date:

Department of civil engineering S.J.C.E., Mysore

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ABSTRACT: Construction automation refers to the use of a mechanical, electrical, computer based system to operate and control construction equipments / devices. Construction Automation eliminates the need for workers to operate in uncomfortable and hazardous conditions, while concurrently saving time, reducing costs and improving the quality of the work place in the construction industry. It is well known that in spite of the employment of sophisticated machinery and equipment and some recent efforts to improve on-site working conditions, construction sites in general offer some of the worst working conditions existing today. As has already been experienced in other industries, the application of automation and robotics can cuts costs, environmental pollution, and dramatically improves safety and quality control to the benefit of living standards in general. Automation increases project speed. Earlier commissioning of any project had tremendous impact down the line: i.e. production, marketing, consumption, connected businesses, etc. get boost. Automation gives quality construction. With automation, the measurements are more accurate; the weighing and proportion of mixing ingredients is better. For big projects, there has to be continuity of construction. Automaton gives that . This paper provides an insight into the different types, various equipments and advantages & disadvantages of construction automation. This paper also looks into the applications of automation in the Indian construction sector.

INTRODUCTION: Automation or automation engineering is a design engineering philosophy that is directed towards enhancing the automatic nature of a machine, process or other type of work system. The objective of automation is to cause the work system to be as automatic i.e. self acting, self regulating & self reliant as may be possible – but against practical Department of civil engineering S.J.C.E., Mysore

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backdrop of various economic, environmental, social & other restraints. Because of these restraints the work systems are only partially automated. The advantages claimed for automation today include improved productivity, enhanced product quality & improvements in status of workers. Limitations include high initial cost, vulnerability to down time, and loss of flexibility, need for greater management attention and to some extent the persistence of automation’s image in the work force. A great extent of automation is taking place during project execution these days. Simple example is the 'Builder's Hoist' where a trolley takes the concrete up a tower height and then slides on the rails at the upper floor. This way of transporting concrete is used even for local residential building construction. And the trend is in that direction, that is, more automation. The concept of automation is synonymous with manufacturing industry .Much of the increase in productivity in the manufacturing industry can be attributed to automated manufacturing technologies.This combined with concern about declining construction productivity, has motivated many industry professionals and researchers to investigate the application of automation technology to construction. Construction has traditionally been very resistant to technical innovation. Use of automation in construction faces larger challenges compared with other industries, such as manufacturing. The physical nature of any construction project is a primary obstacle to meaningful work automation .In addition, construction processes are usually performed in dusty and noisy environments, preventing the use of fragile, high precision & sensitive electronic devices. Numerous construction tasks have or will become more attracted to automated technologies based upon the following characteristics: Repetitiveness  Tedious and boring  Hazardous to health  Physically dangerous  Unpleasant and dirty  Labour intensiveness Department of civil engineering S.J.C.E., Mysore

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 Vanishing skill area  High skill requirement For example, some construction tasks have been historically noted for their repetitive nature with relatively little dynamic decision making required on the part of a human labourer. Such tasks may include placing of concrete, finishing of concrete, placing of masonry block, among others. The work involved in these tasks is rather unattractive for humans. Robots, however, are applicable to these types of work tasks provided that the technology and economics are feasible. As already defined construction refers to the use of a mechanical, electrical, computer based system to operate and control construction equipment/devices/process. TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION AUTOMATION:

 Fixed construction automation  Programmable construction automation Fixed construction involves a sequence of operations performed by equipment Fixed in their locations. In other words, an automated facility, whether it is permanently indoors or temporarily on the construction site, is set up specifically to perform only one function or produce one product. In programmable construction automation, equipment has the ability to change its sequence of operations easily to accommodate a wide variety of products.

FIXED CONSTRUCTION AUTOMATION: Fixed construction automation is useful in mass production or prefabrication of building components such as:1. Reinforcing steel Department of civil engineering S.J.C.E., Mysore

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2. Structural steel 3. Exterior building components (e.g., masonry, precast concrete)

Examples of fixed construction automation: Automated rebar prefabrication system: It places reinforcing bars for concrete slab construction. The assembly consists of two vehicles and a steel rebar arrangement support base. Of the two vehicles, one moves in the longitudinal direction and the other in the transverse direction. The longitudinally moving vehicle carries the rebars forward until it reaches the preset position.Then it moves backward and places the rebars by the longitudinally moving vehicle; the transversely moving vehicle places the rebars in a similar manner. The mesh unit formed by such a placement of rebars is tied together automatically. Automated brick masonry: It is designed to spread mortar and place bricks for masonry wall construction .It consists of the following: 1. Mortar spreading module 2. Brick laying station The controls of the system are centered around three personal computers responsible for: 1. Collecting and storing data in real time 2. Controlling the mortar spreading robot 3. Interfacing a stepping motor controller and a robot controller Automated stone cutting: Its purpose is to precut stone elements for exterior wall facings.

PROGRAMMABLE CONSTRUCTION AUTOMATION: Department of civil engineering S.J.C.E., Mysore

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It includes the application of construction robots as described below:

CONSTRUCTION ROBOTS: The International Standards Organization (ISO) defines a robot as “an automatically controlled, reprogrammable, multi-purpose, manipulative machine, which may be either fixed in place or mobile for use in industrial automation applications” APPLICATIONS OF CONSTRUCTION ROBOTS: Robot excavator: It is a tele operated machine that is fully controlled by a human operating from a remote site. It is mainly used in hazardous and inaccessible environments. It is an autonomous machine able to sense and adjust to its environment. It is as shown in figure below.

Department of civil engineering S.J.C.E., Mysore

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SLAB FINISHING ROBOT: This robot is designed for finishing cast in place concrete slabs .this mobile floor finishing robot is able to work to within one meter of walls. It is designed to perform the work of at least six skilled workers.

Department of civil engineering S.J.C.E., Mysore

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INTERIOR FINISHING ROBOT: It executes the following operations:1. building walls and partitions 2. plastering walls and ceilings 3. painting walls and ceilings 4. Tiling walls. FIREPROOFING SPRAY ROBOT:

Shimizu Company (Japan) has developed a robot system for spraying fireproofing material on structural steel. It can spray faster than a human worker but requires time for transportation and setup. It takes about 22 minutes for one work unit whereas a human worker takes about 51 minutes. It can achieve the same quality of spray thickness as for that applied by a human worker. Department of civil engineering S.J.C.E., Mysore

AUTOMATION IN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

EXTERNAL WALL PAINTING ROBOT: It paints walls of high rise buildings, including walls with indentations and protrusions. The robot is mounted on mobile equipment that permits translational motion along the exterior wall of a building. ECONOMICS: The major factors contributing to economic benefits of construction automation are: •

productivity

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quality

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savings in skilled Labour

These benefits should be weighed against the costs of automation, including initial investment and operating costs. These are further described in the table below INITIAL INVESTMENT COSTS

ROBOT OPERATING COSTS

Research and development Product testing Robot components Control hardware

On site programming Labour cost (technicians) Electricity System dismantling and re-setup Robot transporting costs Maintenance and repair

Economic data resulting from analysis of several robot applications are described below: Automated stone cutting: In comparison to traditional stone cutting methods, the automated stone cutting system resulted in a 74% increase in productivity and 42% less time to process identical orders.

Department of civil engineering S.J.C.E., Mysore

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Excavation: Many reports related to construction automation indicate improvement in productivity and quality. Interior finishing robot: A performance study of an interior robot indicated that the net productivity of the robot can reach 10 to 19 m2 /h in a one layer coating and 8 to 8.5 m2 /h in a mortarless building. These figures are 4 to 5 times higher than for an average construction worker. Exterior building finishers: Results from an outdoor experiment using a tile setting robot indicate a setting efficiency of 14 m2/h, representing improved productivity and quality. Automated slab placing and finishing: According to a study automation of both placing and finishing would require a minimum annual work volume of 144321 m2 of pavement in order to be more economical than the conventional manual process. Thus the capital cost of the initial investment prevents smaller paving contractors from considering automation. In general, Automation is a high investment proposal. The first cost of equipment is high. The cost of machine may range from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 3 crore. Machine maintenance is also high. Automaton needs training the operating personnel. Also, in project construction, the contractor needs several machines. There may be several sites or at one site many machines may be required. The machines have to be compatible. A fast excavator with a slow debris-removing machine is a bad idea. So, automation in construction is a high investment. Due to the high cost, the owner cannot afford to keep the automatic construction machines idle. So that gives rise to another issue and that is there is always a need for the work and use the machines. Advantages and disadvantages of automated construction:

Benefits of Automation: Department of civil engineering S.J.C.E., Mysore

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 quick solutions  saves Labour  repetition of a task with a little extra time  scope for optimization  handles and Maintains large amount of data  eliminates the need for maintaining large no of files  effective maintenance of records Automation is useful for: • Planners who conceive a project and prepare preliminary report • Those who prepare Final Estimates •

Those who tender

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Those who have large number of similar projects

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Those who need to correct designs from time to time and revise estimates

Disadvantages: Automation brings down the Labour force. With less human force the connected issues like residence etc are solved. India is a country with a population of more than a billion. Hence it is very rich in human resources. The reduction in manpower poses a social issue in that the employment of the Labour reduces. But we cannot have both. For faster project progress, automation is required. Concept of automation in India: Department of civil engineering S.J.C.E., Mysore

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Construction is a part of infrastructure, which is essential to promote growth in the economy. India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The scope for Infrastructure industry is enormous, as the Indian Industry has been witnessing a large growth. As the industries tend to cluster around the cities and their suburbs, the local governments are pressed for providing facilities for Housing, Communication, Power, Water supplies and other facilities. Software is one such industry that exploded in the Indian scene, wooed by almost all the states to promote growth and employment in their economies. The states that cannot show infrastructure, for Overseas Industries looking forward at India to set up their facilities, are at the risk of losing them to the neighboring or other states in the country. Even though the concept of automated construction has not picked up in India, there is tremendous scope for the same in the days to come. In the process the Infrastructure industry is pressed to provide quick solutions to meet this demand. But, Infrastructure Industry is plagued by delay right from the conception of a project. Time is one component that influences all the aspects of a Project. If it is minimized, Cost of project can be controlled in a satisfactory manner. This invites automation in the infrastructure industry wherever possible, so that time is minimized and managed to meet the schedules. Planning, Preparation of Project Estimates and Project Reports is one such component of a project. At least 20% of time is spent on Planning and designing of a project. One thing we should keep in mind is that, the Labour costs are very low in India as compared to other countries. Hence in majority of the cases it is better to go for the conventional mode of construction rather than for automated construction, unless the project demands for automated construction.

CONCLUSION: Construction Automation eliminates the need for workers to operate in uncomfortable and hazardous conditions, while concurrently saving time, reducing costs and improving the quality of the work place in the construction industry. It is well known that in spite of the employment of sophisticated machinery and equipment and some recent efforts to improve on-site working conditions, construction sites in general offer some of the worst working conditions existing today. As has already been experienced in other industries, the application of automation and robotics can cut costs, environmental pollution, and dramatically improves safety and quality control to the benefit of living standards in general. There should be a fine balance as to when to go for conventional mode of construction and automated construction. The usage of automation and robotics in construction is limited to very few developed countries like Japan, Australia, and USA e.t.c. Even in these countries with the exception of Japan its application is very low with its usage limited to design, scheduling & planning phases.

Department of civil engineering S.J.C.E., Mysore

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The significant barriers to implementation are cost of buying, cost of updating & maintaining and incompatibility with existing practices and construction operations. These barriers can be overcome through globalization and widening of construction companies’ operating market.

REFERENCES: 1. Jeffrey s. Russell & Raghavan kunigahalli “construction automation” as published in “The civil engineering handbook” by W.F Chen. 2. Tatsuo Arai , Osaka university “Robotics and Automation in Japanese construction industries” 3. Need for Automation in Construction Industry -T.V. Prasada Rao 4. Automation during project construction-By Anil Pandya (Deputy Director and Senior Vice President with Patel Engineering) 5. www.CARL.com

Department of civil engineering S.J.C.E., Mysore