Abstract

Despite the progress made in modern project management methods, there is still a lack of appropriate automated tools that support digital integration over the project life cycle. There is considerable demand for fully embracing the latest technological opportunities such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), Internet of Things (IoT), Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), and prefabrication to support that digital transformation in construction. The aim of this study is to develop a set of automated management solutions and related tools to address the issues highlighted above. The thesis is presented as a collection of manuscripts of five peer-reviewed journal articles authored based on the present research. The first development is of a BIM-based method for 3D model visualization of buildings and their non-structural elements and their corresponding seismic risk levels and locations. It supports automated assessment of seismic risk of these elements. The second focuses on the development of a novel data-driven SHM technique to monitor the structural behavior of individual building modules to detect possible damages during their transportation. It consists of two main components, a sensor-based data acquisition (DAQ) and storage module, and an automated data analysis module that uses unsupervised machine learning techniques to identify damages during transportation using onboard captured acceleration data. It can be used to ascertain the safety of delivered modules before their assembly on site. The third accounts for the development of an automated BIM-based framework to facilitate effective data management and representation of sensory components of the SHM tool used in buildings. It allows for visualization of damages in building components based on the interpretation of the captured sensor data. It is designed to facilitate effective visualization capabilities for a rapid and efficient structural condition assessment. The fourth development is designed to dynamically update the thermal comfort data in monitored buildings by integrating their BIM models with captured sensor data. The default range utilized in this development is based on the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard. It is expected to provide a robust and practical tool for data collection, analysis, and visualization to facilitate intelligent monitoring of the thermal condition in buildings and help decision-makers take needed timely data-driven decisions. The fifth and last development is designed to alert IoT companies of malfunctioning of deployed sensors utilizing a BIM platform and a cloud database to process and transfer related actionable information.