Development of innovative visualisation model in road construction

Visualisation models have the potential to improve the management process of construction operations through a better understanding of what is needed to be built and when. In that context and in the drive for innovation in construction management, a framework aimed at the development of visualisation models of ground profiles for construction process has been conceived, designed and developed using road design data, construction site information and a RoadSimm simulator. The sectional quantity of earthwork activity, which is generated by road design data, is the key input to the framework. The RoadSim simulator has been integrated with the framework to determine productivity and required equipment of a road activity where as the construction site information has been integrated to establish precedence relationships of tasks in order to develop a detailed schedule and visualisation models. In this paper, an innovative methodology is presented based on the derivation of a mathematical model for the automatic generation of ground profiles throughout the construction process. The developed models that is defined as Innovative Visualisation Models (IVM) will assist in communicating the construction scheduling information to project managers/planners through visual evaluation of road construction process in order to facilitate a logical schedule development and efficient decision-making process. The paper outlines and discusses the framework and demonstrates a small case study in a road construction project.