Smart Construction from Head to Toe: A Closed-Loop Lifecycle Management System Based on IoT

The current lifecycle management of construction projects has long been plagued by the dilemma of "lack of information" and "information explosion". This paper aims to develop a closed-loop lifecycle management system that can enable a consistent stream of information for use and reuse of all stakeholders. The framework integrates the state-of-the-art smart construction, construction automation and internet of things (IoT) technologies to help fragmented practitioners access and manage the information via a standardized interface among various applications throughout the whole lifecycle. Within the closed-loop lifecycle management system for IoT-based smart construction, digital technologies such as 3D laser scanner, drone, building information modelling (BIM), augmented reality (AR), Auto-ID, global positioning system (GPS), wireless sensor network (WSN), robotics, mobile digital devices, and web-based applications are used to collect proactive data from different stages. Further, the data are stored, shared, processed, and utilized in one unified platform for all stakeholders to support better decision-making and interaction throughout a project lifecycle. The framework is a guideline of real-time visualized tracking and operation, real-time environment supervision, real-time feedback and alarm, cloud backup, and data analysis demonstration which enable smart construction from head to toe.