Summary: |
Construction projects are characterized by the large amount of data that needs tobe collected, processed, and exchanged among the different project participants.Collection of construction inspection data, in particular, allows field personnel tomonitor project performance with the ultimate goal of improving productivity andlowering costs. Current practices for recording and filing of field inspection dataare mainly paper-based. This manual process using paper forms is a timeconsuming and tedious task. Not only is the clerical expense of this process veryhigh, but also the organization and review of the information commands aninordinate amount of time by a project manager, of which most managers possesvery little.Continuous evolvement and improvements of the Pocket PC and itshardware/software technologies, including more powerful processors, smallerstorage devices, higher quality displays, and wide availability of third partyapplication software, have made it possible for these devices to become stand alonesystems with powerful functional capabilities. Because of their high mobilitycharacteristics due to their small size and light weight, Pocket PCs can be used inthe construction field to perform various tasks including recording of inspectiondata. This paper describes an application for automating the collection process offield inspection data using Pocket PCs. The application allows for recording,processing, and distribution of quality compliance inspection information ofvarious tasks performed in the field. The application is developed usingHandBaseTM database software from DDH Software, Inc. and is implemented usinga Compaq iPAQ H3870 Pocket PC. |