Sustainable application of hybrid point cloud and BIM method for tracking construction progress

Compared to the past, the complexity of construction-project progress has increased as the size of structures has become larger and taller. This has resulted in many unexpected problems with an increasing frequency of occurrence, such as various uncertainties and risk factors. Recently, research was conducted to solve the problem via integration with data-collection automation tools of construction-project-progress measurement. Most of the methods used spatial sensing technology. Thus, this study performed a review of the representative technologies applied to construction-project-progress data collection and identified the unique characteristics of each technology. The basic principle of the progress proposed in this study is its execution through the point cloud and the attributes of BIM, which were studied in five stages: (1) Acquisition of construction completion data using a point cloud, (2) production of a completed 3D model, (3) interworking of an as-planned BIM model and as-built model, (4) construction progress tracking via overlap of two 3D models, and (5) verification by comparison with actual data. This has confirmed that the technical limitations of the construction progress tracking through the point cloud do not exist, and that a fairly high degree of progress data which contains efficiency and accuracy can be collected.