Using a real-time integrated communication system to monitor the progress and quality of construction works

Site monitoring is an indispensable procedure in construction quality control. It does not only minimize construction defects and human errors but also supports project team members making strategic decisions at critical points throughout the construction stages. This paper presents a cost-effective construction site monitoring system integrating a long-range wireless network, network cameras, and a web-based collaborative platform. The system supports simultaneous user access therefore project team members could view real-time captured images or video of a construction site, discuss and exchange ideas with gadgets such as video conference, text and shared whiteboard at a distance via the Internet. It was carefully configured in order to maintain the reliability under the reactive conditions of the construction sites. The system has been implemented and tested on two construction sites and promising results were obtained.