Cyber-physical systems for temporary structure monitoring

•CPS offers potential benefits to temporary structures monitoring.•A CPS-based temporary structures monitoring (TSM) system is designed and developed.•Initial system tests have validated CPS applicability to temporary structures monitoring.•There is scope for further research to build on the developed TSM system.

Information technology-based methods, such as Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), play an important role in industrial transformation and evolution. However, while significant efforts have been made towards CPS application in several other industry sectors, the exploration of CPS benefits and applicability to the construction industry is at the initial stage. While CPS has been identified as a promising solution to address problems in the construction industry, few explorations have been made on CPS application to temporary structures, which have significant safety issues that urgently need to be addressed. With a focus on the enhanced monitoring of temporary structures to prevent potential structural failures, this study proposed a CPS-based temporary structures monitoring (TSM) system that integrates the virtual model of a temporary structure and the physical structure on the construction jobsite. In doing this, the applicability of CPS to temporary structures monitoring is investigated, and end user requirements and system requirements are identified for system design. In addition, a system architecture and a description of the issues surrounding the choice of a system development environment are presented. For better understanding of how the TSM works, aspects of the developed CPS-based TSM are presented with system workflow and simulated examples of the structural monitoring of a scaffolding system. The potential benefits and barriers to CPS implementation in temporary structures, along with future research based on this study, are highlighted.