Construction quality management based on a collaborative system using BIM and indoor positioning

Quality is one of the most vital aspects of a construction project, and inspection is the most important task in construction quality management. Despite the application of advanced information technologies, the omission of check items and in-efficiency of entering inspection results from paper-based inspection records into computers and collaboration among the construction stakeholders remain to be major problems. This paper proposes an approach to make the process of construction quality management more effective and collaborative by developing a system based on the integrated application of building information modeling (BIM) and indoor positioning technology. First, the system requirements of the collaboration platform are analyzed based on the standards for construction quality inspection in China, the technologies to be used for its implementation are justified, and a process model for the collaboration of multiple stakeholders is established. Next, the system architecture is developed, and the algorithm for generating inspection tasks and the technique for integrating with indoor positioning technology are formulated. Finally, the implementation of a prototype system is presented, and the effectiveness and efficiency of the approach for construction quality management are verified by using the system in an on-site test.