Towards a Digital Twin System Design Based on a User-Centered Approach to Improve Quality Control on Construction Sites

Abstract

The traditional quality control on construction site relies mostly on visual inspections and daily or weekly reports generated based on those inspections. This traditional practice relies heavily on the inspectors’ personal judgement, detailed knowledge of the project, observation, and experience, resulting in a high probability of incomplete and inaccurate reports. Over the past few years, the architecture, engineering, and construction industry (AEC) recognized the urgent need for fast and accurate control of construction quality to increase productivity and optimize construction costs by avoiding the rework of deficiencies. Digital tools, including the BIM model and the digital twin of the construction site, will improve productivity and should help to bring down the costs of non-quality. But they require detailed knowledge of digital practices and existing processes in construction, which is the mandatory condition for the construction industry to embrace new technologies through rationalizing its production processes. An “end user” approach needs to be led with on-site workers to understand the issues they face and how they currently work to understand better their needs regarding quality monitoring and how the digitalization of associated processes could help. This article focuses on the methodology used to conceive a digital twin for the construction site where construction companies (end users) were put at the heart of the approach. It also drives novel insights on quality control and discuss future directions to improve and automate quality control at construction sites.