Tracking and forecasting performance of earthmoving operations using GPS data

Tracking and forecasting performance of earthmoving operations during construction is a crucial task that requires close monitoring of the equipment involved. Traditionally, monitoring is based on human involvement in data collection. Such monitoring process is labour intensive, expensive, time consuming, and not necessarily accurate. This has been recognized as a challenging task for project managers. This paper presents a new method designed to overcome the previously stated limitations. The proposed method automates site data collection and forecasts time and cost of earthmoving operations at completion and/or at any intermediate time horizon based on data collected using GPS. It utilizes spatial technologies including Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS). GIS is employed to automate data acquisition and to analyse spatial data. GPS is used to automate site data collection in near real time. The GPS data are used to estimate onsite crew productivity and to forecast time and cost. The proposed method utilizes project ratio techniques and earned value and presents a methodology that allows for more accurate forecasting of project time and cost. The developed methodology has been coded in prototype software using object-oriented programming. An example project is analysed to demonstrate the features of the developed method.