The Construction Group at U of T leads an educational and research agenda for the development, construction, and operation phases of projects in smart cities. Our work contributes new knowledge to advance industry practice and public policy in the domains of project management, construction engineering, and asset management. This spans three main spheres:
Smart Systems
The optimal deployment of robotics, computer vision and IoT (Internet of Things) for safe, efficient, and sustainable on- and off-site construction tasks. We are engaged in the design of robots that can automate work tasks. We are investigating the use of advanced sensors, IoT and drones to support the generation of reliable data; assessment of productivity and work progress; real-time monitoring of workforce safety.
Advanced Software
Data models and semantic representations of construction and asset management knowledge. We investigate how to make BIM (Building Information Models) support context-aware collaborative work and knowledge exchange. We use artificial intelligence to automate the detection of people and equipment and to remotely control smart machinery. We use machine learning to study data quality, detect patterns, and develop insights from structured and unstructured data. We deploy these insights to support business intelligence applications in project management and decision-making during the construction and operation phases of facilities.
Citizen Scientists
We do the above in a manner that does not only aim to consider community needs or even just engage communities in decision-making but, instead, to empower communities to co-create (with professionals) sustainable designs and work plans. The construction site becomes a space for human-machine collaboration. The built asset becomes a platform for knowledge-savvy workforce and citizens to innovate new solutions.
The Construction Group Professors
Daeho Kim
Assistant ProfessorConstruction Management: 3D reconstruction and digital twin of ongoing construction projects
Tamer El-Diraby
ProfessorConstruction Project Management: Informatics and knowledge management (socio-semantic analytics)
Construction accounts for a significant fraction of the Canadian GNP. However, very little industry-driven research is being undertaken relative to other industries. The opportunities for learning and growing in this industry are enormous. Students undertaking courses or research in the field of construction management investigate, research, model and develop methods for improving engineering and management processes in the construction industry. Topics include - but are not limited to infrastructure management, performance diagnostics, intelligent systems and computer applications. In addition, the investigation of attitudes toward site safety and pre-qualification of contractors is considered.
Construction & asset management courses
The group teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses. Our courses cover topics related to project management from the perspective of contractors, owners, consulting engineers and architects and the community at large. In addition to construction project management, the courses cover also the practice of asset management. The courses cover the fundamentals of these two domains as well as advances in technology and business administration. The courses explore these topics at the project level, the company level and the industry level.
Management of Construction: this is a mandatory course for all civil engineering students. It covers the basics of construction project management, including project delivery systems, construction contracts and procurement methods, quantity take-off and cost estimation, project scheduling methods (e.g., critical path method and linear scheduling), and earned value method.