Ontology-Based Knowledge Management System for Digital Highway Construction Inspection

Inspection is critical to ensuring the quality of infrastructure construction. In recent years, state highway agencies (SHAs) have been facing the challenge of a shortage of experienced inspectors due to retirements, workforce downsizing, and resignations to take jobs in the private sector. There is a critical need to retain and manage the accumulated construction inspection knowledge (what, when, and how to inspect) and integrate this knowledge into the construction business process. This paper presents an ontological approach to managing inspection knowledge and the development of a risk-based digital inspection system integrated with the construction process. The developed system consists of five knowledge compartments: inspection activities prioritized based on risk; activity-centered pay items; inspection check items; detailed checks that include priority, frequency, object, attribute, and acceptance criteria; and training materials (optional). This risk-based system is designed to align with the construction process by connecting an activity to a pay item and that pay item to a check item, resulting in an automatically generated comprehensive inspection checklist for the activity. The optional training materials are designed to train inspectors in real time on an as-needed basis. Since risk is embedded in every knowledge compartment, this system not only automates and retains the inspection knowledge but also enables SHAs to allocate their limited resources to the most critical items. This system is currently being implemented by the Indiana Department of Transportation as a digital inspection protocol integrated in its e-construction process.