Application of 4D visualization technology for safety management in metro construction

Safety accidents occur frequently in underground metro construction due to its complexity. These accidents cause huge losses because most metro construction is located in the center of very congested cities. Therefore, safety management is a priority in the metro construction industry. This paper proposes an approach for safety management using visualization technology. Safety is integrated with the construction management process throughout the project life cycle. Information from the design phase about construction components and scheduling has been gathered to formulate a 4 dimensional (4D) model. Before construction begins, a rule-based tool analyzes this combined information, automatically detects potentially unsafe activities and conditions and provides instructions for correction. More importantly, actual site monitoring data are continuously compared to the 4D model during the construction process. Therefore, the safety status of related components can be continuously visualized in the system as conditions change and potential safety risks evolve. This paper presents a prototype which was developed and verified with a case study of a real project. The results show that the proposed approach can be a tool of collaboration, virtual analysis and prediction for designers, site project managers, safety engineers and other participants. With real-time safety status visualized, it can detect safety risks before and during the construction process and then provide preventive measures. Thus, timely decisions can be made to avoid accidents. This contributes to the success of safety management in the metro construction industry. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.