Using hue, saturation, and value color space for hydraulic excavator idle time analysis

Accurate analyses of equipment idle time are crucial for the efficient utilization of construction equipment in large construction projects. The less idle time the equipment has, the higher productivity it can achieve. However, it is not feasible for field personnel to visually observe the operation of construction equipment all day. An image processing-based methodology is presented in this paper to automatically quantify the idle time of hydraulic excavators. The image color space (hue, saturation, and value), which shows significant advantages over the red, green, and blue color space in identifying and tracing hydraulic excavators, is used as the base for image segmentation and tracing algorithms. The changing centroid coordinates of an excavator in successive images taken at constant time intervals are used as indicators of movement. Experimental results show that the presented methodology has a promising application potential for effective equipment management in construction projects.