User needs for RFID-cloud construction equipment management system

Abstract

An effective construction equipment management system on construction site is significant to ensure that the equipment is always ready and safe for use. Site productivity is also influenced by the equipment management system effectiveness. To enhance effectiveness, this study takes the opportunity to propose a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-Cloud construction equipment management system. This study was first conducted using questionnaire survey with site staffs of case study. Then, all the respondents were interviewed to study their expression on questionnaire response and their needs for the construction equipment management system. The User Requirement Specifications (URS) and user interface (UI) prototype of the system were then developed based on the user needs by conducting user requirement study. The data collected from questionnaire was analysed by calculation of Relative Importance Index (RII), revealing the importance level of issues. As a result, six out of ten issues were found highly important. Respondents further elaborated that information keeping and tracking plays significant role in ensuring equipment management system effectiveness. It was claimed that proper record keeping can improve work efficiency by reducing time consumption on searching for information. For interview survey, four groups of user needs, which are equipment inventory information, equipment maintenance management, equipment status tracking and the other needs were sorted out using content analysis. The user needs identified were further translated to actionable design inputs in URS and UI of the RFID-cloud system. In URS, there were fourteen system modules designed and described. Cross-functional flowchart was mainly used as a tool to describe the workflow of all modules designed for the system. Meanwhile, UI display the design of the system modules described in the URS. In conclusion, the output of user requirement study contributes to the construction industry by introducing the concept of how equipment management practice on site can be transformed from conventional method to a digital RFID-cloud system.