A Multidimensional Framework for Unmanned Aerial System

Applications in Construction Project Management

Zhipeng Zhou, A.M.ASCE1; Javier Irizarry, M.ASCE2; and Ying Lu3
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Abstract: Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are becoming prevalent and can be equipped with cameras, sensors, or other intelligent devices
that offer useful information for various nonmilitary applications, such as environmental monitoring, wildlife surveying, aerial photography,
and traffic surveillance. However, a widespread application of the UAS technology has not taken place in the construction industry. One possi-
ble reason is that industrial practitioners may have not been fully informed of its functions and potentials. To let the practitioners and academics
realize the true value of UAS, this study investigated a series of scenarios appropriate for UAS applications within the context of construction
project management. Instead of merely demonstrating these scenarios, this paper aims to explore a multidimensional framework from four
dimensions: lifecycle, managed object, potential role, and stakeholder engagement. As a guideline, this multidimensional framework is condu-
cive to capturing the merit of UAS and functioning effectively in the total lifecycle of a project. The proposed multidimensional framework is
open and nonexhaustive, inspiring an extensive adoption of UAS technology to promote current construction project management practices.
Also, it offers the academics a platform for further exploring the innovative applications of various types of UAS in architectural, engineering,
construction, and facility management (AEC/FM). Finally, four issues (legislation, ethics, product, and insurance) were discussed for better
UAS applications in this domain. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000597. © 2018 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Author keywords: Unmanned aerial system (UAS); Multidimensional framework; Lifecycle; Stakeholder engagement; Construction pro-
ject management.

Introduction and Literature Review products in specified crop areas. An innovative UAS from the com-
pany 3D Robotics wants to bring movie making to the sky (Moseman
Since the emergence of nuclear bombs, unmanned aerial systems 2015). Utilization of the UAS technology for sports broadcasting also
(UAS), also termed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or drones, presents great benefits (Duffey 2015). The audience can have a bird’s
have seized more public imagination than any other weapons. Not eye view of splendid stadiums. Rudol and Doherty (2008) provide a
only can this type of weapon destroy in the process of military tasks, technique that allows detecting humans at a high frame rate on stand-
but it can also build within the context of civil applications. The ard hardware onboard an autonomous UAS in a real-world outdoor
UAS technology has been widely used in various nonmilitary fields, environment using thermal and color imagery. Detected human posi-
such as environmental monitoring (Capolupo et al. 2015), border tions are geolocated, and a map of points of interest can be built. Such
inspection (Rios-Morentin 2011), wildlife surveying (Martin et al. a saliency map can, for example, be used to plan medical supply
2012), imagery and mapping (Bendig et al. 2012), and traffic sur- delivery during a disaster relief effort. To establish an emergency
veillance (Liu et al. 2014b). The reason for the wide use is that an communications system during unforeseen events, such as natural
UAS has the advantages of low cost, fast speed, high maneuverabil- disasters, the use of a team of UAS is proposed as a postdisaster solu-
ity, and high safety in collecting data (Siebert and Teizer 2014). tion and can be used whenever and wherever required (Tuna et al.
UAS are capable of contributing more to certain niche applications 2014). UAS have three strengths over manned aircraft in these appli-
than just gathering data. One such application is the adoption of an cations. They are cheaper and immune to the fatigue of human pilots,
UAS for last-mile delivery in logistics operations (Murray and Chu and they do not put human pilots at risk.
2015). Huang et al. (2009) developed a low-volume spray system As a labor-intensive industry, the construction industry does not
based on a fully autonomous UAS platform to apply crop protection pay enough attention to the development of information and com-
munications technology (ICT), such as UAS, compared to the
1 advanced manufacturing industry and automobile industry. The
Associate Professor, Dept. of Management Science and Engineering,
construction industry mainly uses relatively simple and time-
College of Economics and Management, Nanjing Univ. of Aeronautics
and Astronautics, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211106, China (corresponding author). delayed monitoring systems (Wu et al. 2010; Ding et al. 2012),
E-mail: [email protected] which will lead to information distortion and decision bias during
2
Associate Professor, School of Building Construction, College of the process of construction project management. The deficiency of
Design, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332. E-mail: real-time information has become a major obstacle to further
[email protected] improvement of management performance in the construction sec-
3
Associate Professor, Dept. of Construction Management and Real tor. In contrast to the past, there are increasing complexities in mod-
Estate, College of Civil Engineering, Southeast Univ., Nanjing, Jiangsu ern construction projects with large scales. This requires innovative
210096, China. E-mail: [email protected]
tools and methods for project management. UAS as a type of light-
Note. This manuscript was submitted on June 5, 2017; approved on
October 4, 2017; published online on January 17, 2018. Discussion period weight and versatile devices are also finding novel uses all the time.
open until June 17, 2018; separate discussions must be submitted for indi- Consequently, practitioners and academics have been showing
vidual papers. This paper is part of the Journal of Management in growing interest in utilizing UAS for construction project manage-
Engineering, © ASCE, ISSN 0742-597X. ment in recent years.

© ASCE 04018004-1 J. Manage. Eng.

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 After a literature search and filtering, a total of 31 papers that modeling, aerial construction, etc.), and most of them believe that
focus on the topic of UAS applications in the construction industry the UAS technology has the potential to further management per-
were collected from five databases: the ASCE Library, Emerald, formance. However, the existing knowledge in the field is still frag-
Science Direct, Taylor & Francis, and Web of Science. The earliest mented and scattered, and a widespread application of UAS in the
of the 31 studies used an UAS for monitoring structures and mainte- construction industry has not taken place. A possible reason is the
nance of bridges in 2007 (Metni and Hamel 2007). Relevant studies deficiency of a comprehensive and systematic framework for vari-
before 2012 are rare. Interest increased gradually from 2013 ous UAS applications. As a result, construction practitioners and
onward, and the number of publications peaked at nine in 2014 and academics may not have been fully informed of its functions and
2016. According to the statistical data, more papers are published in potentials. In the face of contemporary modern projects with sub-
conference proceedings than in peer-reviewed journals at present. stantial investment and technological complexity, growing require-
This denotes that most researchers merely start exploring the UAS ments for high productivity and performance have to fall back upon
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applications in construction, and their research results are not advanced technologies. In contrast, there are not enough UAS that
enough to be published in academic journals. More than half of the are completely appropriate for utilization on construction sites. This
studies were conducted in the United States, and the number of per- proposed framework also provides UAS research and development
tinent studies is no more than three in the other eight countries or (R&D) enterprises and manufacturers with the opportunity to fully
regions, including Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Greece, understand the specific requirements from the domain of architec-
Spain, Switzerland, and Taiwan. It is shown that scholars from the tural, engineering, construction, and facility management (AEC/
United States play the leading role in this research area, which has FM) and produce suitable UAS.
not gained global attention yet. There are a wide variety of UAS in terms of price that may be
In most studies, the technology of UAS was adopted to collect categorized into toy-grade, hobby-grade, and industrial-grade. Toy-
information within the dynamic and complex context of construc- grade UAS usually cost less than $100 and are able to keep flying
tion project management. Siebert and Teizer (2014) devised and for several minutes. Some industrial-grade UAS usually cost mil-
evaluated an UAS system to rapidly and autonomously obtain lions of U.S. dollars and can stay aloft for a long time. In considera-
three-dimensional (3D) data for surveying earthwork projects. tion of the value of UAS technology investment by project stake-
Rodriguez-Gonzalvez et al. (2014) used images taken by UAS to holders, UAS from several hundred to thousand U.S. dollars are
reconstruct 3D complex scenarios, and the results indicate that the acceptable for applications in construction (Opfer and Shields
UAS-based platform of image acquisition is a competitive alterna- 2014). These belong to hobby-grade or a low level of industrial-
tive for modeling as-built complex constructions. Considering that grade UAS. Rather than being controlled from a remote location,
an UAS has the advantage in vision-based monitoring of a linear the UAS used in construction are operated over a project within
structure (Rathinam et al. 2008), some researchers tried to explore line-of-site control. Alternatively, if users would like to optimize
corresponding UAS applications in bridge investigation (Metni and the investment in their projects, one possible path is to use a third
Hamel 2007), 3D measurement of unpaved road (Zhang 2012), cur- party who is a qualified UAS service provider. Different types of
tain wall inspection (Liu et al. 2016), rubble mound breakwater UAS service can be customized according to the requirements from
monitoring (González-Jorge et al. 2016), and so on. Irizarry et al. users. The research scope focuses on how to use these UAS for dif-
(2012) utilized a small-scale UAS as an innovation to explore ferent scenarios in the domain of AEC/FM. Instead of merely dem-
potential benefits to safety managers on construction sites. Kim onstrating these scenarios, a multidimensional framework is explored
et al. (2016) conducted a survey to identify the potential factors that from four dimensions (lifecycle, managed object, potential role, and
may influence the performance of UAS-integrated safety manage- stakeholder engagement), which provides a systematic approach to
guiding people to make better use of UAS in the construction indus-
ment on construction sites. A subsequent research estimated the
try. This framework is conducive to capturing the merit of UAS and
applicability of the UAS technology for construction safety inspec-
functioning effectively in the total lifecycle of a project. It is note-
tion through two case studies of residential projects in Brazil (de
worthy that the proposed framework is open and nonexhaustive, and
Melo et al. 2017).
inspires an extensive adoption of UAS technology in promoting con-
There is an increasing class of applications in which the
struction project management practices for the time being. Also, it
robotic technology is adopted for structure assembly and con-
offers academics a platform for further exploring the innovative
struction (Joo et al. 2007). The advent of UAS technology opens
applications of various types of UAS in AEC/FM.
the window for aerial robotic construction (Willmann et al.
2012). Lindsey et al. (2011) are pioneers in developing innovative
construction of cubic structures with a fleet of quadrotor helicop- Methodology
ters. Mirjan et al. (2013) took advantage of the capability of UAS
to reach any point in 3D space, allowing the aerial robots to con- At present, the main value of UAS in the domain of AEC/FM is
struct structures at locations otherwise not available by traditional more or less related to their ability to venture where it is not appro-
construction machines or methods. Considering that knot-tying is priate for humans and heavy machinery. UAS are good at real-time
one of the fundamental tasks in the assembly of tensile structures, information visibility and traceability. Also, they are able to act as
a framework was developed for aerial knot-tying by UAS aerial robots and work with general workers to tackle the aging pop-
(Augugliaro et al. 2015). Another study (Hubbard et al. 2015) ulation in this traditional industry. To let practitioners and academ-
integrated UAS with the technology of radio frequency identifica- ics realize the true value of UAS, this study aimed to investigate a
tion (RFID) for the purpose of tracking different types of con- series of scenarios that are appropriate for UAS applications within
struction materials on site. Herrmann (2016) conducted an over- the context of construction project management. An empirical frame-
view of current and proposed regulations related to UAS work, borrowing thoughts and understandings from other civilian
applications in construction in the United States. industries, is proposed to guide the exploration in the research. In
According to the analysis of previous literature, academics in the civilian industries, researchers are developing various appropriate
domain of construction project management have paid a certain UAS to obtain a better working environment for improving the
amount of attention to UAS applications (e.g., safety inspection, 3D effectiveness of managerial decisions and operational efficiency.

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 The research here focuses on the incapability of construction potential scenarios are explored for UAS applications, such as site
project management and shows how the UAS technology can transportation, security surveillance, aerial construction, and project
help, with a particular emphasis on real-life project management marketing, in the domain of AEC/FM. For easier analysis, the pro-
practices. ject lifecycle is divided into three continuous stages of preconstruc-
Fig. 1 illustrates the main process for this research, which started tion, construction, and postconstruction. Every possible scenario is
with a review of the literature pertinent to the UAS technology in analyzed in detail during the three stages.
terms of its technical specifications and applications in various non-
military industries, including the construction industry. The process
further involved the exploration of potential scenarios for UAS UAS Applications in the Stage of Preconstruction
applications through interviewing project managers, general work-
ers, and experts. Considering a project with a long life span, possi- Project Evaluation
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ble uses of UAS within AEC/FM are identified from a total lifecycle
An UAS is a platform with flexible and economical features to effi-
consisting of preconstruction, construction, and postconstruction of
ciently obtain spatial information on objects of interest (Liu et al.
a project. In each potential application, opportunities are explored,
2014a). In contrast to information gained through traditional aerial
scenarios are presented, and challenges are analyzed. The dimen-
or satellite platforms, UAS-gained still images or videos have better
sion of managed objects is pertinent to machinery, material, man-
resolution in both temporal and spatial dimensions (Turner et al.
power, workplace and its surroundings, and project entity.
2014). In the process of project initiation, surveyors or sponsors can
According to the potential roles that UAS may play in the tasks of
adopt UAS to implement aerial inspections to evaluate and deter-
AEC/FM, UAS applications are classified into two types: an UAS
mine the feasibility of a project. This application is particularly
acting as a tool for data collection, and an UAS acting as a flying
practical in urban areas (Fig. 2), where space is usually tight and
microrobot for operational tasks. After the stakeholder engagement
limited. Spatial photographs can be captured and measured against
analysis, a multidimensional framework of UAS applications in
tools, such as geographic information systems (GIS), to estimate
construction project management is proposed. A comparison
site dimensions, height restrictions, and access paths. Using UAS
between UAS and conventional tools or methods is conducted to
for this task will save time, costs, and other resources for organiza-
obtain strengths and weaknesses for each scenario. Finally, issues
tions or project managers. Useful spatial and attribute data are gath-
such as legal, private, product, and insurance issued are discussed
ered much more cheaply and quickly than ever before, so that pro-
for better applying UAS in construction.
ject sponsors and investors will obtain benefit from better decision
making on the basis of the more accurate data.
Exploring UAS Applications in AEC/FM from Four
Dimensions: Lifecycle Dimension Site Planning
Management practices exist that are not figured out well for the
Every project has a definite beginning and an end, and runs through effective planning and scheduling of all construction site activities
several stages of development known as the project lifecycle (PMI or tasks (Arkady and Aviad 1999). It is known that the combination
2013). A clear comprehension of these stages is conducive to moni- of site activities with detail planning and scheduling of a project
toring and controlling a project through its total lifecycle. Hence, requires clear spatial analyses as references (Wen and Kang 2014).
lifecycle is selected as the first dimension from which a variety of Considering that regular methods of site interviewing and layout
drawing are not good at demonstrating a visualized experience, an
Literature review Site interview
UAS allows project managers to see physically or virtually, offering
an opportunity for visualizing site layout, planning, and organiza-
UAS applications in Pre-construction stage
the life cycle Construction stage
tion prior to construction. For example, an ideal logistics plan may
dimension Post-construction stage be developed and proposed based on the aerial information on

Machinery
Material
Managed object
Manpower
dimension
Workplace and surroundings
Project entity

Potential role Data collection

dimension Conducting operational tasks

Leading role
Stakeholder Supportive role
engagement Neutral role
dimension Unaware role
Resistant role

A A comparison Several issues:

multidimensional of strengths legal, ethical,
framework & weaknesses product, insurance

Fig. 1. Main process for this research Fig. 2. Applying an UAS to project evaluation in an urban area

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 surface features and artificial features at the site or its surroundings. communication tool would be extremely beneficial in that it would
Furthermore, an UAS is appropriate for acquiring accurate informa- enable them to be present at any time in all different areas of the
tion on water source, electricity source, and related pipelines, which construction jobsite and provide the workers with real-time feed-
contributes to effective water and electricity planning at the site. back. As a result, misunderstanding and cost associated with poor
communications from the site will be avoided.
UAS Applications in the Stage of Construction
Security Surveillance

Earth Moving Security surveillance on site will be one of the main benefits of
UAS technology in the construction industry. UAS have all-access
As an assistant tool, an UAS can be programmed to fly over a con- mobility and are less expensive, in contrast to manual patrol,
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struction site requiring earth moving, and send images to computers closed-circuit television (CCTV), or other static video cameras that
to automatically build 3D models of its terrain (Siebert and Teizer are regularly used on construction sites for the time being. UAS
2014). An unmanned excavator with autonomous intelligent machine with an enduring battery life are able to provide continuous surveil-
control units will use the built 3D model to carry out the design plan, lance from a unique viewpoint. Security firms can use them at
dig holes, and move earth. As the machine digs holes and levels night to protect against theft and trespassing, especially for large
land, onboard sensors embedded in the excavator start to collect the construction sites. Acting as the eye in the sky for ground teams,
data on how the site layout is changing. The processes of designing a an UAS can complement existing solutions to site security.
plan, digging holes, and moving earth are repeated again and again. Surveillance UAS are able to alert officials of motion detection.
Without interrupting any operations, this approach of integrating an Perhaps the most prominent role of a patrolling UAS is a highly
UAS and an unmanned excavator with autonomous intelligent visible theft deterrent.
machine control units is more precise, productive, and economical
compared to existing methods for earthwork. After the completion Site Transportation
of site earthwork, an UAS can fly over again to obtain site images of
postearthwork to check the consistency between earthwork design On construction sites, exporting or importing materials to and from
and construction. Fig. 3 demonstrates the application of UAS tech- different locations by transportation machinery between workers,
nology in earth moving. As a Japanese construction machinery man- or simply transporting materials to certain locations is unavoidable.
ufacturer, Komatsu is cooperating with American startup Skycatch Transportation machines are usually bulky, move slow, and require
to invent an UAS-based excavator for automatic earthwork excava- multiple people to load and drive together. Compared to bulky
tion for specific elevations (Nicas 2015). vehicles, small and maneuverable UAS are an ideal means of assist-
ing in site transportation. One worker to load materials onto the
UAS and one worker to operate the UAS are all that it takes to make
Site Communication
multiple deliveries to any location on site. Whereas most UAS can
Timely and effective communication between site workers and typically carry up to 2.268 kg (5 lbs), other models have the poten-
managerial staff is significant for promoting project management tial to carry more weight, making it a potential medium of transport-
performance (Zhou and Mi 2017). On the construction site, there ing small but important equipment and tools. Furthermore, because
are many steel frames or structures that may lead to a decline of these air vehicles are not restrained by physical walls or streets, they
wireless communication signals. As for a project under construc- technically have no boundaries, making delivery time much more
tion, corresponding signal amplifiers are usually installed after the efficient and faster than conventional vehicles that have to operate
completion of the main structure. Individual cellphones of site within the scope of traffic guidelines. The possibilities that UAS
workers are often without signals, and site communication perform- transportation opens up are limitless (Opfer and Shields 2014),
ance is poor. UAS can be deployed as the instant medium for com- especially when dealing with difficult terrains and hard-to-reach
munication on construction sites. Through video and voice trans- locations on a site. For example, a worker performing tasks on a
mitters equipped with an UAS, project managers will be able to crane tower would like to use a small hand tool. In this case, the
directly interact with site workers. Providing managers with this worker may not have a hand line. An UAS can be controlled by a

Fig. 3. Applying an UAS to earth moving

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 ground worker to bring him this small item on a lanyard (Fig. 4), with dynamics and complications require continual site monitoring.
thereby allowing the worker to continuously work without climbing Using the regular method, project managers or supervisors need to
down and up to fetch the tool. walk and inspect from one place to another, and climb from the
ground to the roof. This manual way is time-consuming and ineffec-
Safety Management tive. UAS can help site staff effectively monitor all phases of con-
struction activities, as this technology conquers accessibility limita-
Persistent endeavors have been undertaken to promote safety per- tions of people on site. The new downtown stadium project for the
formance, but ceaseless accidents still plague the construction Sacramento Kings in California was monitored by UAS and software
industry. The industry is still regarded as one of the most dangerous that automatically flagged slow construction progress in time (Knight
industries at present (Perttula et al. 2006; Pinto et al. 2011). Safety 2015). An UAS provides a global view of a construction site, which is
management at construction sites usually involves safety planning much more helpful than local views from people who would like to
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and safety training of workers prior to construction tasks and safety obtain a clear perspective of the whole project (Liu et al. 2014a). A
inspection during construction. Safety inspection requires that global view of a construction site allows managers or supervisors to
safety managers or officers continually monitor the whole jobsite to be more informed about project process and quality. With the accu-
discover unsafe behaviors of workers and hazardous conditions of rate and detailed imagery transmitted by small UAS, plans can be
materials or machines, and correct them in time. The manual compared with actual construction, and each aspect of construction
approach is restrained if there are not enough safety officers respon- and assembly can be inspected for quality and schedule control.
sible for a large jobsite. Hence safety officers cannot respond to Furthermore, people can configure and program specific routes so
unsafe behaviors and hazardous conditions in real time. In contrast, that UAS travel through critical and hard-to-reach waypoints.
some specific locations themselves on site are not safe for site staff
to approach. With the help of UAS, the mentioned problems can be
Lighting Management
solved. UAS can collect real-time data on safety violations or haz-
ardous situations that might have a negative impact during the con- Construction workers can be called upon to work in virtually any
struction process. Meanwhile, safety officers can use UAS as a type environment under the sun, and they are usually working against
of intermedium tool for remote interactions with site workers, who the clock. Because of building sites with long hours, proper con-
can obtain real-time feedback. These data, including site videos, struction lighting is a necessity to ensure the safety and health of
images, and feedback, can be stored as useful knowledge for future laborers and to stay on schedule. Lighting and light pollution at
site safety planning or safety training of laborers. On the basis of night is a key concern for construction sites. UAS can be deployed
usability assessment, it is estimated that a safety manager’s effi- at night to monitor illumination on site, ensuring it is even and not
ciency using the UAS technology on site can be increased by 50% spilling past set boundaries unnecessarily. Even with careful plan-
(Harris 2015; Irizarry et al. 2012). One of the biggest contractors in ning, there can be a variance between what is expected and what
Florida uses UAS to improve safety performance before construc- happens, so the UAS technology can help manage and rectify this,
tion laborers set foot in the jobsite (Goodman 2017). conquering the disadvantages from existing tools, such as incandes-
cent lamps, fluorescent lamps, and portable lighting equipment.
Construction Monitoring
Dust Monitoring
On a large construction site, hundreds of workers and pieces of con-
struction machines usually coordinate to implement construction Many construction tasks produce dust. Not just a nuisance, construc-
activities within a limited space. The characteristics of construction tion dust is one of the most significant threats to the occupational

Fig. 4. Applying an UAS to site transportation

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 health of site workers. Although dust control measures for construc- traditional methods, such as hanging from ropes, for bridge inspec-
tion activities are required a implementation on site, such as minimi- tion. Another example is for roofing inspection. Roofs, such as
zation of soil disturbance, water spraying, and surface roughening, those with slate or clay tile, are problematic to walk on or requiring
some construction sites do not completely abide by these regulations additional ladder work. In addition, there are safety considerations
or requirements due to the incremental cost from implementing dust with steep-slope roofs. Using UAS technology yields both safety
control measures. In this case, the Environmental Protection Agency benefits and time savings in roofing inspection and estimation work
can use an appropriate UAS to fly over the site where a lot of dust is (Opfer and Shields 2014). It will decrease the massive time that
being produced and corresponding regulations are violated. Real- workers spend on roofs, decrease the possibility of assessment mis-
time photos or videos can be taken by UAS as effective evidences, takes, and streamline the procedures for roof maintenance.
which are helpful for the Environmental Protection Agency to deal
with the dust issue according to relevant laws or regulations. This Energy Analysis
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application of UAS can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of

administrative enforcement. Equipped with thermographic cameras, an UAS can be used to iden-
tify roof leaks or electrical hot spots on transformer installations that
are not ground-visible. Aerial and inventory building data collected
Aerial Construction
by UAS combine with image-processing software to visualize
In contrast to conventional construction machines, UAS are energy losses across entire building neighborhoods. The data are
regarded as aerial robots with a number of strengths. Specifically, then displayed as thermal maps, making it easier to determine which
they have the ability to reach any point in space and fly in and buildings need renovating to be made more efficient in energy use.
around existing objects. Guided by mathematical algorithms, a fleet The Aspern Vienna Urban Lakeside project in Europe is a tentative
of UAS can create a high building together without erecting scaf- example of using UAS technology to promote standards for energy
folds, using cranes or other large machines. An UAS-built sky- efficiency and environmental balance (Gallagher 2017).
scraper is appropriate for innovative architectural forms that are not
possible due to the limitations of traditional construction methods, Marketing Tool
materials, and machines. This pursuit is multidisciplinary, requiring
the development of nonstandard material systems, advanced digital Salesmen usually want to explore new emerging technology to ex-
design and construction processes, and adaptive strategies for con- hibit their projects to potential buyers. Some real estate companies
trolling the aerial robots as they interact with their environment and are trying their best to incorporate aerial photography into their mar-
cooperate in the assembly task. According to the typical study from keting. An overview of a project from the air can provide a unique
the Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control at ETH Zurich, a scene that otherwise would not be achievable from a ground view.
6-m-tall tower consisting of 1,500 foam blocks was assembled by Designed for real estate selling or renting, UAS provide potential
four small robotic UAS, which were guided by preprogrammed pa- buyers or renters with a precise 3D model of buildings and sur-
rameters and were operated semiautonomously. This tower is a rounding areas. Assisted by the technology of virtual reality (VR),
model for a future habitat more than 600 m tall and housing 30,000 potential buyers or renters can also perceive the inner scenario of a
inhabitants (Stamp 2013). building, even a room in an apartment.

Postdisaster Reconnaissance
UAS Applications in the Stage of Postconstruction
Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and landslides,
often occur, unavoidably leading to the damage of adjacent build-
Simple Item Manipulation ings or infrastructures. Timely reconnaissance is critical for rescu-
After construction, a project goes into the stage of operation. In this ing people in or around the adjacent buildings. Conventionally, the
stage, minor maintenance, repair, or alteration is unavoidable for a reconnaissance is performed by humans and is very labor-intensive.
building or infrastructure project. UAS could be miniaturized as The area where a natural disaster happens is often difficult for
inexpensive and disposable robotics that are able to do simple item humans to reach. With proper planning and coordination, the tasks
manipulation in difficult-to-reach or high-risk spaces, such as fa- of postdisaster reconnaissance can be carried out more efficiently
cade cleaning of a skyscraper and corrosion pinpointing of a dam via the application of UAS technology equipped with other intelli-
slope. gence devices. UAS allow for estimation of structures, buildings, or
infrastructures that have already been damaged and are dangerous
for relief engineers and workers. Rescuing, cleaning, rehabilitation,
Inspection Tool
and retrofitting also benefit from this powerful technology. After
Compared to the electrical measuring method, the technology of the 9-magnitude earthquake striking the northeast coast of Japan on
digital photogrammetry based on an UAS has the advantage of ac- March 11, 2011, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
curacy of measuring minor deformation. UAS provide an approach tested UAS that measure and calculate radiation emission from the
for deformation monitoring of a large infrastructure. UAS can be nuclear power plant of Fukushima Daiichi. These UAS are able to
used to reach locations that are inaccessible, or that would normally fly lower than manned aircraft and exclude the potential for pilot
require additional equipment to reach a specific point. This could be irradiation (Pamintuan-Lamorena 2014).
adopted to inspect aging bridges and other structures that have been
built over large areas of fast-flowing water (Metni and Hamel Managed Object Dimension
2007). The Delaware River & Bay Authority (DRBA 2016) con- In construction practice, good project management ought to vigo-
ducted a trial on the utilization of UAS (Inspire Pro 1 and Maverik rously pursue the efficient utilization of manpower, machinery, and
X8, Shenzhen, China) to inspect the New Jersey side of the material (Hendrickson and Au 2000; Mao and Tuo 2011).
Delaware Memorial Bridge with less time, higher quality, and sig- Construction work is usually labor-intensive. Improvement of man-
nificantly decreased lane closure requirements, in contrast to power productivity should be a main concern of the stakeholders

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 who are in charge of the success of a project. Various types of mate- to provide real-time reconnaissance and surveillance for construction
rials are basic units in a project entity. Material management is a jobsites in the form of high-definition (HD) videos, still images, and
significant element in construction project planning and controlling. light detection and ranging (LIDAR). UAS have the capability to
Poor performance of material management may bring about incre- offer unprecedented photos of a construction project site, which are
mental cost. Machinery is indispensable and helps laborers conduct much more accurate and realistic than conventional aerial photo-
construction activities. Using advanced machines or tools can graphs. Traditionally, aerial footage would have to be captured from a
ensure project quality and improve construction efficiency. It is manned helicopter or light aircraft, and the fuel cost alone makes the
stated that almost 70% of the cost is directly related to manpower, UAS technology a much more viable and economical option.
material, and machinery in a construction project (Patrascu 1988). An aging population and a shrinking workforce are being or will
The construction environment inclusive of workplace and its be faced by most industries around the world. As for the construc-
surroundings cannot be ignored in the process of project manage- tion industry, with the characteristic of labor-intensive, this trend is
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ment. In contrast to other industries, standards of housekeeping and growing much worse. This can be attributed to hard working condi-
workplace layout are lacking in the construction industry. Most tions and high frequency of accidents in the process of carrying out
notably, poor housekeeping and problems with site layout and space construction tasks. The issue of an aging workforce has driven the
constraints are regarded as contributing to low performance of pro- labor-intensive industry to turn to new emerging technology to help
ject management. In addition, some potential UAS applications, construct various projects of the future. The UAS technology has
such as aerial construction, analyzed in the previous sections, focus the advantage of doing operational work in unstructured environ-
on the entity of a construction project. Therefore, scenarios for UAS ments. Miniaturized as inexpensive and disposable aerial microro-
applications are explored in the dimension of managed objects per- bots, UAS are able to conduct construction tasks that are not appro-
tinent to machinery, material, manpower, workplace and its sur- priate for workers to do in hard working environments with high
roundings, and project entity. safety risks. Furthermore, UAS-aided construction has the benefit
Table 1 shows the detailed analysis of 16 potential scenarios of of cost savings, as it is not necessary to erect scaffolds, temporary
UAS applications in five perspectives of management. The letter Y ladders, or other structures for conventional construction tasks.
indicates what objects in project management are involved in one
particular application of the UAS technology. Otherwise, the letter Stakeholder Engagement Dimension
N is filled in. For example, the UAS application in the scenario of Considering that various stakeholders are a major source of uncer-
lighting management aims to keep a balance between effective tainty in project management, it is significant to analyze the impact
lighting on a worksite and lighting pollution to the surroundings. of these different stakeholders on UAS applications in the context
Therefore, this particular application of UAS technology mainly of AEC/FM. In accordance with the Project Management Institute
focuses on the perspective of workplace and the surroundings. (PMI), a project stakeholder is defined as an individual, group, or
organization who may affect, be affected by, or perceive itself to be
Potential Role Dimension affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of a project (PMI 2013).
Many potential roles or functions of UAS have been formulated by Project stakeholders should be identified early after obtaining the
academia and industry in the domain of AEC/FM. For easier discus- charter of a project. Identification of the project stakeholders refers
sion, these roles that UAS play can be categorized into two main to the process of determining all people or organizations impacted
types. The first type aims to adopt the UAS technology to collect by the project, and documenting relevant information regarding
data or information from construction jobsites and their surround- their interests, involvement, and impact on the success of a project.
ings. The other aims to use an UAS as a flying microrobot to per- The applications of UAS in the AEC/FM domain involve a wide
form operational tasks at jobsites. variety of stakeholders, such as project manager, project manage-
The high mobility of UAS has created potential possibilities in ment team, main contractor, subcontractor, consultant, designer,
terms of data acquisition. As a tool for data collection, an UAS is able employee, end user, financial institution, government, sponsor,

Table 1. Analysis of UAS Applications in Dimension of Managed Objects

Management dimension
Scenarios for UAS applications Machinery Material Manpower Workplace and its surroundings Project entity
Project evaluation N N N Y Y
Site planning Y Y Y Y N
Earth moving Y N N N N
Site communication N N Y N N
Security surveillance N N N Y N
Site transportation Y Y N N N
Safety management Y Y Y N N
Construction monitoring Y Y Y Y Y
Lighting management N N N Y N
Dust monitoring N N N Y N
Aerial construction N N N N Y
Simple item manipulation N N N N Y
Inspection tool N N N N Y
Energy analysis N N N N Y
Marketing tool N N N Y Y
Postdisaster reconnaissance Y N N Y Y

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 investor, operator, owner, supplier, general public, local commu- stages of construction and postconstruction. The UAS applications
nity, mass media, and so on. These stakeholders can exert distinc- in the postconstruction stage pay more attention to the workplace
tive influences on UAS applications, and the effect of UAS applica- and its surroundings and the project entity, whereas the UAS appli-
tions on various stakeholders is heterogeneous. Therefore, these cations are more diversified in the construction stage. All five
stakeholders should be analyzed and effectively managed with the aspects in the managed object dimension are involved.
outlook of minimizing the negative impacts, so that there will be no As depicted in Fig. 5, there are eight scenarios in which an UAS
obstacles in the way of successful UAS applications in construction is adopted as a convenient, productive, and less expensive tool for
project management. data collection. In another five scenarios, UAS are used as flexible
In the 16 potential scenarios for UAS applications explored in flying robots to conduct operational tasks. Some of the tasks, such
the previous section, stakeholders engaged in each scenario vary. It as aerial construction and simple item manipulation, act on the en-
is indispensable to identify these stakeholders and determine their tity of a project. Some other operational tasks, such as auxiliary
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corresponding roles played in every UAS application. Many studies work, utilize the UAS technology as communication media, trans-
have focused on stakeholder analysis and engagement from various portation vehicles, and lighting tools from the air, which are able to
aspects in the area of project management. As early as 1986, conquer the limitations from traditional equipment on the ground.
Cleland (1986) interpreted project stakeholders, such as project There are three other scenarios (security surveillance, safety man-
manager, functional managers, government agencies, and creditors, agement, and marketing tool) in which UAS are deployed as inte-
and proposed a strategy for evaluating the influence of external grated roles for both gathering data and performing operational
stakeholders. In light of the criteria of can effect and affected by work at a jobsite.
(Freeman 1984), Henriques and Sadorsky (1999) grouped stake- The sequence of symbols representing stakeholders in each
holders into regulatory, community, organization, and media. In a UAS application scenario in Fig. 5 follows the roles of leading, sup-
study focusing on megaproject social responsibility, a 3D frame- portive, neutral, unaware, and resistant. As a project moves forward
work was explored to categorize megaproject stakeholders into a during its lifecycle, its stakeholder community may change, and the
direct-internal-contractual group and indirect-external-public group levels of interest of all stakeholders will vary. Accordingly, the
(Zeng et al. 2015). UAS applications in different stages refer to different stakeholders.
As for UAS applications in a construction project, it is necessary Project manager, project management team, and main contractor
to know not only who the stakeholders are, but also their interests usually act as leaders or supportive roles in the UAS applications in
and authority. These factors determine the stakeholders’ roles in the preconstruction and construction stages of a project. The UAS
potential applications of UAS together. Borrowing the idea from application in the scenario of dust monitoring is the only exception.
the stakeholder engagement level in the project management body In this scenario, government plays a leading role and is often sup-
of knowledge (PMBOK) (PMI 2013), five types of roles, including ported by the general public, local community, employee, and mass
leading role, supportive role, neutral role, unaware role, and resist- media. Project manager, project management team, and main con-
ant role, are considered for stakeholder classification in UAS appli- tractor are regarded as resistant roles and would not like to conduct
cations. Acting as leading roles, stakeholders in these roles clearly this application due to the increasing cost from dust monitoring.
know about the usability of UAS in a certain scenario. They use During the postconstruction stage, operator, owner, and end user
UAS in a proactive way and try their best to make the UAS applica- become main stakeholders for various UAS applications.
tion a success. Supportive roles are aware of the UAS applications Here, an example is adopted to demonstrate how to apply this
and are in favor of what the UAS applications will bring. Similar to four-dimensional framework in detail. In a high-rise building pro-
supporters, neutral roles are also aware of the UAS applications in ject, the safety risk of fall from height (FFH) is relatively big. It is
construction project management. However, their attitudes are nei- time-consuming and tiresome for managerial staff to climb up and
ther supportive nor resistant. Leaders do not want them to become down to monitor FFH risks in the construction building, which may
resistant to the UAS applications. As unaware roles, they do not
be several hundred meters high. In this scenario, the project man-
really understand the usability of UAS and what the potential
agement team, especially the safety manager, is motivated to resort
impacts are on project performance through using UAS technology
to new emerging ICTs, such as UAS technology. Then, the pro-
on site. The goal for this type of role is to make them realize the im-
posed four-dimensional framework is capable of acting as a guide
portance of UAS applications. Resistant stakeholders are main
to help develop a particular program in which UAS are adopted for
obstacles to successful application of UAS in construction project
FFH risk inspection and prevention. According to the lifecycle
management. They know about the UAS applications, but are not in
dimension, this potential application belongs to the domain of
favor of them. Resistant roles do not like what the UAS applications
safety management in the construction stage.
represent or the changes they may bring about. Trying to bring this
Although there is merely a general idea on UAS-assisted safety
type of role into a relative neutral position is one of the main tasks
management in the framework, four dimensions are provided for
of leading and supportive roles. Table 2 illustrates the five types of
practitioners to consider how to utilize UAS to investigate FFH
stakeholders’ roles in each scenario of UAS applications in con-
risks. Because of its particular application of UAS technology in
struction project management.
safety management in the construction stage, it is not necessary to
consider other potential applications in the total lifecycle. According
Discussion to the framework, three managed objects of machinery, material,
and manpower are involved in UAS-based FFH risk inspection. A
flight path ought to be preprogrammed and optimized to cover a full
Multidimensional Framework
construction site layout due to the limitation of energy capacity of an
To sum up, the proposed framework for UAS applications within UAS. This scheduled flying route often contains critical and hard-to-
the context of project management has four dimensions: lifecycle, reach waypoints, such as slab formwork, scaffold, ladder, roof,
managed object, potential role, and stakeholder engagement. Fig. 5 inclined surface, opening hole or side, elevated platform, and aerial
displays this four-dimensional framework as a whole. In contrast to lift. When workers implement tasks in these scenarios, the risk of
the preconstruction stage, there are more UAS applications in the FFH is a bit higher. Real-time images or videos from UAS will be

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Table 2. Stakeholders’ Roles in Scenarios for UAS Applications

Roles of stakeholders
Scenarios for UAS

© ASCE
applications Leading Supportive Neutral Unaware Resistant
Project evaluation Project manager, project Investor, financial institution Mass media Government Local community
management team,
sponsor,
Site planning Main contractor Project manager, project manage- Employee, subcontractor — —
ment team
Earth moving Main contractor, Project manager, project manage- Employee, consultant Supplier Designer
subcontractor ment team
Site communication Project manager, project Main contractor, subcontractor — — Employee
management team
Security surveillance Project manager, project Main contractor, subcontractor Employee General public, government Local community
management team
Site transportation Project manager, project Main contractor, subcontractor Employee Supplier —
management team
Safety management Project manager, project Main contractor, subcontractor Employee, government — —
management team
Construction monitoring Project manager, project Main contractor, subcontractor, End user, operator, owner, supplier Government, mass media —
management team sponsor, investor
Lighting management Project manager, project Main contractor, subcontractor, Local community Government —
management team employee
Dust monitoring Government General public, local community, — — Project manager, project
mass media, employee management team, main

04018004-9
contractor
Aerial construction Project manager, project Main contractor, subcontractor Employee Designer, supplier —
management team
Simple-item manipulation Operator End user, owner Local community — —

J. Manage. Eng., 2018, 34(3): 04018004

Inspection tool Operator End user, owner Local community Government —
Energy analysis Operator Government End user, owner General public, local —
community
Marketing tool Operator Owner, investor, financial — Government —
institution
Postdisaster reconnaissance Operator End user, owner, government Local community General public, designer —

J. Manage. Eng.
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Fig. 5. Synthetic diagram for multidimensional framework

transmitted by telecommunication technology to portable terminals

inclusive of a pilot controller, smart phone, tablet, and computer. A
wireless local area network (WLAN) system can be adopted to dis-
tribute the real-time data to multiple users simultaneously for a
higher efficiency of FFH risk inspection. The safety manager or offi-
cers are able to utilize the real-time images or videos to check
whether there are violations on work-at-height-related rules. For
example, fall-prevention systems on site are not well installed, such
as broken safety net, loose anchor system, and improper horizontal
lifeline. Different types of individual personal protective equipment
(PPE), such as vertical lifeline, full-body harness, and some connect-
ing devices, may not be used correctly.
As mentioned in the framework, the UAS technology can con-
tribute more than merely collecting static images and dynamic vid-
eos. An UAS has the potential capability of transporting some mate-
rials or tools to workers who are working at height. Regarding the
same example of a high-rise building project, two workers in a gon- Fig. 6. Curtain wall installation for a high-rise building project
dola are installing glass curtain walls (Fig. 6), assisted by an aerial
lift that moves glass curtain walls to appropriate positions. During
this task process, there is a possibility that the number of nails is not be aware of the UAS application for FFH risk prevention, but most
enough for curtain wall installation. In this situation, an UAS can be of them have the neutral attitudes. The reason is that they are more
considered to deliver the type of nails to the gondola in time, to concerned with work performance than safety risk. It is necessary
avoid the movement of people working at height. This application for the safety manager, as the leading role, to ensure that the produc-
also reduces the risk of FFH. tivity of site workers will not decrease in the implementation of this
In this particular program using the UAS technology for FFH program. The better result is improving work performance and
risk inspection and prevention, the safety manager and other staff in reducing FFH risk simultaneously. In this case, most of the site
the project management team have the highest level of stakeholder workers will transform from neutral roles to become supportive to
engagement. As the leading role, they know how to utilize an UAS the program.
in this situation and are in charge of the success of the particular Noteworthy is the fact that this four-dimensional framework is a
UAS-assisted program. Other stakeholders, such as the project pathfinder, and the explored scenarios for UAS applications in the
manager, main contractor, subcontractors, and suppliers of PPEs or lifecycle of a construction project are not exhaustive and complete
UAS, clearly understand the goals, benefits, and risks of the pro- for the time being. Because the research and practice concerning
gram. This enables them to be active supporters and to help guide construction project management and UAS technology are mani-
activities and decisions in this UAS application. Site workers may fold and dynamically developing, more potential UAS applications

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 Table 3. Comparison of Strengths and Weaknesses between UAS and Conventional Tools or Methods

Scenarios for UAS

applications Conventional tools or methods Strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) of UAS applications
Project evaluation Traditional aerial photogrammetry, S: low cost; high efficiency; provision of a global view.
manual investigation on site W: the quality of data transmission from an UAS is affected by telecommunication
technology; delayed data processing weakens the advantage of data acquisition with
high efficiency.
Site planning Site interview, manual layout S: site layout visualization; construction activity simulation prior to real
construction.
W: the application requires integrating the technology of UAS, VR, augmented real-
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ity (AR), and building information modeling, which will result in increased cost and
poor information interoperability.
Earth moving Robotic total station, traditional S: high productivity; high precision of earth volumetric calculation.
excavator W: short battery life limits flight duration; close cooperation between an excavator
and an UAS may cause collisions.
Site communication Face to face, walkie-talkie, cellphone S: high efficiency; avoidance of misunderstanding.
W: the application may distract site workers from their work, leading to safety
issues or productivity reduction.
Security surveillance Manual patrol, CCTV S: warning effects; low cost; high efficiency.
W: short battery life limits flight duration; this application may cause noisy issue at
night.
Site transportation Transportation machine, manual S: all-access mobility; fast transportation; high maneuverability.
transportation W: the application may cause safety issues due to flight close to workers or other objects;
the application is not applicable to large tool transportation due to weight limitation.
Safety management Safety planning, manual safety S: all-access mobility; improvement of safety manager’s performance; safety
inspection, safety training knowledge storage and sharing.
W: the application may cause other safety issues due to flight close to workers; the
application may distract site workers from their work, leading to other safety issues.
Construction monitoring Manual monitoring, CCTV, project S: all-access mobility; improvement of project manager’s performance; project pro-
status meeting cess visualization.
W: the application may distract site workers from their work, leading to safety
issues or productivity reduction.
Lighting management Incandescent lamp, fluorescent lamp, S: avoidance of light spilling at night. W: short battery life limits flight duration;
portable lighting equipment high cost.
Dust monitoring Site visit, taking photos or videos S: fast response; provision of timely evidences; facilitating law enforcement. W:
from ordinary tools high cost.
Aerial construction Manual approach, traditional S: all-access mobility; reducing FFH risk of workers; high efficiency, especially for
machine complicated structures.
W: this application may result in re-engineering of construction process, and
requires technical innovations, such as construction materials, digital design, and
collaboration among multiple UAS.
Simple item manipulation Manual approach S: high maneuverability; high safety.
W: this application is limited to deterministic and simple tasks; high cost.
Inspection tool Manual inspection, traditional tool S: low cost; high efficiency; high safety.
W: short battery life limits flight duration; the quality of photos or videos transmit-
ted from an UAS is affected by telecommunication technology.
Energy analysis Traditional calculation, interview S: high efficiency; high quality; visualization of energy consumption.
W: private issue and noisy issue in building neighborhoods.
Marketing tool Traditional marketing such as adver- S: sense of immersion; provision of a global view.
tisement and videos W: high cost; technical issue in information interoperability between UAS and other
innovative technologies.
Postdisaster reconnaissance Labor-intensive rescue, manned S: timely reconnaissance; high safety; all-access mobility; provision of temporary
aircraft wireless communication.
W: obstacles and unstable environment, such as wind or rain, will decrease the flight
reliability of UAS; short battery life limits flight duration.

will probably appear and be added to the systematic framework. Strengths and Weaknesses of UAS Applications
Also, the aforementioned four dimensions are not closed and can be
expanded to five dimensions, six dimensions, etc. Hence this multi- Benefits from any new technology or method are definite, but corre-
dimensional framework is open to all who want to supplement or sponding restrictions or disadvantages should not be ignored by
expand it in the future for better using the UAS technology in the practitioners and academics. There is no exception for UAS appli-
domain of AEC/FM. cations in the domain of AEC/FM. This paper has already described

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 some benefits from UAS technology in the beginning. Actually, its operational qualifications is necessary because the whole supply
strengths and weaknesses are interchangeable depending on the chain of the UAS technology is distributed across many countries.
UAS technology applied in different scenarios. For example, cost
strengths in the UAS application of project evaluation and security
surveillance change into weaknesses due to the increase of cost Ethical Issues
when UAS are used in the scenarios of lighting management and With the increasing use of UAS technology, people are more con-
dust monitoring. The detailed strengths and weaknesses between cerned about their privacy than any other time in the history of
UAS technology and conventional tools or methods in each applica- humankind. Many have a negative perception that a maneuverable
tion are analyzed and compared in Table 3. UAS may be utilized as a flying spy, and invade their private life or
Although a total of 16 UAS applications for construction project work (Bird 2014). Because UAS are often flown at a low altitude of
management were explored from the four dimensions of lifecycle, less than 0.12 km (400 ft), public safety is another concern. Because
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managed object, potential role, and stakeholder engagement, this of this unmanned technology, UAS may be less well maintained and
does not mean that conventional tools or methods in these scenarios subsequently less reliable than manned aircraft. Failure, misuse, dis-
ought to be completely replaced by the UAS applications. These traction, or operator error all can result in UAS-induced injuries. The
innovative UAS applications provide additional alternatives for current accident rate for UAS is 100 times that of manned aircraft
project managers or other staff who can have the opportunity to (Finn and Wright 2012). In contrast, the required low-altitude flights
select them on the basis of contingency factors, such as technology mandated by legislations means that UAS applications can be very
maturity, cost budget, construction project scheduling, natural envi- noisy and, therefore, an intrusion on site workers and the local
ronments, personal knowledge, and so on. community.
A general ethical guideline for civil UAS operation needs to be
proposed first. Similar to a military UAS flight or manned aircraft
Issues
flight, a strict registration system ought to be developed for every
Legal Issues UAS flight that may result in the aforementioned ethical issues.
One of the biggest obstacles facing construction project stakehold- Prior to flight, the qualified applicant needs to submit an application
ers who are interested in using UAS technology are legal issues. in the registration system. In the application, it is necessary to clearly
UAS are considered a type of aircraft, and ought to be in compliance determine the objectives for the UAS flight, the data that will be
with civil aviation legislation. The aviation legislation or relevant gathered about individuals, time of data retention, the expected
regulations in various countries or regions are different in terms of usage of the data, qualifications of operators, potential influences on
requirements for UAS flights. In the United States, any commercial individual privacy, possible safety risk as a result of the flight, partic-
operation with UAS flights, including research, requires a certificate ular measures or methods for the elimination and mitigation of indi-
of authorization (COA) from the Federal Aviation Administration vidual private issues, safety risk issue, or other ethical issues.
(FAA) (Irizarry and Costa 2016). According to the latest regula-
tions enacted in 2016, UAS must be flown within sight of opera-
tors during the daytime, under 0.12 km (400 ft) and no more than Product Issues
160 km/h (100 mi/h). The operators ought to be at least 16 years As denoted at the beginning of this paper, UAS have not been
old, pass an aeronautical knowledge test and Transportation widely used in the construction industry. A rechargeable lithium
Security Administration (TSA) vetting, and obtain a remote pilot battery is usually used as the power supply in an UAS with the price
airman certificate. Additionally, UAS should weigh less than 25 lg from several hundred to several thousand U.S. dollars. Because of
(55 lbs), and be registered and inspected prior to each flight (FAA its low battery durability, it is indispensable for an UAS to come
2016). In comparison, the regulations are much clearer in terms of back for battery charging or shifting approximately every 25 min,
requirements for experimental or noncommercial use of UAS in which depends on the capacity of a battery. Therefore, the short fly-
Brazil (Irizarry and Costa 2016). To avoid a case-by-case authori- ing time of an UAS becomes a big issue for a continuous construc-
zation process, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in the United tion task with a relatively long duration. Considering the low weight
Kingdom has adopted legislation for simple operations by small of an UAS and stability of electronic elements embedded in an
UAS weighing less than 20 kg, which is legislated in Articles 166 UAS, there are restrictions for UAS applications in severe weather
and 167 of the Air Navigation Order (ANO) 2009 (U.K. Civil environments (Liu et al. 2014a), such as wind, rain, or snow.
Aviation Authority 2009). In China, all UAS under 7 kg are permit- Especially for the construction industry, most tasks are usually con-
ted to be flown without a license. However, approval from the ducted in outdoor environments and are more susceptible to bad
Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is necessary for weather conditions.
all commercial UAS flights. Despite differences, the rules in most Cross-industry cooperation, especially for R&D, manufacturer,
countries or regions are consistent in preventing UAS from being and client, is a possible way to solve the issue and provide more
flown over people. Hence it is very important to obtain a waiver for appropriate UAS. Potential clients or users of UAS technology are
UAS flights over people because this situation cannot be avoided from a variety of industries with their own characteristics. Even for
on site in the domain of AEC/FM. the same industry, different UAS applications have specific require-
It is recommended that various levels of policymakers should ments. For example, the UAS application in construction site trans-
ensure the consistency of UAS-related regulations or laws in civil portation requires the capacity of high weight, whereas the UAS
applications. In consideration of multiple stakeholders in the indus- application in lighting management has a higher requirement with
try of UAS civil application, it is significant for policymakers to the characteristic of stability. Close cooperation among R&D enter-
have a close collaboration with these stakeholders, such as main cus- prises, manufacturers, and clients is beneficial to the consideration
tomer, professional association, public community, law enforcement of use applicability in advance. Through investigations, potential
department, civil UAS-related researcher or developer, UAS opera- end users can provide R&D enterprises and manufacturers detailed
tor, and manned aircraft–related stakeholder. Furthermore, global technical parameters, which act as the basis of UAS design specifi-
cooperation in UAS regulations, certification requirements, and cations and manufacturing requirements.

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 Insurance Issues activities within the context of construction project management
An UAS crash on site may lead to property damage to construction cover more scenarios than the 16 potential applications explored in
work or the UAS itself, personal injury to workers, or personal the present framework. With growing interactions between UAS
injury to third parties. Because this is a new field, damage caused by technology and the construction industry, more innovative appli-
UAS utilization is impossible to cover in the current policies of cations will be available to supplement the framework. Another
most enterprises or organizations. In these cases, adequate insurance limitation is that technical specifications of UAS technology are
is essential for operators to meet their liabilities in the event of an acci- not analyzed and discussed in detail, as it is not the main intent of
dent induced by the flight of an UAS. Although the insurance industry this paper. However, if R&D enterprises and manufactures would
is developing various types of policies pertinent to the use of UAS like to produce UAS that are exclusively used in construction,
technology, this is still a work in progress, as the full scope of the risks technical parameters or requirements for each application need to
for UAS operation has not been fully determined and comprehended be identified. Also, the technical requirements may be regarded as
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yet. another dimension of the multidimensional framework. The last

A clear categorization scheme without ambiguous definitions limitation is pertinent to hypothetical cases. Although some real
for UAS is instrumental to incorporating UAS applications into cases are utilized for exploring possible UAS applications, other
existing insurance rules. Professional associations or insurance hypothetical cases are also involved. This denotes that there are
companies are encouraged to analyze the factors that may lead to not sufficient case studies on this topic. A future research direc-
various UAS accidents, and estimate the accident rate and safety tion is to adopt the empirical approach for a validation test on the
risk, which will be considered as the benchmark for the calculation hypothetical situations. In addition, the UAS technology can be
of insurance costs and rates. Ideal insurance models can be devel- combined with other technologies, such as building information
oped for specific UAS applications in different industries, including modeling (BIM), AR, and VR, for construction process simula-
construction, in which contingency risks, such as large machine col- tion to evaluate the performance of UAS applications.
lision, are used for revising the prototype.
Acknowledgments
Conclusions
The authors gratefully acknowledge the funding and support
In contrast to traditional tools or methods, the application of UAS provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China
technology in the construction industry offers the advantages of low (NSFC) (Grant 51508273), the Fundamental Research Funds for
cost, fast speed, and high maneuverability. UAS are used without the Central Universities (Grant NR2016013), and the University
visual and spatial limitations on site. They are able to act as aerial Philosophy and Social Science Research Project in Jiangsu Province
robots over a site to collect real-time information in the form of still (Grant 2016SJD630001). The anonymous reviewers and the editors
images and dynamic videos with HD, and perform simple manipu- of this paper are also acknowledged for their constructive comments
lation tasks from the air. and suggestions.
Aiming to uncover the main value of UAS in construction pro-
ject management, this study explored 16 potential scenarios for
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