CVE80001 Research Paper For the Construction Industry Assignment

Answer:

Introduction

Implementation of 3D printing in construction industry is currently one of the vastest fields of investigation. This report depicts the importance of adapting 3D printing in the construction industry.In order to develop a sequential and layered computer-controlled 3 dimensional shape for buildings, the concept of Additive Manufacturing (AM) is required to be adapted by the system developers (Johnsonand Collins2017).  This is very much essentially for building prototype models in the construction industry. The geometric complex designs will become easier after the implementation of the 3D printing for the prototype designing.

The usability of the 3D printing in the construction industry, the process of construction that is required to be followed and safety issues that are associated to the 3D printing prototype are elaborated in this report. Apart from construction industries the wide usage of the 3D printing is also determined in many other industries such as in tools manufacturing, medical application and even in metalworking (Perkinsand Skitmore2015). Additionally in the medical industries and also in aerospace engineering the concept of 3D printing is widely used by the developers. The issues associated to 3D printing are also identified in this report and along with this the safety factors related to the 3D printing in the construction industry are also illustrated in this report (Muelleret al. 2014). At the end if the report different safety management strategies are illustrated that are needed to be considered by the developers while suing the 3D printing in the construction industry.

Background

The current wide usage of 3D printing in construction industry is changing the definition of construction. It is referred to as one of the leading and revolutionary technology, which is used to build 3D prototype models of the buildings. The 3D model could be changed and even developed with the caning requirement of the consumers and constructors (Kreigeret al. 2015). Recently with the help of 3D printing technology a steel bridge has been constructed in Amsterdam and also CSP is thinking to use the large delta printer to develop an eco friendly village in Italy industrial zone. 

This report demonstrates the experimental usage of 3D printing technology in the construction industry. During the experiment period it has been found that though robotics and pre fabrication could see sufficient deployment of 3Dprinters in the building construction sites but still the main issue that is shaking the technology is the quality control measures. Inefficiency in construction industry does not occur due to unknown inability to adapt construction innovation rather it occurs as the equipment used in the construction industry is very much costly. 

Research aim

The aim of the research is to identify the role of 3D printing technology in construction industry. Then the research will be conducted to identify the safety issues those are associated to 3D printing in the construction industry. In order to mitigate the issues certain issues mitigation strategies are required to be developed. After understanding of the issue certain issue mitigate strategies, are needed to be conducted accordingly.

Research objectives

• To investigate the safety issues of 3D printing in the construction industry
• To determine the most devastating issues among all of the identified issues of 3D printing
• To develop different 3D printing related issue mitigation strategies

The scope of the research work is to identify the usage of 3D printing technology in the field of construction. It will help to determine how this technology can be used for making a blueprint of a building before its practical implementation. After understanding the role of 3D printing technology, the safety issues that are associated to it are also elaborated in this research paper. Apart from this, different mitigation strategies for the safely issues are also illustrated in this report.

Outline of thesis

Implementation of 3D printing in construction industry is currently one of the vastest fields of investigation. This report depicts the importance of adapting 3D printing in the construction industry.  In order to develop a sequential and layered computer-controlled 3 dimensional shape for buildings, the concept of Additive Manufacturing (AM) is required to be adapted by the system developers (Johnsonand Collins2017).  This is very much essentially for building prototype models in the construction industry. The geometric complex designs will become easier after the implementation of the 3D printing for the prototype designing.

The usability of the 3D printing in the construction industry, the process of construction that is required to be followed and safety issues that are associated to the 3D printing prototype are elaborated in this report. Apart from construction industries the wide usage of the 3D printing is also determined in many other industries such as in tools manufacturing, medical application and even in metalworking (Perkinsand Skitmore2015). Additionally in the medical industries and also in aerospace engineering the concept of 3D printing is widely used by the developers. The issues associated to 3D printing are also identified in this report and along with this the safety factors related to the 3D printing in the construction industry are also illustrated in this report (Muelleret al. 2014). At the end if the report different safety management strategies are illustrated that are needed to be considered by the developers while suing the 3D printing in the construction industry.

Research methodology

Research philosophy

Three different kinds of research philosophies such as positivism, interpretivism and realism are used for conducting different research topics. However, for understanding the role of 3D printing technology in construction industry, positivism research philosophy is applied. It helped to understand the hidden facts regarding 3D printing technology in construction industry and also the safety issues that might affect the additive manufacturing applications.

Overview of the research approach

Depending upon research methodology it is found that, two different kinds of research approaches such as deductive and inductive are generally used for conducting research works. Particularly for this research topic, deductive research approach is used to due to the presence of former established theories and also with the help of the data collection method, the research gaps will be fulfilled.

Data collection

In order to conduct different research works primary and secondary both types of data collection methods are widely used based upon the type of the topic. It is determined that, for understanding the role of 3D printing in construction industry and for determining the safety issues associated to it, secondary data collection method is applied. The secondary data collection approach deals with different articles, books and journals as well. By collecting different information either from books or journals this research paper is being prepared. Both qualitative and quantitative primary data collection approaches are used for conducting this research work.

Research design

The research design is itself referred to as blueprint of the research work that is needed to carry out the research successfully. Three different kinds of research designs such as explanatory, descriptive and explanatory are used for demonstrate different research work. It is found that for identifying the safety issues associated to 3D printing, explanatory research design approach is used by the researcher. It helps the researcher to understand the safety issues. After identifying the safety issues proper mitigation strategies those are required to overcome the issues can also be determined with the help of the explanatory method. However, in order to develop the mitigation strategies the limitation of the 3D printing technology in the construction industry is required to be defined. The explanatory research design approach helps to assist and understand the effects of the increasing knowledge regarding the problem area of the research work.

Data analysis

From the set of collected data, it has been analyzed that, usage of 3D printing technology for developing different components of construction industry, gives new way to the developers and the overall working flexibility also get increased. Rather than other options this is less costly. This technology is widely used in medicine, aircraft, and prototype and in those locations which cannot be accessed easily.

Literature review

Usability of 3D printing in the construction industry

Application of 3D printing in building construction

The architectural planning is growing rapidly the due to the wide application of 3D printing in the construction industry. The architectural world is changing with the speed of light and it has secured its place successfully in the 3D printing industry (Foyand Shahbodaghlou2015). The traditional 3D rendering procedure, has almost outmoded. The technology is generally used to build large buildings and towers. Though, the process is very much time consuming. After considering the construction sector of Dubai/GCC/UAE, it has been found that the architectural 3D rendering approach is highly profitable from the professional perspectives. The scale model of building from different angles can also be clearly seen with the help of 3D printing technology (Godoi, Prakash and Bhandari2016). It offers 3 dimensional printing solutions to the building constructors or developers. The developers to construct the 3D prototype models use different materials. The 3D printing applications in construction is of the following types:

Master planning: In this process, the developer can build presentation models from the 2D pictures and can use them accordingly for the training and promotion purposes (Wu, Wang, J. and Wang 2016). 

Concept modeling: If a develop is willing to toy a futuristic as well complex design idea then,  the developer can shape the idea into both tangible and three dimensional model.

Prototyping:  If a developer is willing to plan for building a apartment series then the 3D prototyping model can be used accordingly (Louis, Dunstonand Martinez2014).          

Concept of 3D printing in construction process

The concept of 3D printing was first developed in the year of 1980. However, due to high cost and application complexity, it was very difficult for the developers to implement this process in the real world. The expensive design approach and complex prototype modeling used to prevent the system developers to use this approach initially (Xiaand Sanjayan2016). After the implementation of relatively straight forward and affordable components since 2000, many large construction firms had started using 3D printing technology for developing the blueprint or preliminary design of the buildings. Though, the rate of sale for the additive manufacturing machines has started growing from 2005.

The current construction industry and the 3D printing technology are closely related to each other rather these are complimentary to each other. The construction 3D printing can be used in the construction industries for creating the components or to create the entire print of the building (Kreigeret al. 2015). Many system developers are taking active roles in this development process for understanding the purposes of using the 3D printing in the current construction industry.

The 3D printing technology helps to build more accurate and fast print of the than the traditional approaches. With the help of certain hardware, software and internet services, the human error can be mitigated and also the workforce errors will be completely avoided from the construction industry. Though, the technology is very much essential in the construction industry but still certain safety issues of 3D printing are also identified. The safety measures of 3D printing and in order to mitigate the issues certain measurable strategies are also elaborated in this report.

Analysis of the safety issues related to 3D printing technology

Currently, the global construction industry is facing huge challenges from the 3D printing technique. By introducing this new architectural design approach and construction method the construction industry needs to hire more expert team who are competent to utilize this new application efficiently (Foy and Shahbodaghlou 2015). Rather for make the 3D printing plan happen in the real world architecture, the expert team is required. The safety issues related to 3D printing are as follows:

For the onsite or for the factory application incorrect component measurement is referred to as one of the major safety issues.

While analyzing the impact of 3D printing technology in building construction industry the mostly raised question implies that, whether the 3D printing technology is changing the construction industry for better or not (Gosselin et al. 2016). During identification of the positive impact of 3D printing in construction industry it has been found that the building construction industry is also getting negatively impacted by this evolving technology. The other challenging safety issues of 3D printing in construction industry are as follows:

Lack of understanding about the technology will dull the vision: The vision of the construction industry could convert into dull if the developers fail to determine proper industrial safety measures (Xu, Ding and Love 2017). Due to lack of experiences of the civil employees and safety awareness, the rapid growth of 3D printing in construction industry and overall automation industry is getting interrupted.

Unsuitable automated fabrication: Automated fabrication is referred to as one of the most important components of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology. Besides 3D prototype models, if the designers use any conventional design approach for developing the 3D building prototype models then, most of the times it is found that the developers fails to detect the appropriate automated fabrication (Yossef and Chen 2015). When the scales of production become large that time the safety issues in automated fabrication occur.  

Limitation in device management: In order to develop 3D models in construction industry different advanced equipments are required. However, the automated machines used in Additive Manufacturing industry, can use only limited materials. This is another safety issue of 3D printing in construction industry.

Managerial issue: If the prototype development team fails to manage the equipments properly then, pressure towards the environment will increase rapidly which might affect the overall construction measures.

Availability of resources: In order to develop the 3D prototype in the construction industry appropriate set of resources are required. Though in most cases, the raw materials those are needed cannot be determined by the developers (Gibson, Rosen and Stucker 2014). If the developers develop the 3D model with fewer resources the complexity of the system will surely increase which is another safety issue.    

Expensive: In order to design the 3D prototype model, no labor cost is needed but during its practical implementation the huge labor cost is required which is a major safety issue for the construction industry.

Components measurement issues: In most of the cases the developers fail to define the components, those are needed to be applied in onsite factory applications. 

Over the last 100 years the construction industry has not changed at all. However, in the merged construction projects, longer bridge construction projects and even in the new skyscrapers different new technical changes are taking place frequently (Yuranet al. 2015). The construction industry confirms the new methods for the safety development. On the job sites the safety regulation is growing gradually. In the construction industry the general safety issues that occur are as follows: 

Respiratory issue: One of the biggest harmful issues of 3d printing in the construction industry is respiratory issue (Kwaset al. 2014). It has been found that during construction period, about 97% of airborne particles of 5 micron size can be emitted. If these particles enter to human bodies then that will harm the human bodies.

Skin disease: If the labors of construction industries fail to take the eye and skin protection then, then their bodies might get affected with these (Kim, Lee and Kim2016). On the other hand, the powder metals emitted from the construction sites also affects the human bodies very badly.

Chemical reaction: During construction period, the labors should focus on the chemical reaction (Godoi, Prakash and Bhandari 2016). Different kinds of chemical reactions took place that might hamper the safety of the human bodies on the other hand for the emission of huge amount of carbon monoxide poisonous chemicals and oxygen displacement the overall machine operating system might also get affected. 

Static electricity causes fire: While using 3D printing in the construction industry, another safety issues that occurs due is firing due to the usability of static electricity (Hunt and Charter 2016). Whenever, the powder substances and the static electricity come in contact, the slightest ignition could result uncontrollable flaming.

Issues form the finished up material: It has been found that not only form the raw materials but also after the completion of complete prototype model, issues might occur. Issues are related with both the raw materials and also with the complete model (Kim, Lee and Kim 2016). Safety is not just associated with the loading a handling machines but also issues are associated to the prototype model. 

Issue with the automated fabrication: In the additive manufacturing process automated fabrication is founded as the major components (Kostakisand Papachristou2014). If the developers fail to detect the accurate automated fabrication then they will not be able to build the prototype model.

Improper device management: If the 3D printing technology users fail to manage the devices accurately then, the developers will not be able to develop a secured prototype model.

Different strategies to manage safety issues in 3D printing in building construction

In order to mitigate the challenges associated to 3D printing, different mitigation strategies are implemented to manage the safety issues (Perkinsand Skitmore2015.). The safety issues mitigation strategies are as follows:

Feasibility study: Before developing the prototype models, proper feasibility study is required to be done by the finance department of the construction project.

Cost management: Different resources are required to develop the project efficiently. In order to develop the project appropriately the overall cost management planning should be developed in this initial phase (Gosselinet al. 2016).

Feasibility management: Before practical implementation of this technology source of capital and proper investment is required to be done by the finance management team (Wu, Wangand Wang2016). Proper consideration of labor cost, resource cost and technology support is needed to avoid safety issues. 

Respiratory issue mitigation strategy: In order to mitigate the respiratory issues, certain safety precautions are needed to be taken by the workers. Initially the workers are required to wear protective respiratory masks those have been approved by National Institute for Occupational Safety and health (NIOSH) (Louis, Dunston and Martinez 2014). The mostly highly recommended mask is a P100 because it has ability to filter around 97.90%of particles for confirming the safety.

 Skin protection: In order to protect human skin and eyes from the harmful particles different optimum safety measures are required to be undertaken by the developers. The developers are needed to wear lab coats, nitrile gloves, rubber aprons and eye protections. The powered metals via open canister should restock manually. (Yossef and Chen 2015)

Flame controllable measures: It has been found that, if the powder substances and the static electricity come to contact to each other then huge flaming might take place. In order to mitigate these problems, it is crucial for the developers to keep a space from static electricity. In addition to this, for put out the fire, appropriate class D fire extinguisher is needed to be installed by the developers. (Perkins and Skitmore 2015)

Overall protection measures: In order to maintain the overall protection measures the developers are required to use nitrile gloves and many other safety equipments in the factory zone (Huntand Charter2016). Even in order to spray the extinguishers down, the experienced employees and trained extinguishers are required.

Automated fabrication detection devices: In order to mitigate the Additive manufacturing oriented issue architects or the construction engineers are required to install certain tracking devices to detect the components of additive manufacturing. (Xiaand Sanjayan 2016)

Device management: In order to mitigate this issue the users are required to develop certain strategies to manage the devices accurately. 

Schedule for the research work

Result and discussion  

In order to reduce the number of employees and for decreasing the labor architects are using 3D printers in their creation. The complexity of building design and overall time needed for development get reduced after using the concept of 3D printing. Generally for creating the blueprints of large construction sites and for mitigating the issues of digital modeling 3D printing is used. Besides positive impact different safety issues of 3D printing are also defined in this report. In order to mitigate those issues certain strategies are developed accordingly.  During the investigation phase it has been found that this is one of the most newly invented areas of research thus there is no such preliminary research content to conduct the study. In order to conduct the study the secondary research methodology is used. In secondary research methodology contents are collected from different books and journals. While developing the research work only main concerns those are considered include the safety issues associated to 3D printing.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Conclusion

From the overall discussion it can be concluded that the future of 3D printing technology in the upcoming future is very bright. Though, currently only for large building and bride construction the architects use the concept of 3D printing but from different survey it is detected that nowadays for developing 3D blueprint of even small buildings also the developers are using the concept.  The numbers of labor architect are also getting reduced due to the adaptation of 3D printing technology in the construction industry. Though, most of the safety issues are getting deduced after the implementation of 3D orienting but still some uncertainty and complexities are identified those are continuously negatively impacting the construction industry. The overall research study has been conducted for determining the 3D printing technology oriented safety issue. Lastly, the report also elaborated the issues mitigation strategies. 3D printing technology along with the Additive Manufacturing (AM) mechanism is referred to as one of the most critical but helpful technologies used in the construction industries. Though, the system has many positive aspects but at the same time many challenges are also associated to the 3D printing technology.  Even, in order to mitigate the associated issues different safety measures are required to be adapted by the 3D printing technology implementers. The problem statements of the 3D printing possess large structures. For mitigating the challenges different strategies are also elaborated in this report.

Recommendations

Improper oxygen monitoring factor: In order to mitigate the oxygen displacement resultants, O2 sensor, monitoring and tracking device is needed to be installed by the 3D prototype developers (Despeisse,et al. 2017). Apart from this, the factory space is required to have accurate ventilation, in order to ensure the flow of good quality air in the construction passage.

Risk management: Before implementation of the project, the risks of the prototype model are needed to be identified and after that different risk management strategies are needed to be developed by the developers to overcome the risks.

Necessary support development: While developing the 3D prototype model in the construction industry necessary labor and resource support is required to be adapted by the development team (Foyand Shahbodaghlou2015).  It will help them to construct creative design with long term and short term support.

Technology management: In order to develop the 3D prototype model for construction industry proper support of technology is needed. For creating 3D prototype layers different technical methods of softening and melting such as selective laser sintering and fused deposition modeling are used by the developers (Pandaet al. 2016). However, for proper usage of these technologies, expert team is needed to be hired.   

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