CPMTech: A Technology-Based Model for Construction Progress Monitoring

The construction industry is a vital global economic sector that has evolved and expanded rapidly in recent years. However, despite this growth, the sector continues to face significant challenges worldwide, including labor shortages, safety risks, and low levels of process automation. Construction progress monitoring is a key process that requires automation enhancement. This study examines the current Construction Progress Monitoring (CPM) process, with a focus on the adoption of technologies for data acquisition, integration, inspection, and visualization in construction environments. The research objectives comprised the proposal of a technology-based model for construction progress monitoring, followed by its instantiation and validation under real-world and simulated conditions. A Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was conducted to identify existing studies, their findings and contributions, leading to the Construction Progress Monitoring using technologies (CPMTech) model. A case study was then performed on an active construction site to validate an instance of the proposed model, specifically for manual and controlled data acquisition processes. Additionally, a virtual environment simulation was used to validate an instance of the model for autonomous data acquisition. The results correspond to the CPMTech model and its instances validated in real and simulated scenarios. The contributions stand out for supporting computing, automation, and civil engineering professionals in integrating technologies to the CPM. Thus, CPMTech represents a significant step forward in the gradual and continuous adoption of technologies for monitoring construction progress, overcoming traditional methods that have limited the sector’s potential for decades.