Photo-net: An integrated system for controlling the progress of construction activities

A dynamic scheduling system has been developed, that links digital movies made in the construction field and CPM and progress control of construction. A time lapse technique has been used in such a way that months of construction performance can be watched in minutes. A method to produce a digital movie has been developed allowing thousands of pictures to be stored in, and managed by a microcomputer under the Windows environment. A recording system has been introduced to inform the model about the day-by-day progress achieved. An engine has been developed to link the movie with the day-by-day progress observed in the construction field. A CPM engine has been developed to produce a Gantt-Bar chart. An animation system has been built over the progress and the CPM bars, that generates new bars reflecting the progress achieved in the construction site, in synchrony with the playback of the movie. A program has been built in a Delphi 5 environment using a strong visual interaction between machine and user.