Article
Development of a User-Centric Bridge Visual Defect Quality
Control Assisted Mobile Application: A Case of Thailand’s
Department of Highways
Pravee Kruachottikul
1
, Nagul Cooharojananone
2,
*, Gridsada Phanomchoeng
3,4
and Kittikul Kovitanggoon
2
Citation: Kruachottikul, P.;
Cooharojananone, N.;
Phanomchoeng, G.; Kovitanggoon, K.
Development of a User-Centric
Bridge Visual Defect Quality Control
Assisted Mobile Application: A Case
of Thailand’s Department of
Highways. Appl. Sci. 2021, 11, 9555.
https://doi.org/10.3390/app11209555
Academic Editors: Nikos D. Lagaros
and Vagelis Plevris
Received: 22 August 2021
Accepted: 24 September 2021
Published: 14 October 2021
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4.0/).
1
University Technology Center (UTC), Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand;
pravee.k@gmail.com
2
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University,
Bangkok 10330, Thailand; kovitang.cern@gmail.com
3
Department of Mechanical Engineering Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University,
Bangkok 10330, Thailand; gridsada.p@chula.ac.th
4
Wireless Communication Ecosystem Research Unit, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
* Correspondence: nagul.c@chula.ac.th; Tel.: +662-218-5156
Abstract:
Digital innovations have changed the way many industries operate, but the construction
industry has been slow to adopt these technologies. However, challenges such as low productiv-
ity, project overruns, labor shortages, and inefficient performance management have motivated
Thailand’s Department of Highways to adopt digital innovations to build a competitive advantage.
Because this industry requires a large work force, obstacles to collaboration can result in ineffective
project management. We aimed to improve collaboration on bridge inspections that typically requires
the involvement of many people, personal judgement, and extensive travel to survey bridges across
the country. One major challenge is to standardize human judgement. To address these challenges,
we developed a user-centric bridge visual defect quality control mobile application to improve
collaboration and assist field technicians to conduct visual defect inspection. Our results can be
used as a case study for other construction firms to embrace digital transformation technologies.
This research also demonstrates the new-product development process using the new technology
in known markets innovation development and technology acceptance model. We offer several
recommendations for future research, including other infrastructure applications.
Keywords:
construction; collaborative platform; bridge defect inspection; project management;
structural health monitoring; mobile application; new-product development
1. Introduction
Recently, many industries in Thailand have begun to adopt digital transformation
to stay competitive. For example, traditional car rental is transitioning into a car sharing
business using Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile phone application technology [
1
]. The
construction industry is also undergoing digital transformation to improve its ability
to address challenges such as low productivity, project overruns, labor shortages, and
inefficient performance management [
2
] Suboptimal collaboration among project managers,
administrative staff, and on-site laborers is a common problem in large construction firms.
Ineffective collaboration leads to inefficient project management, delays, and increased
costs. Miscommunication, human error, poorly standardized work processes, and data
loss, also contribute to inefficient project management. Bridge inspection requires many
staff operating in different locations to perform visual inspection, and to update bridge
information. This routine process involves inspection planning, problem identification,
and considerable human judgment that is difficult to standardize [
3
]. The analysis of
large digital data sets may improve project management, safety, energy management,
decision-making design, resource management, and control costs [4].
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11, 9555. https://doi.org/10.3390/app11209555 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci
