Accessibility Study for Pipeline Maintenance

Accessibility Study for Pipeline Maintenance 管線維運之可及性分析

Accessibility Study for Pipeline Maintenance 管線維運之可及性分析

Related references

1. Lee, C.H., Tsai, M.H. and Kang, S.C. (2013). “VAO Checker: Accessibility Study for Pipeline Maintenance,� Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Construction Applications of Virtual Reality (CONVR), London, UK. October 30-31.

Accessibility Study for Pipeline Maintenance 管線維運之可及性分析 機電管線（MEP）在現代建築所扮演的角色，特別是廠房、醫院、消防站等非居住用建築中，從以 往的附屬設施逐漸轉為必需的維生設施，因此管線設計在建築規劃成為優先考量的議題之一。其中 又以工程人員在維運其間對於設備及管線的可及程度，為設計階段重要的考量因素，然而現有工具 並無法有效預測管線的操作可及程度和維護難易，在設計階段卻又很少考慮到中期的操作及後期的 管理維護。本研究將管線在維運階段的可及性，分為以下三個類別：可視性（Visual Accessibility ）表示人眼可看到的管線部分、可達性（Approachable Accessibility）表示空間內人員可以到達的 區域、可操作性（Operational Accessibility）表示人員可直接操作的管線範圍。以資訊視覺化的技 術，針對提出之三種可及性層級所產生之交集與聯集七種組合，探討人員在維運期間對於管線操作 及維護的各種情境和可及程度。本研究開發一工具（VAO Checker），幫助工程師在設計階段即考 量管線可及性之維運需求，並進行專家訪談評估其使用性及效率，分析結果顯示管線設計者能透過 此工具清楚瞭解管線可及性的相關資訊，並規劃適合工程人員操作和維護的管線路徑，並展望未來 能整合此研究，建立周全的資料庫做為管線路徑設計優化的參考。

Approachable Accessibility

H : Height r : Radius of the bounding cylinder S : Start point T : Target point

A = (H,r,P) P = [S,p 1 , p n , p n+1 , ...T ], where the cylinder is not blocked

Accessibility Study for Pipeline Maintenance

Pipeline maintenance is becoming an important issue in modern construction and building information model (BIM) research. An understanding of pipeline accessibility considerations in terms of operation and maintenance is essential for planning and management. Previous studies have highlighted the complexity of multi-pipes including mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) pipelines and the importance of information visualization, but few have proposed a way to consider accessibility problems during operation and maintenance. Therefore, this study develops a systematic method to evaluate accessibility with respect to pipeline maintenance. We first divided pipeline accessibility into three categories: (1) visual accessibility—the visibility for an inspector to view; (2) approachable accessibility—the difficulty for an inspector to approach; and (3) operational accessibility—the pipeline that can be operated by the inspectors. We created mathematical models and discussed the ergonomic details about each category. We then developed a user interface, VAO Checker, in which V, A and O stand for visual, approachable and operational respectively, to display visual information about pipeline accessibility. Through instantaneous analysis, the system visualizes the accessibility of the pipelines. We visually represent the intersection and union of these three categories to illustrate the varying accessibility of pipe elements. A usability test was conducted to validate the system’s effectiveness. The results of the usability analysis show that users have higher correctness when using VAO Checker than 2D plan drawing and 3D model, and they evaluate the performance of this tool better than 2D plan drawing. Pipeline designers can benefit by using this tool to sketch a suitable traffic flow for engineers to investigate. Furthermore, the substantial amount of information saved in the layout database could be referenced for future optimization.

Visual Accessibility

Operational Accessibility

V = (S, H, L min, L max, θ, H min v, H max v )

O = (S, H, H min o, H max o )

S : Stationary point H : Height θ : Field-of-view

S : Stationary point H : Height F : Extension of finger H min o : Minimum operable height H max o : Maximum operable height

L min : Minimum view range L max : Maximum view range H min v : Minimum visual height H max v : Maximum visual height

Accessibility Study for Pipeline Maintenance VAO Checker - System Design

Usability Test Procedure Start NASA-TLX Weight Assessment

2D Plan Drawing 3D Model

Random Choose Unfinished One

NA SA -T L X Performance Assessment

Problems Identification

V A O Checker No

Finish all Tasks?

Yes End

Correctness: VAO ≧ 3D > 2D

Medium 2D plan drawing 3D model VAO Checker Std. Deviation (%) 16.3 25.3 24.5

Mean (%) 40.1 56.4 64.3 p-value 2D & 3D 0.002* 2D & VAO 0.000* 3D & VAO 0.139

Performance: 3D > VAO > 2D

Medium 2D plan drawing 3D model VAO Checker Std. Deviation (%) 13.5 17.0 17.3

Mean (%) 36.0 53.8 48.0 p-value 2D & 3D 0.000* 2D & VAO 0.004* 3D & VAO 0.020*

Shih-Chung Jessy Kang sckang@ntu.edu.tw sckang.caece.net