Abstract. Over the past 25 years in the US there have been more than 85 collapses of structures under construction that have been directly attributable to formwork failure. We have investigated sensing systems and techniques applicable to the monitoring of construction-site shoring and scaffolding with preliminary systems being used in the field and in the laboratory. Such a sensor network may provide significant information about the load distribution on shoring systems-information that is currently not available. This information will allow dangerous situations to be quickly identified so that corrective action can then be taken. Thus the risk of injury or loss of life at a construction site should be reduced, possibly leading to lower liability insurance costs. Furthermore, this information may also be used to formulate new construction codes that will further enhance construction work safety. Laboratory proof-of-concept experiments as well as actual field-site measurements presenting the in-service use and capabilities of an intelligent shoring system are described in this paper.

Print publication: Issue 1 (March 1994)