A Conceptual Model for AI-Enabled Digitalization of Construction Site Management Decision Making

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digitalization are changing the landscape of performing projects in the construction industry. In construction projects, the responsibility for achieving the required scope within a specified timeframe and estimated cost lies with the project managers. To meet these stringent requirements, site managers must make on-site project decisions, relying heavily on their past experiences and intuition. Moreover, the complexity of the decision-making process is amplified by the need to manually review various information sources such as Building Information Modelling (BIM), Bill of Quantities (BOQ), construction drawings etc. The heterogeneity, complexity, availability, accessibility, and volume of these contents that need to be processed by the decision-maker pose risks to the decision-making processes that may adversely impact resource consumption, planned time, and cost. The emerging technologies related to AI and digitalization are expected to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the decision-making process in construction projects. However, the development and implementation of such technologies are highly dependent on the identification and definition of contexts to which AI and digital technologies add additional value. Hence, the purpose of this research paper is to study and explore the decision-making process of site managers. This paper also provides the identified gaps and potential of utilizing AI and digital technologies to assist in decision-making. Further, this paper proposes a set of conceptual models that combine hardware and AI algorithms to support the site decision-making process. The findings provide insights into the complexities site managers face and offer innovative approaches to mitigate risks and improve decision making efficiency.