On-Site Evaluation of the Quality of Old Constructions’ Masonry Using Real-Time Distributed Online GIS Databases

The study of historical constructions faces numerous challenges, namely those related to the variety and heterogeneity of the material, typological, and constructive properties of the assets. Given that every case study must be respected on its singularity, a series of restrictions are usually found when carrying out regional-scale surveys. Due to time and processing constraints, the available resources for documenting wide samples of historic buildings are often exceeded. An example of critical work when working with historical constructions is the characterization of masonry, which frequently constitutes the structural base of these assets. The wide variety of parameters (such as the units, mortars, bonding, and connections) lead to many divergent possibilities, admitting relatively few generalizations and demanding a very straightforward analysis. Nevertheless, strategies exist for systematically characterizing masonries, such as the Masonry Quality Index (MQI), which propose a standardized survey model for on-site data acquisition, facilitating the methodologic description of masonry works. Then, it becomes relevant to use tools for enhancing the campaign survey works, namely through the optimization of time and the reduction of intermediate stages between the on-site observations and their compilation on a database. This paper presents and discusses the design and implementation of an integrated data acquisition and management system based on three components: a Geographical Information System (GIS) database, a cloud storage client, and a mobile app. The workflow demonstrates the pertinency, robustness, and advantages of on-site MQI-based characterizations.