Application of an RFID-based system for construction waste transport: A case in Shanghai

Abstract

Effective management of construction waste imposes a big challenge to cities with large volume of construction activities. Shanghai had to handle these problems in preparing the 2010 World Expo such as overloading of the trucks, traffic safety on the road, environment pollution, and heavy manpower needed to supervise the transport process. This paper presents our effort of applying Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to reengineer the construction waste transport. Details of the new RFID-based system are introduced with an in-depth comparison with the traditional system. A Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation (FCE) method is used to validate the effectiveness of the new system. Case studies in Shanghai show that the RFID-based system helps to better monitor the transportation procedure and to avoid the existing problems significantly. On the other hand, it shows that stakeholders such as project owners and transport contractors are not always satisfied with the governments' strong position in the new system, which might prevent the wide application of RFID technology in construction waste transport. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.