oa A proposed transportation tracking system for mega construction projects using passive RFID technology

The city of Doha has witnessed a rapid change in its demographics over the past decade. The city has been thoroughly modernized, a massive change in its inhabitants culture and behavior has occurred and the need to re-develop its infrastructure has arose creating multiple mega construction projects such as the New Doha International Airport, the Doha Metro Network, and the Lusail City. A mega-project such as the new airport in Doha requires 30,000 workers on average to be on site every day. This research tested the applicability of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in tracking and monitoring construction workers during their trip from their housing to the construction site or between construction sites. The workers tracking system developed in this research utilized the passive RFID tracking technology due to its efficient tracking capabilities, low cost, and easy maintenance. The system will be designed to monitor construction workers ridership in a safe and non-intrusive way. It will use a combination of RFID, GPS (Global Positioning System), and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) technologies. It will enable the workers to receive instant SMS alerts when bus is within 10 minutes of the designated pick up and drop off points reducing the time the workers spend on the street. This is very critical especially in a country like Qatar where temperatures can reach 50º degrees Celsius during summer time. The system will also notify management via SMS when the workers board and alight from the bus or enters/leaves the construction site. In addition, the system will display the real-time location of the bus and the workers inside the bus at any point in time. Each construction worker is issued one or more unique RFID card(s) to carry. The card will be embedded in the cloth for each worker. As the worker's tag is detected by the reader installed in the bus upon entering or leaving the bus, the time, date and location is logged and transmitted to a secure database. It will require no action on the part of drivers or workers, other than to carry the card and will deliver the required performance without impeding the normal loading and unloading process. To explore the technical feasibility of the proposed system, a set of tests were performed in the lab. These experiments showed that the RFID tags were effective and stable enough to be used for successfully tracking and monitoring construction workers using the bus.