INFRASTRUCTURE PROFILING AND MONITORING

A Project Study
Presented to
the Faculty of the Department of Electronics and Communications Engineering
Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan

In Partial Fulfillment
for the Requirements for the Degree
Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering

By
Felecia, Ann Frances
Goden, Cristine Joy C.
Guden, Francis Niña B.
Sagaral, Liezel Mae F.

October 2019
 CHAPTER 1
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTINGS
1.1. Introduction

Every year there is a national budget allocated for different sectors in the country. The
economic services is the sector where an immaterial exchange of value occurs. When a service
such as labor is performed the buyer does not take exclusive ownership of that which is purchased,
unless agreed upon by buyer and seller. The benefits of such a service, if priced, are held to be
self-evident in the buyer's willingness to pay for it. Public services are those, that society as a
whole pays for, through taxes and other means. In the year 2018, the Duterte administration granted
P1.154 trillion and this sum accounts for infrastructural and agricultural development allocations.

As for the Department of Works and Highways, they use their allocated budget primarily
for construction, rehabilitation and improvement of transportation infrastructure and flood control
systems. They use it for building infrastructures such as roads, highways, bridges, flood control
infrastructure and government buildings. As for the Department of Transportation they utilize their
allocated budget for making public transportation system as affordable, safe and comfortable,
especially railway projects.

Allotting large amounts of budget for infrastructure development is one of the attempts of
the government to address the decrepit infrastructures of the country. With the funds, the
government hopes that the country will have some economic growth through implanting projects
that necessary to facilitate trade, increase trade flows and improve the business climate in the
country. Despite having enough funding for building infrastructures, it seems that the
infrastructure in the country are still not enough. It can also be observed that some of these built
by the said agencies are not of the best. There are bridges, roads, and others that are made using
substandard materials which led to easily destroyed infrastructures. These were then connected to
the corruption that is happening within these agencies. Since these agencies are not transparent
with how they use their budget, corruption of funds can easily happen.
 Ghost projects are one of the big issues regarding DPWH. There were a number of
anomalous projects that were declared to be done by the agency but turns out to be that it either
does not exist or only a small portion of it exists and is done.

To counter having ghost projects, every project needs to be monitored to ensure the quality
of work and see the progress of the project and is essential for the success of the project. For this
to happen, on site-personnel are tasked to often visit the site and see for themselves the work that
is being done and see the progress. Currently, monitoring on-going constructions involves and
relies on manual site data collection which is proved to be labor-intensive and time consuming.

Although monitoring projects, through the current manual on-site data collection, would
help countering ghost projects from happening and help in the transparency, it cannot not be fully
relied on since the collected data by the field personnel can be biased.

1.2. Background

One of the primary concerns that the citizens have with the Department of Works and
Highways and the Department of Transportation are issues with budget allocation, monitoring of
infrastructure projects and the transparency of the agency. Because of this the public has lost its
faith to the government and also because of the corruption issues related to it.

The Department of Works and Highways is the department that receives the biggest budget
allocation under the economic services. Despite having a large sum of money, the DPWH failed
to utilize the given budget. For the year 2017, as reported by the Commission on Audit

(COA), the DPWH failed to utilize 66.4 percent, or P440 billion, out of its allocated budget which
was P662.69 billion. The DPWH’s ability to inefficiently utilize its allocated budget was apparent
for the previous three years also. In year 2015 the agency was only able to disburse P148.23 billion
which was only 34.03 percent of the allotted budget that was P435.58 billion and a disbursement
of 34.14 percent or P185.12 billion out of the P542.23 billion allocated budget in 2016. Aside from
this, the agency also had a number of delayed and suspended projects which still consumed a
generous amount of budget.
 Being inefficient in utilizing the budget, the agency faces corruption issues. Many line
items and unspecified completed projects from the budget of the DPWH and DoTr were too vague.
Since these agencies are not really transparent with how they use their budget, corruption is
prevalent.

1.3. Statement of the Problem

The problem that the researchers would like to address is the lack of proper monitoring
system in construction sites. This shall provide a more transparent approach on this issue. Having
a well-defined monitoring for infrastructure development will help in making work more efficient
and therefore achieve high quality public infrastructures. It would help avoid anomalous or ghost
projects from happening.

1.4. Objectives

General Objective:

❏ The researchers aim to develop a on-site project monitoring system that would monitor
the construction of roads, bridges and other major infrastructures in Northern Mindanao.

Specific Objectives:

❏ The researchers will collect data and information on ongoing planned and proposed
projects in Northern Mindanao
 ❏ The researchers will design the framework of the online database and landing page.
❏ The researchers will upload data into a readily accessible online database.

1.5. Statement of the Hypothesis

The researchers expressed the statement of hypothesis in the null form.

Ho: The system will monitor every project being planned and proposed.

Ho: The overall information of the planned and proposed projects will be transmitted to
online database.

Ho: The data and information gathered by the system will be readily accessible without
any delay.

1.6. Significance of Study

It is believed that monitoring the projects serves as a major tool for the implementation and
performance of project portfolios, in order to allow early detection of potential risk and initiate
prompt response or resolution to emerging issues ("Tatak ng Pagbabago", 2018). The monitoring
application will be beneficial in showing transparency in order for the public to be better informed
about the accelerating government infrastructure projects here in Mindanao to find out themselves
the progress of these undertakings. Using this monitoring application, everyone may guarantee a
precise and faster update of data and information in the application output and thus give detailed
project report of all information to ensure the timely efficient delivery of quality and reliable public
infrastructures.
1.7. Theoretical Framework

1.8. Scope and Limitation

The scope of the project is only limited in some areas of Mindanao where the monitoring
system would be implemented. The secondary scope of the project focuses only on monitoring the
infrastructure projects in Mindanao. The study will have a monitoring application, in which, it is
designed to distinguish accordingly the overall view of the ongoing planned and proposed projects.
Furthermore, the researchers focused more on the construction sites that is is in partner up with
NGO all over Mindanao. Various monitoring are envisioned to be attained for the efficiency and
reliability of the system.
1.9. Definition of Terms

Infrastructure. It is the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (e.g.,
buildings, roads, bridges, and power supplies) needed for the operation of a society or
enterprise.

Construction. It involves clearing, excavating, dredging and grading of land and other
activity associated with building, structures, or other types of real property such as bridges,
dams, roads.

Monitoring System. Allows the user to capture data, process and disseminate information
in a systematic way. It enables to measure trends of various indicators based on the data
collected in the field.

Computer. This refers to a programmable electronic device that can store, retrieve, and
process data.

Data. These are the facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis.

Wireless IP Camera. This system receives control data and send images to the server via
the Internet.

Online Database. An online database is a database accessible from a local network or the
internet, as opposed to one that is stored locally on an individual computer or its attached
storage. Online database are hosted on website, made available as a service product
accessible via web browser.
 CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Overview

This part of the research will cover the literature and studies that are related to the research
and would help in the development of it.

2.1 Review of Related Literature

a. Monitoring

According to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, monitoring and controlling a

construction project “consists of those processes required to track, review, and orchestrate the
progress and performance of a project; identify any areas in which changes to the plan are
required; and initiate the corresponding changes”.

Compared to other fields or industries, the construction industry still does not have an
efficient monitoring system and that monitoring and collecting data about the project and its
development remains manual and is still implemented through visual inspections (Navon, 2005).

b. Relationship of Camera to Monitoring

Cameras have been within the construction industry in providing documentation of the
projects and have been essential in construction management. (Hannon, 2007). Digital images
provides visual monitoring of the progress from a distance and standardize point of view. Cameras
can also help minimize arising problems regarding delays due to documentation and
miscommunication. Digital images may also reduce the time needed for inspection by allowing
this task to be done remotely (Brilakis 2007).
2.2 Review of Related Studies (The Review)

In the study entitled “E-road Construction Monitoring and Control System” by S. Patil, et.
Al. in year 2015, the researchers proposed a system that aims to reduce malpractices involved in
the quantitative and qualitative aspects in road construction. They plan to reduce the chances of
the material loosely available for use. They’ll be using a smart machine which is computerized
with Smart Software running on it with VB.net application. The machine will have an inbuilt GPS
device attached to identify the location of the machine and confirm that it coincides with the
location of the work site. Using an Arduino microcontroller values of the amount of constituents
available through analog weight sensors will be obtained and then is converted into digital format.
If the weight is on set point the relay will send the signal to the gates if the valve and the prescribed
amount of material will be mixed and dispensed for use. The entry will then be saved to a remote
database where the government will be able to access and see and analyze the work done.

In another study by C. Smith on 2003 which is the “System for real-time monitoring and
cost management of construction projects” he made a system for monitoring and managing of
construction projects. The system lays out information in data rich pages which are interconnected
by various navigation routes, permitting different views of the information by different users. The
system also allows real-time, secured data entry and access from multiple devices in various
geographical locations.

In the study “RFID indoor location identification for construction projects” by A. Montaser
and O. Moselhi on 2014, they used ultra-high frequency (UHF) passive Radio Frequency
Identification (RFID) technology for indoor location identification and material tracking
methodology for construction. A two-step algorithm is presented to automate the process of
location estimation and material tracking in near-real time. They used a number of passive RFID
tags which are distributed onsite where work is progressing, and a mobile RFID reader is carried
by a worker onsite. Each passive RFID tag is deployed as a reference point with a known location
within a zone. It is then used to determine the location of the worker and eventually locate and
truck surrounding materials. For signal measurements they used received signal strength indicator
(RSSI).

In the study by Z. Memon, M. Majid and M. Mustaffar entitled “An Automatic

Project Progress Monitoring Model by Integrating AutoCAD and Digital Photos”, they used 3D
CAD for the drafting and construction of the entire project and photographs or digital photos that
captured the field progress at regular intervals. According to the study, by providing a visual
representation of the exact status of the project the 3D CAD drawings and 3D model developed
from digital photographs can serve as a good communication medium. They used the Digitalizing
Construction Monitoring (DCM) Model which is an interactive system which integrates 3D CAD
drawings and digital images as their attempt to automate the process of producing as-built
construction schedule by applying modern photogrammetry techniques and integrating CAD
drawings.

2.3 Summary of the State of the Art

The project seeks to develop an advanced and efficient monitoring device that would
address the problem at hand. The studies found supports the main idea of the project which is an
on-site monitoring application. The current researchers would like to apply the above mentioned
studies to further enhance and innovate the discovered studies for the improvement of this study.
According

CHAPTER 3
METHODS OF INVESTIGATION

Overview

This chapter aims to provide an understanding of the general concept of monitoring

application. The researchers aim to build a on-site monitoring application addressing Mindanao
development gaps and be able to get rid of the ghost projects. This study increase accountability
and provides more accurate measurements of the project accomplishments. This includes creating
a device that could transmit photos and videos to the server and upload it to online database using
the network. Knowing these parameters would determine the visibility performances of the
application.

3.1 Description of Subjects and Equipments

The main subjects will be the users of the monitoring application. The function of the subjects is
to use the application in order to monitor, get some updates and track any relevant data and
information made available. Thus, using monitoring application could save time in going to
government offices because the subject can use the application instead, to grasp all the necessary
things needed.

The equipment needed will be a computer or a laptop. It will be used to program and simulate the
application. Since the projects and programs of the DPWH will be the subjects of interest, the
application is programmed list of all the information collected from them. However, a Wireless IP
Camera may also be used for further monitoring. In this study, the researchers require a large
amount of time for it to monitor the infrastructure precisely.

3.2 Research Design and Procedures

To develop the app, the mobile operating system to be used is Android and its
programming language will either be a Java or C++ or anything that can be read by the android
OS. If applicable, the Arduino shall also be utilized during the making of the program. The data
will be collected in a database which is then shown to the user. The application will act as a search
engine for the different ongoing, planned and proposed projects and programs by the Department
of Works and Highways.

There will be a display of ongoing projects in the home menu that the user can browse on.
The user can also search for the name or title of the project or program using search related
keywords and as a result the app will display the information about it. The information about the
projects and programs will be collected from the DPWH. The information will contain the name
of project, location, duration, contractor, implementing office, project cost and the breakdown of
the budget used for the project. The contact information of the person who they can ask about the
project will also be available in the app. The app will also feature a feedback option to get more
ideas on how to improve application performance and functionality better.

3.3 Collection of Data Procedures

(1) Considering that the researchers have already the monitoring application, the data collection
will then be done by coordinating with the DPWH to get the preliminary data. With the permission
with the DPWH, the researchers will ask statistics required. The information obtained the name of
the project, project cost and breakdown of budget, schedule, materials and span of the project,
location, duration, implementing office, contractor. The researchers will not be dealing human
experiments. They will only use an application to receive data and to give information. To be able
to get the data properly, the researchers will make a template or guide on what the officials will
give. The collected information serves as a content on the mobile application that can be later
stored to online database.

(2) Internet Protocol Camera or IP camera will aid the researchers in monitoring by capturing the
current status of the selected ongoing projects by the government. And will transmit the
information to the server.

(3) The researchers will go to random people nearby, introduce themselves and let them use the
application. The users were given instruction to successfully access the monitoring application.
The users explored the application including the feedback option. To test how effective the
monitoring application, users are free to answer the feedback option to give his/her evaluation
about the project and help Infostructure make it better.

3.3 Mode of Data Analysis

Installed wireless IP camera will capture current status of ongoing site projects, data transmitted
through the server is reflected to the mobile application. Along with the photographic information
obtained through the IP camera, project details such as the name of the project, project cost and
breakdown of budget, schedule, materials and span of the project, location, duration,
implementing office, contractor, which are attained from the Department of Public Works and
Highways, are also present in the application.