Definition of Drilling-Activity Patterns Based on Production Data Profiles-Paper

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The study develops an approach for automatically identifying construction activities from production data collected during fully cased Kelly-pile installation. Although drilling rigs record parameters such as depth, pressure, force and rotational speed, interpreting these records can be difficult because pile construction involves many alternating operations and may span several days.<br /><br />The research examined data from a Liebherr LB36 rig used on the KASIG tunnel project in Karlsruhe, Germany. A video of one pile installation was synchronized with the rig’s one-second-interval data to identify and classify activities. The researchers then established rules using depth changes and movement rates, together with drilling pressure, crowd force and rotation speed, to distinguish operations such as drilling, casing insertion and extraction, Kelly-bar movements, bucket handling, rig movement and breaks.<br /><br />The resulting algorithm successfully recognized the main construction phases in the studied pile and produced similarly satisfactory results for other piles at the site. This automated interpretation gives engineers a clearer view of workflow, downtime and gross and net productivity. It may also support comparisons between crews, equipment and drilling tools, and help relate drilling energy to ground conditions for improved performance assessment and cost estimation.<br /><br />The criteria were calibrated for one project involving fully cased piles in medium- to dense granular soils, so broader testing is needed before applying them to other ground conditions and foundation methods. More complete machine data, including torque and tool-position measurements, could further improve recognition accuracy and extend the approach to additional applications.

Keywords

construction activity recognition

Kelly-pile installation

drilling rig data

automated workflow classification

Liebherr LB36

KASIG tunnel project

pile construction monitoring

productivity analysis

drilling parameters

foundation engineering