Improved Critical Chain Project Management Framework for Scheduling Construction Projects
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 140, Issue 12
Abstract
Construction projects are subject to a wide range of constraints, such as project complexity, resource scarcity, and duration uncertainty. The critical chain project management (CCPM) has emerged as a method for construction scheduling. This paper proposes an improved CCPM framework to enhance the implementation of CCPM in construction project management practices. The framework addresses two major challenges in CCPM-based construction scheduling, including buffer sizing and multiple resources leveling. Buffers play a key role in ensuring successful schedule management. However, buffers generated by the existing sizing methods are either unnecessarily large, which wastes resources, or insufficiently robust against various uncertainties. Resource leveling is another critical challenge in CCPM-based construction scheduling because it requires a fundamentally different approach from the resource leveling used in traditional scheduling methods. The proposed framework improves buffer sizing by integrating into the buffer sizing process various uncertainties that affect construction scheduling but are not factored in by current practice. These uncertainties are assessed in five dimensions with their respective metrics developed in the framework. Furthermore, the framework explores the feasibility of multiple resources leveling in CCPM-based construction scheduling, with a novel method that manages the trade-offs between activity duration and resource usages based on a multimodal activity execution structure. Three case studies were undertaken in this paper. The results showed that the proposed framework outperformed existing buffer sizing methods by generating buffers with reasonable sizes and sufficient robustness against uncertainties. The results also proved the feasibility and effectiveness of performing multiple resources leveling in CCPM-based construction scheduling.
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Acknowledgments
This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSFC) under Grants #70802045 and #71102142. The authors thank the NNSFC for its support. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NNSFC.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 140 • Issue 12 • December 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 4, 2014
Accepted: Jun 6, 2014
Published online: Jul 3, 2014
Published in print: Dec 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Dec 3, 2014
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