Case Studies
Apr 30, 2019

Impact of Weather Conditions on In Situ Concrete Wall Operations Using a Simulation-Based Approach

Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 145, Issue 7

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to study the impact of temperature, precipitation, and wind speed on in situ concrete wall operations, and its combined resulting effect on project duration. The research presented is anchored in the learnings gained through a literature review on weather effects on construction operations, an analysis of weather data with high resolution, and two field studies of in situ concrete wall operations. These learnings are implemented in a discrete event simulation (DES) model for the analysis of weather impact on project duration. The simulation results show that (1) weather greatly impacts project duration and has to be accounted for when planning operations; (2) there are huge differences between weather seasons that could affect the timing of project start-up; and (3) the height of buildings and threshold values for different types of cranes have to be accounted for when planning lifting operations. The main contribution of this paper lies both in the methods, in which high-resolution weather data can be incorporated in DES models to analyze project duration, and in the actual results of the simulation runs, showing to what level weather variables have to be incorporated in the planning of concrete wall construction.

Get full access to this article

View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.

Data Availability Statement

Data generated or analyzed during the study are available from the corresponding author by request. Information about the Journal’s data-sharing policy can be found here: http://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001263.

References

AbouRizk, S., D. Halpin, Y. Mohamed, and U. Hermann. 2011. “Research in modeling and simulation for improving construction engineering operations.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 137 (10): 843–852. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000288.
Ballesteros-Perez, P., M. L. del Campo-Hitschfeld, M. A. Gonzalez-Naranjo, and M. C. Gonzalez-Cruz. 2015. “Climate and construction delays: Case study in Chile.” Eng. Constr. Archit. Manage. 22 (6): 596–621. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-02-2015-0024.
Birgisson, K. R. 2009. “Discrete-event simulations of construction related production systems.” Master’s thesis, Dept. of Building and Environmental Technology, Lund Univ.
Christian, J., and D. Hachey. 1995. “Effects of delay times on production rates in construction.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 121 (1): 20. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1995)121:1(20).
Hassi, J. 2002. Handbok för kallt arbete, 112. [In Swedish.] Stockholm, Sweden: Arbetslivsinstitutet.
Holmér, I. 1994. “Cold stress: Part I—Guidelines for the practitioner.” Int. J. Ind. Ergon. 14 (1–2): 139–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/0169-8141(94)90011-6.
Illingworth, J. R. 2000. Construction methods and planning. 2nd ed. Translated by Anonymous. London: Spon Press.
Imagine That, Inc. 2019. “ExtendSim.” Accessed October 1, 2018. www.extendsim.com.
Jarkas, A. M., and R. M. W. Horner. 2015. “Creating a baseline for labour productivity of reinforced concrete building construction in Kuwait.” Constr. Manage. Econ. 33 (8): 625–639. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446193.2015.1085651.
Jung, M., M. Park, H.-S. Lee, and H. Kim. 2016. “Weather-delay simulation model based on vertical weather profile for high-rise building construction.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 142 (6): 04016007. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001109.
Koehn, E., and G. Brown. 1985. “Climatic effects on construction.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 111 (2): 129. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1985)111:2(129).
Krahl, D. 2003. Extend: An interactive simulation tool, 188. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE.
Larsson, B., and L. Söderlind. 2006. Väderskyddad produktionsmiljö—Framtidens byggande. [In Swedish.] Gotheburg, Sweden: Sveriges Byggindustrier FoU-Väst.
Liebherr. 2012. Influence of wind on crane operation. 3rd ed. Ehingen/Donau, Germany: Liebherr-Werk Ehingen GmbH.
Lucko, G., P. C. Benjamin, and M. G. Madden. 2008. “Harnessing the power of simulation in the project management/decision support aspects of the construction industry.” In Proc., 2008 Winter Simulation Conf., 2479. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE.
Mäkinen, T. M., T. Päkkönen, H. Rintamäki, L. A. Palinkas, J. Leppluoto, and J. Hassi. 2005. “Manual performance in urban circumpolar subjects exposed to cold in the winter and summer.” In Vol. 3 of Ergonomics book series, edited by Y. Tochihara and T. Ohnaka, 193–197. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier.
Moselhi, O., D. Gong, and K. El-Rayes. 1997. “Estimating weather impact on the duration of construction activities.” Can. J. Civ. Eng. 24 (3): 359–366. https://doi.org/10.1139/l96-122.
Moselhi, O., and Z. Khan. 2010. “Analysis of labour productivity of formwork operations in building construction.” Constr. Innov. 10 (3): 286–303. https://doi.org/10.1108/14714171011060088.
Moselhi, O., and Z. Khan. 2012. “Significance ranking of parameters impacting construction labour productivity.” Constr. Innov. 12 (3): 272–296. https://doi.org/10.1108/14714171211244541.
Nguyen, L. D., J. Kneppers, D. S. Garca, and W. Ibbs. 2010. “Analysis of adverse weather for excusable delays.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 136 (12): 1258–1267. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000242.
Noreng, K. 2005. Værbeskyttet bygging med Weather Protection Systems (WPS). [In Norwegian.]. Oslo, Norway: Byggforsk.
Sargent, R. G. 2013. An introduction to verification and validation of simulation models. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE.
Schriber, T. J., D. T. Brunner, and J. S. Smith. 2013. Inside discrete-event simulation software: How it works and why it matters. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE.
Şen, Z., A. Altunkaynak, and T. Erdik. 2012. “Wind velocity vertical extrapolation by extended power law.” Adv. Meteorol. 2012 (Oct): 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/178623.
Shahin, A., S. M. AbouRizk, and Y. Mohamed. 2011. “Modeling weather-sensitive construction activity using simulation.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 137 (3): 238–246. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000258.
Thomas, H. R., and R. D. Ellis Jr. 2009. “Fundamental principles of weather mitigation.” Pract. Period. Struct. Des. Constr. 14 (1): 29–35. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)1084-0680(2009)14:1(29).
Thomas, H. R., D. R. Riley, and V. E. Sanvido. 1999. “Loss of labor productivity due to delivery methods and weather.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 125 (1): 39–46. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1999)125:1(39).
Thomas, H. R., and I. Yiakoumis. 1987. “Factor model of construction productivity.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 113 (4): 623–639. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1987)113:4(623).
Thomas, H. R., and I. Zavrski. 1999. “Construction baseline productivity: Theory and practice.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 125 (5): 295–303. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1999)125:5(295).
Watson, T. 2004. When the wind blows. London: World Market Intelligence.

Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 145Issue 7July 2019

History

Received: May 21, 2018
Accepted: Dec 3, 2018
Published online: Apr 30, 2019
Published in print: Jul 1, 2019
Discussion open until: Sep 30, 2019

Permissions

Request permissions for this article.

Authors

Affiliations

Robert Larsson [email protected]
Ph.D. Student, Structural Engineering, Dept. of Building and Environmental Technology, Lund Univ., Lund 223 63, Sweden (corresponding author). Email: [email protected]
Martin Rudberg [email protected]
Professor and L E Lundberg Chair in Construction Management and Logistics, Dept. of Science and Technology, Linköping Univ., Norrköping 601 74, Sweden. Email: [email protected]

Metrics & Citations

Metrics

Citations

Download citation

If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.

Cited by

View Options

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Get Access

Access content

Please select your options to get access

Log in/Register Log in via your institution (Shibboleth)
ASCE Members: Please log in to see member pricing

Purchase

Save for later Information on ASCE Library Cards
ASCE Library Cards let you download journal articles, proceedings papers, and available book chapters across the entire ASCE Library platform. ASCE Library Cards remain active for 24 months or until all downloads are used. Note: This content will be debited as one download at time of checkout.

Terms of Use: ASCE Library Cards are for individual, personal use only. Reselling, republishing, or forwarding the materials to libraries or reading rooms is prohibited.
ASCE Library Card (5 downloads)
$105.00
Add to cart
ASCE Library Card (20 downloads)
$280.00
Add to cart
Buy Single Article
$35.00
Add to cart

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

Share

Share

Copy the content Link

Share with email

Email a colleague

Share