Visualization of Repetitive Construction Activities in Excel

Construction visualization provides ample benefits to planning, scheduling, and forensic analysis of repetitive construction activities. Efforts have been directed toward using state-of-the-art technologies for providing a virtual realism to the visualization of construction processes. This paper addresses the benefits that can be provided by two-dimensional animation sequences on a widely used programming environment; Excel. Examples are presented. The system uses discrete event simulation and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). The visualization is presented in an Excel worksheet. The work performed can be visualized dynamically during the simulation period. The first example presented illustrates the actual construction of a residential development where the lots were made available on time to the contractor. The second example is a simulation of this same project assuming that the residential lots were not available on time.