Optimizing Resource Leveling in Construction Projects
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135, Issue 11
Abstract
Construction schedules, generated by network scheduling techniques, often cause undesirable resource fluctuations that are impractical, inefficient, and costly to implement on construction sites. This paper presents the development of two innovative resource leveling metrics to directly measure and minimize the negative impact of resource fluctuations on construction productivity and cost. The first metric quantifies the total amount of resources that need to be temporarily released during low demand periods and rehired at a later stage during high demand periods. The second measures the total number of idle and nonproductive resource days that are caused by undesirable resource fluctuations. The two new metrics are incorporated in a robust and practical optimization model that is capable of generating optimal and practical schedules that maximize the efficiency of resource utilization. An application example is analyzed to illustrate the use of the model and demonstrate its capabilities. The results of this analysis show that the present model and metrics are capable of outperforming existing metrics and eliminating undesirable resource fluctuations and resource idle time.
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Acknowledgments
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under the NSF Grant No. NSFCMS 0626066 and by the Qatar National Research Fund under Grant No. UNSPECIFIEDQNRF-NPRP26-6-7-2. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135 • Issue 11 • November 2009
Pages: 1172 - 1180
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: May 8, 2009
Accepted: May 20, 2009
Published online: May 22, 2009
Published in print: Nov 2009
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