Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem under Multiple Time Constraints
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 147, Issue 2
Abstract
This paper introduces a new practical scheduling problem called the resource-constrained project scheduling problem under multiple time constraints, which involves a duration constraint of activity, temporal constraint, and resource calendar constraint. The duration constraint of the activity exists widely in real-life projects, and it is first proposed as a resource-constrained project scheduling problem in this paper. We prove the defects of the traditional temporal constraint and improve it. The new problem combines three types of time constraints for the first time, which makes it closer to the actual scheduling problem. We developed a constraint programming optimization model for the new problem and used the IBM ILOG CPLEX-CP version 12.9.0 optimizer to solve it. Computational experiments are carried out to show that the CP optimizer is fast and provides a near-optimum solution to the new problem for projects with hundreds of activities within minutes compared to other metaheuristic methods. The results reported in this paper can be used as a benchmark for other researchers to compare and improve. The new problem contributes to developing a practical decision support system for resolving real-life constraints in projects.
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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.
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Young Scientists Fund of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 71701069).
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Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 147 • Issue 2 • February 2021
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 12, 2020
Accepted: Sep 15, 2020
Published online: Dec 7, 2020
Published in print: Feb 1, 2021
Discussion open until: May 7, 2021
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