Abstract
Cost and duration are two of the most important factors in the successful assessment of a construction project. In order to set appropriate cost and duration targets for individual projects, the targets must first be established based on accurate productivity information from the planning stage. In Korea, the cost and duration of a construction activity are estimated using standardized productivity information provided by the Korean Standard of Estimate (KSE). However, the KSE standardized productivity information may not fully reflect the characteristics of an individual project, given its unique nature. Thus, cost and duration targets set based on the KSE for productivity may be unreasonable and/or unattainable. To address this issue, this paper suggests a simulation-based approach where actual field productivity information is utilized to set more realistic cost and duration targets and to optimize resource allocation, including crew assembly. Specifically, a CYCLONE model is developed for reinforced concrete work that is typically a critical activity in multi-housing projects, which account for 35% of public construction projects in Korea. Experimental application of the simulation model confirmed its promising potential for assisting construction managers in calculating productivity through sensitivity analysis and in planning and controlling efficient resource management.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
AbouRizk, S. M. (2010). “Role of simulation in construction engineering and management.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 136, No. 10, pp. 1140–1153, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000220.
AbouRizk, S. M. and Halpin, D. W. (1990). “Probabilistic simulation studies for repetitive consturction processes.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 116, No. 4, pp. 575–594, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1990)116:4(575).
AbouRizk, S. M. Halpin, D. W., and Wilson, J. (1994). “Fitting beta distributions based on sample Data.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 120, No. 2, pp. 288–305, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1994)120:2(288).
AbouRizk, S. M., Knowles, P., and Hermann, U. R. (2001). “Estimating labor production rates for industrial construction activities.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 127, No. 6, pp. 502–511, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2001)127:6(502).
Agbulos, A., Mohamed, Y., Al-Hussein, M., and AbouRizk, S. M. (2006). “Application of lean concepts and simulation analysis to improve efficiency of drainage operations maintenance crews.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 132, No. 3, pp. 291–299, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2006)132:3(291).
Ammar, M. A. and Mohieldin, Y. A. (2002). “Resource constrained project scheduling using simulation.” Construction Management and Economics, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 323–330, DOI: 10.1080/01446190210131098.
An, J. S. (2009). A study on the improvement of revision process and depreciation method of the standard estimating system, PhD Dissertation, Inha University.
Cho, K. M. (2009). Integrated schedule and cost management model for repetitive construction process of high-rise building, PhD Dissertation, University of Seoul.
Fayek, A. R. and Oduba, A. (2005). “Predicting industrial construction labor productivity using fuzzy expert systems.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 131, No. 8, pp. 938–941, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2005)131:8(938).
Halpin, D. W. and Riggs, L. S. (1992). Planning and analysis of construction operations, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Han, S., Hong, T., and Lee, S. (2008). “Production prediction of conventional and GPS-based earthmoving systems using a simulation methodology and multiple regression analysis.” Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 35, No. 6, pp. 574–587, DOI: 10.1139/L08-005.
Han, S., Lee, S., Hong, T., and Chang, H. (2006). “Simulation analysis of productivity variation by GPS implementation in earthmoving operations.” Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 33, No. 9, pp. 1105–1114, DOI: 10.1139/l05-124.
Hendrickson, D., Matinelli, D., and Rehak, D. (1987). “Hierarchical rulebased activity duration estimation.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 113, No. 2, pp. 288–301, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1987)113:2(288).
Hong, T. and Hastak, M. (2007). “Simulation study on construction process of FRP bridge deck panels.” Automation in Construction, Vol. 16, No. 5, pp. 620–631, DOI: 10.1016/j.autcon.2006.10.004.
Hong, T., Cho, K., Hyun, C., and Han, S. (2011). “Simulation-based schedule estimation model for ACS-Based core wall construction of high-rise building.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 137, No. 6, pp. 393–402, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000300.
Huang, R., Chenb, J., and Sunb, K. (2004). “Planning gang formwork operations for building construction using simulations.” Automation in Construction, Vol. 13, No. 6, pp. 765–779, DOI: 10.1016/j.autcon.2004.05.001.
Hyun, C., Hong, T., Ji, S., Yu, J., and An, S. (2011). “The development of probabilistic time and cost data: Focus on field conditions and labor productivity.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Project Management, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 37–43, DOI: 10.6106/JCEPM.2011.1.1.037.
Ji, S. (2012). Converged time, cost, and carbon emission data prototype utilizing stochastic analysis in reinforced concrete work, PhD Dissertation, University of Seoul.
Karshenas, S. and Feng, X. (1992). “Application of neural networks in earthmoving equipment production estimating.” Proc., 8th Conf. Computing in Civil Engineering, ASCE, New York, pp. 841–847.
Keller, G. and Warrack, B. (2010). Statistics for management and economics, Thomson Learning, Inc.
Korea Institute of Construction Technology (2010). Cost estimating and management system for construction projects, 4th 22 Report, MLTMA.
Lu, M. (2001). Productivity studies using advanced ANN models, PhD Dissertation, Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta., Canada.
Luo, R. Y. and Najafi, M. (2007). “Productivity study of micro tunneling pipe installation using simulation.” Journal of Infrastructure System, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 247–260, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)1076-0342(2007)13:3(247).
Oglesby, C. H., Parker, H. W., and Howell, G. A. (1989). Productivity improvement in construction, MacGraw-Hill Book Company.
Portas, J. and AbouRizk, S. M. (1997). “Neural network model for estimating construction productivity.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 123, No. 4, pp. 399–410, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1997)123:4(399).
Sander, S. R. and Thomas, H. R. (1993). “Masonry productivity forecasting model.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 119, No. 1, pp. 163–179, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1993)119:1(163).
Sawhney, A., AbouRizk, S. M., and Halpin, D. A. (1998) “Construction project simulation using CYCLONE.” Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 25, No. 1, pp. 16–25, DOI: 10.1139/l97-047.
Shaheen, A. A., Fayek, A. R., and AbouRizk, S. M. (2009). “Methodology for integrating fuzzy expert systems and discrete event simulation in construction engineering.” Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, Vol. 36, No. 9, pp. 1478–1490, DOI: 10.1139/L09-091.
Sink, D. S. (1985). Productivity management: Planning measurement and evaluation, Control and Improvement, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Smith, S. D. (1999). “Earthmoving productivity estimation using linear regression techniques.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 125, No. 3, pp. 133–141, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1999)125:3(133).
Song, L. and AbouRizk, S. (2008). “Measuring and modeling labor productivity using historical data.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 134, No. 10, pp. 786–794, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2008)134:10(786).
Sonmez, R. and Rowings, J. E. (1998). “Construction labor productivity modeling with neural networks.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 124, No. 6, pp. 498–504, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1998)124:6(498).
Sumanth, D. J. (1984). Productivity engineering and management, MacGraw-Hill Book Company.
Zayed, T. M. and Halpin, D. W. (2005). “Pile construction productivity assessment.” Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, Vol. 131, No. 6, pp. 705–714, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2005)131:6(705).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
An, S., Ji, S., Hyun, C. et al. A model-based productivity improvement of reinforced concrete work in a multi-housing project. KSCE J Civ Eng 19, 1183–1192 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-015-0302-7
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12205-015-0302-7