Efficient scheduling and cost optimization for high-rise construction

In the highly competitive environment of today's construction industry, project managers are faced with ever-increasing challenges to deliver projects in a timely and cost-effective manner. The success of a construction project depends heavily on how effective scheduling is and how firmly the project can be controlled. Poor scheduling can easily result in completion delays and cost overruns.;To minimize construction cost, HRSM employs genetic algorithms (GA's), a nontraditional optimization technique that has a powerful capability to search for a near-optimum solution for large scale problems such as high-rise construction. The optimization determines the combination of construction methods, number of crews, and works interruptions for each activity that results in a schedule with minimum total construction cost. Based on the optimization results, HRSM produces new visual reports of the large amount of schedule data to facilitate crew dispatch and project control during construction.;To automate HRSM functions, a VBA macro has been developed using the VBA macro language of Microsoft Project software. To demonstrate the model's usefulness and illustrate its capabilities, a case study of a high-rise project has been used. The results of various optimization experiments proved the consistency of the model and its suitability to the environment of high-rise projects. This research represents a step towards efficient scheduling and cost optimization for high-rise projects.;The purpose of this thesis is to develop a scheduling and cost optimization model that suits the challenging and highly constrained environment of high-rise building construction. With the cooperation of two Toronto-based construction firms, the current high-rise scheduling practice was investigated. Accordingly, a new high-rise scheduling model (HRSM) has been developed with a unique formulation that accounts for: (1) The logical relationships within each floor (horizontal constraints) and among the different floors (vertical constraints); (2) The vertical nature of the special structural-core-activities which set the rhythm for the high-rise construction; (3) Work continuity and crew synchronization; (4) Seasonal productivity factors and learning curve phenomena; and (5) Prespecified deadline, work interruptions, and resource constraints.