CONSTRUCTION TIME-COST TRADE-OFF ANALYSIS USING LP/IP HYBRID METHOD

Construction projects require planners to select appropriate resources, including crew size, equipment, methods, and technologies. Generally, a trade-off exists between time and cost for task completion, that is, the cheaper the resources, the longer it takes. By employing critical-path-method techniques, the overall project cost can be reduced by using less expensive resources for noncritical activities without impacting the duration. Furthermore, planners usually need to adjust the selection of resources to shorten or lengthen the project duration. Finding optimal decisions is difficult and time-consuming because of the numbers of permutations involved. For example, a critical-path-method network with only eight activities, each with two options, will have 256 alternatives. Exhaustive enumeration is not economically feasible, even with fast computers. This paper introduces a new algorithm using linear and integer programming (LP/IP) to efficiently determine optimal resource selections that optimize time and cost of a construction project.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/8675438
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Civil Engineers

  345 East 47th Street
  New York, NY  United States  10017-2398
• Authors:
  • Liu, Lei
  • Burns, S A
  • Feng, C-W
• Publication Date: 1995-12

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 446-454
• Serial:
  • Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
  • Volume: 121
  • Issue Number: 4
  • Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers
  • ISSN: 0733-9364
  • EISSN: 1943-7862
  • Serial URL: http://ascelibrary.org/journal/jcemd4

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Algorithms; Alternatives analysis; Construction projects; Costs; Integer programming; Linear programming; Methodology; Time
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Construction; Finance; Highways; I52: Construction of Pavements and Surfacings; I53: Construction of Bridges and Retaining Walls;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00715328
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 10 1996 12:00AM