Time–cost–quality trade-off analysis for planning construction projects

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tianqi Wang ◽  
Moatassem Abdallah ◽  
Caroline Clevenger ◽  
Shahryar Monghasemi
Keyword(s):  
Optimization Model ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Present Model ◽  
Construction Project ◽  
Time Cost ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Project Duration ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Project Objectives

Purpose Achieving project objectives in constructionprojects such as time, cost and quality is a challenging task. Minimizing project cost often results in additional project duration and might jeopardize quality, and minimizing project duration often results in additional cost and might jeopardize quality. Also, increasing construction quality often results in additional cost and time. The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze trade-offs among the project objectives of time, cost and quality. Design/methodology/approach The optimization model adopted a quantitative research method and is developed in two main steps formulation step that focuses on identifying model decision variables and formulating objective functions, and implementation step that executes the model computations using multi-objective optimization of Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithms to identify the aforementioned trade-offs, and codes the model using python. The model performance is verified and tested using a case study of construction project consisting of 20 activities. Findings The model was able to show practical and needed value for construction managers by identifying various trade-off solutions between the project objectives of time, cost and quality. For example, the model was able to identify the shortest project duration at 84 days while keeping cost under $440,000 and quality higher than 85 percent. However, with an additional budget of $20,000 (4.5 percent increase), the quality can be increased to 0.935 (8.5 percent improvement). Research limitations/implications The present research work is limited to project objectives of time, cost and quality. Future expansion of the model will focus on additional project objectives such as safety and sustainability. Furthermore, new optimization models can be developed for construction projects with repetitive nature such as roads, tunnels and high rise buildings. Practical implications The present model advances existing research in planning construction projects efficiently and achieving important project objectives. On the practical side, the optimization model will support the construction industry by allowing construction managers to identify the highest quality to deliver a construction project within specified budget and duration, lowest cost for specified duration and quality or shortest duration for specified budget and quality. Originality/value The present model introduces new and innovative method of increasing working hours per day and number of working days per shift while analyzing labor working efficiency and overtime rate to identify optimal trade-offs among important project objectives of time, cost and quality.

A new framework for time-cost trade-off considering float loss impact

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sameh Monir El-Sayegh ◽  
Rana Al-Haj
Keyword(s):  
Optimization Technique ◽  
Time Cost ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Deterministic Optimization ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Project Duration ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Project Objectives ◽  
The Impact ◽  
New Framework

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a new framework for time–cost trade-off. The new framework provides the optimum time–cost value taking into account the float loss impact. Design/methodology/approach The stochastic framework uses Monte Carlo Simulation to calculate the effect of float loss on risk. This is later translated into an added cost to the trade-off problem. Five examples, from literature, are solved using the proposed framework to test the applicability of the developed framework. Findings The results confirmed the research hypothesis that the new optimum solution will be at a higher duration and cost but at a lower risk compared to traditional methods. The probabilities of finishing the project on time using the developed framework in all five cases were better than those using the classical deterministic optimization technique. Originality/value The objective of time–cost trade-off is to determine the optimum project duration corresponding to the minimum total cost. Time–cost trade-off techniques result in reducing the available float for noncritical activities and thus increasing the schedule risks. Existing deterministic optimization technique does not consider the impact of the float loss within the noncritical activities when the project duration is being crashed. The new framework allows project managers to exercise new trade-offs between time, cost and risk which will ultimately improve the chances of achieving project objectives.

scholarly journals Trading off Time–Cost–Quality in Construction Project Scheduling Problems with Fuzzy SWARA–TOPSIS Approach

Buildings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 387
Author(s):  
Sayyid Ali Banihashemi ◽  
Mohammad Khalilzadeh ◽  
Jurgita Antucheviciene ◽  
Jonas Šaparauskas
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Project Scheduling ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Construction Project ◽  
Solution Technique ◽  
Time Cost ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Project Activity ◽  
Project Objectives ◽  
Construction Project Scheduling

The increasing number of construction projects together with the limited resources of organizations led to tough competition for achieving project goals. Time, cost, and quality have been known as the project iron triangle. Project managers attempt to allocate the appropriate resources and make the best decisions for accomplishing projects with the shortest durations, lowest costs, and the highest quality. No study has examined the time–cost–quality trade-off problem with decision-making approaches. In this study, the fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods are exploited to choose the best mode for performing each activity. For this purpose, the SWARA method is applied to determine the importance weights of time, cost, and quality. In addition, the TOPSIS (Technique for the Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) technique is used to rank and select the best activity execution modes. The proposed model is implemented on two medium- and large-size construction projects to evaluate its efficiency. Several execution modes with fuzzy duration, cost, and quality are considered for each project activity. Finally, sensitivity analysis is conducted taking three different conditions into account: the shortest duration of the execution modes, the lowest cost of the execution modes, and the highest quality of execution modes for each activity. The solution of each trade-off is compared with the solution obtained from the fuzzy SWARA–TOPSIS method. The schedule is developed according to the best execution mode for each project activity. The obtained results in two different construction projects show significant improvements in the overall project objectives so that the projects can be completed in fewer durations and costs along with higher quality. Because of the higher importance of cost, the cost of each activity is closer to the lowest cost. The activity duration is also closer to the most likely duration, and quality is closer to the high-quality level. The application of this approach can create new opportunities for research and knowledge development in the field of construction project scheduling.

scholarly journals Fuzzy Multicriteria Decision-Making Model for Time-Cost-Risk Trade-Off Optimization in Construction Projects

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Ammar Alzarrad ◽  
Gary P. Moynihan ◽  
Muhammad T. Hatamleh ◽  
Siyuan Song
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Multicriteria Decision Making ◽  
Attractive Alternative ◽  
Time Cost ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Multicriteria Decision ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Cost Risk

As is often the case in project scheduling, when the project duration is shortened to decrease total cost, the total float is lost resulting in added critical or nearly critical activities. This, in turn, results in decreasing the probability of completing the project on time and increases the risk of schedule delays. To solve this problem, this research developed a fuzzy multicriteria decision-making (FMCDM) model. The objective of this model is to help project managers improve their decisions regarding time-cost-risk trade-offs (TCRTO) in construction projects. In this model, an optimization algorithm based on fuzzy logic and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) has been used to analyze the time-cost-risk trade-off alternatives and select the best one based on selected criteria. The algorithm was implemented in the MATLAB software and applied to two case studies to verify and validate the presented model. The presented FMCDM model could help produce a more reliable schedule and mitigate the risk of projects running overbudget or behind schedule. Further, this model is a powerful decision-making instrument to help managers reduce uncertainties and improve the accuracy of time-cost-risk trade-offs. The presented FMCDM model employed fuzzy linguistic terms, which provide decision-makers with the opportunity to give their judgments as intervals comparing to fixed value judgments. In conclusion, the presented FMCDM model has high robustness, and it is an attractive alternative to the traditional methods to solve the time-cost-risk trade-off problem in construction.

Optimizing the scheduling of crew deployments in repetitive construction projects under uncertainty

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbas Hassan ◽  
Khaled El-Rayes ◽  
Mohamed Attalla
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Stochastic Scheduling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Project Duration ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Original Contribution ◽  
Novel Model ◽  
Scheduling Technique

PurposeThis paper presents the development of a novel model for optimizing the scheduling of crew deployments in repetitive construction projects while considering uncertainty in crew production rates.Design/methodology/approachThe model computations are performed in two modules: (1) simulation module that integrates Monte Carlo simulation and a resource-driven scheduling technique to calculate the earliest crew deployment dates for all activities that fully comply with crew work continuity while considering uncertainty; and (2) optimization module that utilizes genetic algorithms to search for and identify optimal crew deployment plans that provide optimal trade-offs between project duration and crew deployment plan cost.FindingsA real-life example of street renovation is analyzed to illustrate the use of the model and demonstrate its capabilities in optimizing the stochastic scheduling of crew deployments in repetitive construction projects.Originality/valueThe original contribution of this research is creating a novel multiobjective stochastic scheduling optimization model for both serial and nonserial repetitive construction projects that is capable of identifying an optimal crew deployment plan that simultaneously minimizes project duration and crew deployment cost.

scholarly journals Bi-Objective Scheduling Optimization for Discrete Time/Cost Trade-Off in Projects

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2802 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongbo Li ◽  
Zhe Xu ◽  
Wenchao Wei
Keyword(s):  
Discrete Time ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Heuristic Algorithms ◽  
Critical Path ◽  
Large Set ◽  
Time Cost ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Project Duration ◽  
Computational Performance ◽  
Trade Offs

In sustainable project management, time and cost are two critical factors affecting the success of a project. Time/cost trade-offs in projects accelerate the execution of some activities by increasing the amount of non-renewable resources committed to them and therefore shorten the project duration. The discrete time/cost trade-off problem (DTCTP) has been extensively studied during the past 20 years. However, due to its complexity, the DTCTP—especially the DTCTP curve problem (DTCTP-C)—has only been solved for relatively small instances. To the best of our knowledge, there is no computational performance analysis for solving the DTCTP-C on large project instances with up to 500 activities. This paper aims to fill this gap. We present two bi-objective heuristic algorithms for the DTCTP-C where both project duration and cost are minimized. The objective is to obtain a good appropriate efficient set for the large-scale instances. The first algorithm is based on the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) and uses a specially designed critical path-based crossover operator. The second algorithm is a steepest descent heuristic which generates efficient solutions by iteratively solving the DTCTP with different deadlines. Computational experiments are conducted to validate the proposed algorithms on a large set of randomly generated problem instances.

Nature of construction project cultures in the public sector: case studies in Sri Lanka

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 557-568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aparna Samaraweera ◽  
Sepani Senaratne ◽  
Y.G. Sandanayake
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Construction Project ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Project Participants ◽  
Project Culture ◽  
Project Objectives

Purpose Cultural differences cause conflicts amongst construction project participants, deterring the success of projects. Understanding such different cultural manifestations could help the removal of the misunderstandings amongst sub-cultural groups and removal of formal irrationalities deterring the progress of construction projects. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of project cultures in the public sector construction projects. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory case study was selected as the research strategy to achieve the research aim. Three public sector building construction projects were used as case studies. Nine semi-structured interviews and observation of two progress review meetings per case were used for data collection. Findings As per the research findings, contractors believed that construction project culture emerged and transferred through continuous interactions and socialisations with time. Consultants believed that culture was emerged focusing on clearly defined project objectives. In addition, all members assumed that project members at high authority levels were contributing more for the emergence and transfer of cultural aspects. Levels of culture and power existed within the public sector project culture as clients with the highest power, consultants the next and contractors with the least power. Public sector project culture was not leader centred. Shared behavioural norms were not much popular in project culture. Highly differentiated behavioural norms, demonstrating clear professional sub-cultures for the client, contractor and consultant, were available. Originality/value The research findings are helpful to construction project managers to enhance the level of motivation, productivity, commitment, continuous interactions and socialisations of project participants and to avoid any negative outcomes in behaviours.

scholarly journals PERCEPATAN WAKTU PELAKSANAAN PEKERJAAN KONSTRUKSI DENGAN METODE CPM DAN TCTO

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-40
Author(s):  
Cut Zukhrina Oktaviani ◽  
Ibnu Abbas Majid ◽  
Risdiawati Risdiawati
Keyword(s):  
Completion Time ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Critical Path ◽  
Minimum Cost ◽  
Time Cost ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Project Duration ◽  
Project Completion ◽  
Project Costs ◽  
Total Project

Construction delays are a common and major concern in most construction projects. Construction project delay can indirectly affect of project performance. Delay resolve method is to schedule crashing with various methods. This crashing planning is done by combining the Critical Path Method (CPM) and Time-Cost Trade-Off (TCTO) method for the minimum cost in crash duration calculation. Project A data is used to be a case studi in crash duration calculation and costs increase. Rescheduling with CPM result project completion time 120 days and after crashing project duration becomes 94 days, there was a reduction 26 days project completion time. Crashing programme are do to 18 activities from 30 critical activies rescheduling with CPM result. Total project costs changes is Rp. 19.923.466,- due working time addition (overtime) to reduce project time with Time Cost Trade Off method. Normal condition project costs is Rp. 985,171,182.52 and after duration crash becomes Rp. 1,005,094,648, -.

Impact of contractors’ opportunism on construction project transaction costs

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-141
Author(s):  
Matthew Ikuabe ◽  
Ayodeji Emmanuel Oke ◽  
Clinton Aigbavboa
Keyword(s):  
Transaction Costs ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Construction Project ◽  
Rank Correlation ◽  
Item Score ◽  
Potent Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Project Objectives ◽  
Post Hoc

Purpose There is a growing concern of the non-balance of the final output of construction works in comparison the financial resources invested with during the course of construction projects. One propelling factor to this is the opportunistic disposition often sought out by construction contractors. This study aims to investigate the relationship between construction contractors’ opportunism and construction project transaction costs from the viewpoint of construction professionals. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaire survey was deployed in eliciting responses from construction professionals. A total of 337 questionnaires were distributed and 264 were retrieved and deemed fit for analysis. Methods of data analysis used for the study are Mean Item Score, Kruskal–Wallis H-test, Student Newman Kauls Post Hoc Test, Factor Analysis, Spearman Rank Correlation and Regression Analysis. Findings The study showed that the most-ranked factor influencing contractors’ opportunism that affects transaction cost is “Unclear scope of work”. Revealed from the study is the differing view of construction professionals of the effect of contractors’ opportunism on transaction costs. Equally revealed through Spearman correlation analysis is the potent effect that contractors’ opportunism has on transaction costs. Likewise, the study established that there is a discovered difference among construction professionals’ perceived effect of contractors’ opportunism on construction transaction costs. Originality/value The study establishes the nexus between construction contractors’ opportunistic disposition and construction transaction costs, which are shown to be highly correlated. The study went further to recommend that efforts should be made to ensure that issues like contract documentation should be well and appropriately carried out; roles and responsibilities of stakeholders should be well defined so as to fully keep all parties to a contract abreast with the expectations of their duties in relation to the project objectives.

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