DECISION QUALITY IN COMPLEX PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT: REFLECTIONS ON A CASE STUDY

Conceptual design projects are increasingly known as an intense decision-making process. Much of the decision-making is comparing the degree of preference between choices. In the complex projects of the upstream business of oil and gas, good decisions are crucial for success. Decisions are typically made within a dynamic environment, wide range of uncertainty, and have to account for the asset life cycle. This paper reflects on the application of the decision quality framework with a focus on decision modelling. Using an industrial example, a systematic approach to visualise and improve decision making process is proposed. The approach applies a Dependency Structure Matrix (DSM) and Decision Quality frameworks and identified opportunities for future research.

An Exploratory Study on Optimal Iterative Design Schedules with the Consideration of Design Quality and Resource Constraints

The classical dependency structure matrix (DSM) can effectively deal with iterative schedules that are highly coupled and interdependent, such as the design process and the concurrent process. Classical DSM generally follows the assumption that the least iteration occurs to achieve the shortest completion time. Nevertheless, the assumption may not hold because tasks ought to be re-visited several times if the design qualities do not meet the requirements. This research proposed a novel iterative scheduling model that combines the classical DSM concept with quality equations. The quality equations were used to determine the number of tasks that ought to be re-visited for fulfilling quality requirements during the iterative design process. Moreover, resources for concurrent activities are generally limited in the real world. Resource allocation should be incorporated in scheduling to avoid the waste and shortage of resources on a design project. This research proposed a new iterative scheduling model based on the classical DSM to optimize the iterative activities’ structure in terms of minimizing completion time with the consideration of design quality under resource constraints. A practical design schedule was introduced to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed DSM algorithm.

Sequential dependency structure matrix based framework for leveling of a tower crane lifting plan

Recent construction projects involving the building of extremely tall and large structures have increased the demand for various major equipment, including tower cranes (TCs). However, most lifting plans for TCs at construction sites are performed based on the experience and intuition of the site manager as opposed to a systematic process of rational work. This study presents a framework for scheduling TCs using sequential characteristics of a dependency structure matrix (DSM) to efficiently improve the lifting plan of TCs. In this research, a real world construction case study involving a TC in charge of three buildings was examined. The results of the case study indicated that the scheduling of TC using sequential DSM was useful in leveling the TC lifting plan in terms of ease of use, especially in the typical floor cycle lifting planning. Therefore, the TC lifting plan based on sequential DSM presents a more precise and systematic TC lifting plan.