Resource-interacted simulation modeling in construction

Abstract

Computer simulation has served as an important modeling tool in a wide range of disciplines such as business management, manufacturing industry, communication systems etc. However, its application in construction still remains at the research and experimental level. One of the main reasons is that construction projects are usually unique and management needs much flexibility and quick response. A modeling method for construction simulation is required to enable the users without much knowledge on simulation technology to easily generate a model in a short time. In this paper, a resource-interacted simulation modeling approach (RISim) is presented to address this problem. Using object-oriented modeling concept, RISim takes construction resources as objects and emphasizes the interaction between resources. Complex Resources and Simple Resources are used to represent resources with or without their own activities, respectively. A project is considered as a collection of resources and modeled in two abstraction levels, Resource Level and Process Level. The project logic is represented with simple resource flow, complex resource internal flow, and common process. A sample application in highway maintenance illustrates the methodology of Resource- Interacted Simulation modeling and its advantages. © 2004 ASCE.