A new approach for automation of location-based earthwork scheduling in road construction projects

a r t i c l e i n f o Accurate information of working locations is vital for efficient resource planning, safety of the construction site and monitoring the weekly progress of earthworks, which is missing in the existing linear scheduling methods. Construction managers have to depend on the subjective decisions for resources allocation and progress monitoring from location aspects. This has caused uncertainties in planning and scheduling, and consequently delays and cost overruns of projects. In this context, a prototype computer-based model was developed using the theory of the location-based planning. An arithmetic algorithm was designed by incorporating road design data, sectional quantities, variable productivity rates and haulage distance. This paper focuses on the improvement and demonstration of the model functions through a case study experiment, which include the automatic generation of location-based earthwork schedules and the optimisation of the weekly resource allocation when and where necessary from the location aspects, considering different options such as construction sequences of the cut/fill sections, site access points and the equipment sets with known productivity rates. The study concluded that the model is a decision supporting tool that assists in the resources planning, identifying time–space congestion, monitoring the activities progress on a weekly basis from the location aspects, and reducing the gap when communicating the scheduling information amongst the construction site teams. The construction industry has distinct characteristics in comparison with other industries in terms of one-off projects, site production, and temporary organisation [14]. The planning and scheduling process is a challenging task in the construction projects, and the decisions taken at the planning stage have the foremost impact on the successful execution of the project from its early conceptual stage to the completion stage [1]. Planning and scheduling include the precise allocation of the construction resources at the required locations and when necessary, particularly in the linear construction projects, such as roads and railways. Failure to allocate the critical resources of work activities at required locations has an adverse impact on the linear project performance such as cost, time, work-space conflicts and the safety of the workers at the construction site [16]. Arditi et al. [3] suggested that an earthwork project requires a separate planning task due to the distinctive characteristics of earthworks. The effective applications of planning and scheduling techniques: such as the Critical Path Method (CPM) and the Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT) are limited, because the work …