Simulation of Construction Processes of Multi-Story Buildings in Gaza Strip

Abstract

Multi-story building projects are classified as repetitive activities projects “RAP” that have a vital position in construction industry in Gaza Strip at present time. Many previous approaches for planning and scheduling the RAP are limited to deterministic nature and cannot ensure continuous resource utilization. This thesis presents an integration between simulation and optimization as a key solution for planning and scheduling the RAP in terms of time and cost with the optimum number of resources. A general simulation model that is suitable for the multi-story building projects (MSB-projects) as example for the RAP was developed using Arena software. The model was designed using statistical approach for determining the activities’ durations by finding the suitable distribution functions for resources’ production rates. The first step in model formulation was building the conceptual model, which is considered as the theoretical model for the MSB-projects and the application of the simulation model. Then the typical simulation model was developed for MSB-projects that includes the basic activities and their logical relationships. The designed model was verified and validated. The verification process was executed to ensure that the simulation model operates as intended. The validation process was executed by applying the simulation model to a real case study and compare the results versus the actual one and the results were found good. The developed model empowers the users to optimize any of the applied case parameters (cost or time) using OptQuest for Arena. The optimization process achieved decreasing in the total cost of about 7.5% from the actual cost through finding the optimum number of resources. For more facilitation, Visual Basic interfaces were developed to facilitate to the interaction of the user with Arena software where no previously knowledge with Arena is needed. These interfaces provide the user with many alternatives options for data entry at the model.