In a time of increasing requirements on construction projects, the simulation of construction processes in order to identify optimization potential of the execution becomes more and more important.
Apart from the needed information, the daily accurate acquisition of construction data is one main objective. In order to keep the acquisition effort as low as possible, it has to be clarified which data is really necessary for simulating the construction processes and which is not.
This work shall be a contribution to determine the appropriate level of detail that enables to reconstruct completely the execution of constructing highway bridge curbs.
Therefore different scenarios will be generated in which the availability of the respective data will be modified by generating process delays on purpose. By analyzing the effects of different process delays the importance of the investigated processes shall be determined in order to reduce the acquisition effort by optimizing the execution structure.
Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION
2 EXECUTION AND SIMULATION MODEL
3 THE SCENARIO ANALYSES
3.1 Scenario 1
3.2 Scenario 2
3.3 Scenario 3
3.4 Scenario 4
3.4.1 Case 1
3.4.2 Case 2
3.4.3 Case 3
3.4.4 Case 4
3.4.5 Case 5
4 OPTIMIZATION OF THE EXECUTION STRUCTURE
4.1 Comparison of the scenario results
4.2 Importance of the examined execution processes
4.3 Appropriate level of execution detail
4.3.1 Combination conditions
4.3.2 Potential process combinations
5 CONCLUSION
5.1 Results
5.2 Discussion
Research Objectives and Key Topics
The primary objective of this thesis is to determine the appropriate level of detail required for the accurate simulation of construction processes, specifically focusing on highway bridge curbs. By analyzing how delayed data acquisition affects the overall project timeline through various scenarios, the work aims to identify which processes are critical and which can be optimized or combined to minimize data acquisition efforts without compromising the reconstruction of the construction execution.
- Simulation of construction processes and identification of optimization potentials.
- Impact analysis of process delays on the overall project schedule.
- Categorization of process importance (very important, less important, unimportant) based on simulation results.
- Development of criteria for combining execution processes to reduce complexity.
- Optimization of the execution structure for more efficient data management.
Excerpt from the Book
Execution of constructing bridge curbs
The execution of constructing bridge curbs possesses of a lot of different processes. While looking at the structure in a simplified way, it could be described as one path of processes that is later on divided into two parallel paths (see Figure 1). The first path consists of all processes of the preliminary work while the other two paths contain the processes of constructing the inner and the outer cap of the bridge curb. Thereby the execution of each of the two paths consists of identical processes that are arranged in the same order.
Chapter Summaries
1 INTRODUCTION: This chapter outlines the importance of simulating construction processes and defines the research goal of identifying the necessary level of detail for bridge curb construction.
2 EXECUTION AND SIMULATION MODEL: This section describes the basic data, the structure of bridge curb construction, and the implementation of the simulation model within MS Project.
3 THE SCENARIO ANALYSES: This chapter presents four different simulation scenarios to analyze the effects of process delays and data unavailability on the construction time schedule.
4 OPTIMIZATION OF THE EXECUTION STRUCTURE: This chapter evaluates the scenario results to categorize process importance and proposes methods to minimize the execution structure by combining less significant processes.
5 CONCLUSION: This chapter summarizes the main findings regarding process sensitivity and the relationship between documentation and execution duration, while discussing limitations and future outlook.
Keywords
Construction simulation, process delay, data acquisition, project schedule, bridge curb construction, execution structure, process optimization, critical path, interference-prone processes, MS Project, level of detail, scenario analysis, buffer time, construction management.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental purpose of this thesis?
The work aims to identify the optimal level of detail for simulating construction processes to balance the effort of data acquisition with the need for accurate reconstruction of construction execution.
Which central topics are addressed?
The study centers on construction process simulation, the impact of delayed data on project timelines, and strategies for optimizing execution structures.
What is the primary research question?
The research asks which construction data is truly necessary for simulation and how the execution structure can be optimized to reduce acquisition effort while maintaining project transparency.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The author uses a scenario-based analysis method, modeling construction processes in MS Project and applying various delay patterns to assess their influence on the critical path and total project duration.
What does the main body of the work cover?
It covers the implementation of a simulation model, the creation and simulation of four distinct delay scenarios, the comparative evaluation of these results, and the development of minimization approaches for the execution structure.
Which keywords characterize the work?
Key terms include construction simulation, process optimization, critical path, scenario analysis, and execution structure.
Why are transport processes considered unimportant for the execution in this study?
The study found that transport processes typically possess significant buffer times, meaning their delay—within the analyzed scope—often does not affect the overall completion date of the project.
How did the author define "very important" processes?
Processes are classified as "very important" if their delay affects the execution schedule in any case, and if the resulting project extension is identical to the duration of the process delay itself.
- Arbeit zitieren
- M.Sc. Franziska Föhse (Autor:in), 2011, Daily accurate data acquisition for simulation. Effects of different data scenarios, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/263250
