Open this publication in new window or tab >>Show others...
2023 (English)In: Engineering Construction and Architectural Management, ISSN 0969-9988, E-ISSN 1365-232X, Vol. 30, no 1, p. 259-295Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Purpose - Simulation-based optimisation (SO) is a popular optimisation approach for building and civil engineering construction planning. However, in the framework of SO, the simulation is continuously invoked during the optimisation trajectory, which increases the computational loads to levels unrealistic for timely construction decisions. Modification on the optimisation settings such as reducing searching ability is a popular method to address this challenge, but the quality measurement of the obtained optimal decisions, also termed as optimisation quality, is also reduced by this setting. Therefore, this study aims to develop an optimisation approach for construction planning that reduces the high computational loads of SO and provides reliable optimisation quality simultaneously.
Design/methodology/approach - This study proposes the optimisation approach by modifying the SO framework through establishing an embedded connection between simulation and optimisation technologies. This approach reduces the computational loads and ensures the optimisation quality associated with the conventional SO approach by accurately learning the knowledge from construction simulations using embedded ensemble learning algorithms, which automatically provides efficient and reliable fitness evaluations for optimisation iterations.
Findings - A large-scale project application shows that the proposed approach was able to reduce computational loads of SO by approximately 90%. Meanwhile, the proposed approach outperformed SO in terms of optimisation quality when the optimisation has limited searching ability.
Originality/value - The core contribution of this research is to provide an innovative method that improves efficiency and ensures effectiveness, simultaneously, of the well-known SO approach in construction applications. The proposed method is an alternative approach to SO that can run on standard computing platforms and support nearly real-time construction on-site decision-making.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2023
Keywords
Construction planning, Information and communication technology (ICT) applications, Optimisation, Simulation, Novel method
National Category
Construction Management
Research subject
Construction Management and Building Technology; Building Materials
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:ltu:diva-86995 (URN)10.1108/ECAM-02-2021-0114 (DOI)000691298400001 ()2-s2.0-85113891374 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Swedish Research Council Formas
Note
Validerad;2023;Nivå 2;2023-08-15 (hanlid);
Forskningsfinansiär: China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2020M670918); National Natural Science Foundation of China (51878026); China Association of Construction Education (2019087)
2021-09-072021-09-072023-08-15Bibliographically approved