THESIS PROPOSAL

RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION FOR CONSTRUCTION

PROJECTS

Submitted By:
Suraj Shenoy Nagar
PT102115

M.Tech in Construction Engineering and Management

1.1 Introduction:
The Critical Path Method (CPM) has been widely accepted and used for construction
scheduling problems. However when it comes to optimum utilization of resources, the
traditional CPM approach fails, as it only concentrates on producing a schedule with shortest
possible project duration and it assumes resources needed to accomplish the tasks are
available in plenty. As a result Resource Optimization which comprises of two main concepts
viz. Resource Constrained Allocation and Resource Levelling have received increasing
attention.
Resource constrained allocation aims to minimize either the total project duration or
the total cost, while assuming an upper limit to maximum resource availability, whereas
Resource Levelling aims at minimizing the fluctuations in the daily resource demand.
Project deadline and resource limits are practical constraints that co-exist in most
projects. In addition to these, minimal fluctuation in resource demand is desired.

1.2 Need for Study

While commercially available scheduling software like Microsoft Project and
Primavera are able to perform resource constrained allocation and resource levelling
operations, the results obtained do not guarantee optimality. Hence, researchers have used
a variety of optimization algorithms and developed models to deal with the same.
Although these models perform well over a variety of problems and have gained
popularity in practice, resources are allocated to activities on an individual activity basis and
combination of activities (which could provide a more optimal solution) have not been
considered. Also, these models are based on push-driven philosophy, wherein resources are
pushed to a predefined high-ranking activity. No regard has been made to the resource
demand of other activity(s).
Another recent development in this area is the Pull-driven approach (PDA), originally
proposed as a lean production technique to pull materials through the production system to
meet specific customer demands. Realizing that lean production techniques can help reduce
wastage, an attempt has been made to apply the PDA to resource optimization problem by
developing a model based on PDA (Thomas et al., 2013).
However the applicability of the PDA model to complex projects and its integration
into software mentioned above has not been explored yet. The model assumes that activities
can be split during the scheduling process, but in reality some activities have to be conducted
continuously as any splitting would bring extra costs. Resource levelling process is also not
inherent in the PDA model.
In this thesis, the PDA model will be further developed for its shortcomings and also
an attempt will be made to integrate this model into software for practicality in usage.

1.3 Objectives
I.
II.
III.
IV.

To study various models available for resource optimization from past literature and
compare their strengths and weaknesses.
To develop a hybrid model to allocate and level resources for a CPM Schedule.
Validate the hybrid model developed by application of the same to various cases
from the literature.
Test the hybrid model developed by applying it to a live real estate project.

1.4 Scope of the Study

The scope of this study will be limited to application of the developed model to a live real
estate project in Gujarat region of India.

1.5 Methodology
a. Literature Review:
Literature review will be carried out from standard books, Journals and published
research papers since the last twenty years.
Research papers related to Resource Allocation and Resource Levelling will be
studied.
Existing models for resource optimization and their practical applicability will be
reviewed.
b. Model Development:
After deciding a set of constraints and optimization function(s), A Model framework
will be worked out by extending the current PDA model.
This model framework will further be attempted to integrate with Microsoft Project.
c. Model Validation
The developed model will be validated by applying it on cases from the literature
and comparing the results thus obtained.
d. Model Testing
The developed model will be tested by applying it to a live real estate project.

1.6 Independent Study & Research Plan

Stage

Tentative Target Date

Thesis Proposal Submission

Literature Review Submission &
Presentation
Submission and presentation of existing
model comparison
Final Submission of Independent Study
Report

08-September-2016
20-October-2016
10-November-2016
17-November-2016

Completion of Model Development

Model Validation
Collection of data & Model Testing
Final Submission of Thesis Report

10-February-2017
10-March-2017
10-April-2017
21-April-2017