Multi-method supply chain simulation model for high-rise building construction projects

Abstract

Concurrently performed processes in high-rise building construction create a need for materials to be supplied to construction sites in bulk and all at once, whereas the on-site resources to handle such shipments remain limited. In order to use these limited resources more efficiently, they are shared by many types of material supply processes, which can, in turn, increase the complexity of construction. This study develops a multimethod simulation model for the analysis of the complexity of supply chains in high-rise building construction, where construction and material supply processes are interrelated in various ways and influenced by resource sharing. This study examines construction and material supply processes in the context of high-rise building construction before reviewing multimethod modeling of discrete event simulations and agent-based modeling in order to model those processes. A simulation model is developed and simulation experiments are conducted using actual data from a high-rise building construction project, thereby analyzing the impact of resource sharing among various material types. The major contributions of this study are its development of a simulation model that can be used to analyze the impact of sharing material storage space and hoisting equipment on the supply chains of high-rise construction projects and its examination of the pattern through which material supply processes interact with one another due to the sharing of the seven limited resources by various material types and their effect on the entire construction process.