A system dynamic model for decision support system in lean construction

Abstract

Construction waste is considered a major contributor of total construction cost. Considering this major cost, identifying the underlying resources that contribute to construction cost is the foremost step toward providing sustainable and practical method to manage construction waste. Due to the dynamic nature of construction projects, any financial decision taken in the project has substantial effect in subsequent phases of construction. Therefore, careful management of construction cost can significantly improve overall project effectiveness. Thus, capturing the dynamic relationships between different key parameters of construction cost is an indispensable necessity. Regarding construction costs, the use of system dynamic modeling enables constructional industrialists to manage their projects more efficiently with respect to waste management. This thesis proposed a system dynamic model to deal with the complexities, interrelationships, and dynamics of waste management on construction industries. The dynamic model is constructed by Vensim PLE software to represent the weekly budget rate, construction budget, and scheduled plans of a conventional construction project. The proposed model is also used to investigate different scenarios to adopt firm policies in construction industry. The obtained results are also evaluated and compared in terms of cost and time. The results of this research indicates that the labour has the most significant impact on increased construction budget, cost incurred by waste, and weekly change in budget.