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Adams, F K (2004) The management of risks in international infrastructural projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Business Studies, University of Edinburgh.
Ahiaga-Dagbui, D D (2014) Rethinking construction cost overruns: an artificial neural network approach to construction cost estimation, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Al-Remal, A M (2013) Risk-based design of structures for fire, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Alsedairy, F S (2019) Dynamics of mega infrastructure decision-making in Saudi Arabia, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Baker, A J (2019) ‘Suitable and sufficient’? UK regulation of post-construction fire safety, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Social & Political Science, University of Edinburgh.
Baker, H (2021) A multimethod approach to learning from text-based construction failure data, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Bartlett, A I (2018) Auto-extinction of engineered timber, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Campbell, J M (2008) Safety hazard and risk identification and management in infrastructure management, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Dunlop, P G (2005) Investigation, modelling and planning of stochastic concrete placing operations, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Eid, M E M (2004) Rethinking relationships in the construction industry: integrating sustainable development into project management processes, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Architecture, University of Edinburgh.
French, T R (2012) Evolutionary optimisation of network flow plans for emergency movement in the built environment, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Furber, A (2013) The social and cultural context of rural water and sanitation projects: case studies from Ghana, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Glendinning, M (1991) 'Give the people homes!': Britain's multi-storey housing drive, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh.
Graham, D (2005) Stochastic modelling and analysis of construction processes, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
- Type: Thesis
- Keywords: artificial intelligence; case-based reasoning; complexity; modelling; planning; prototype development; stochastic
- ISBN/ISSN:
- URL: https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/12054
- Abstract:
Construction projects frequently overrun and finish over budget. This is, in part, due to the lack of control that construction practitioners - planners and managers - have over the construction schedule at a process level. Contemporary planning tools, such as critical path method (CPM) are adequate for planning at a project level but are not of sufficient detail to help a practitioner allocate resources to a process to maximise the performance. Thus, the aim of this project was to develop a practical computer-based model to enable practitioners to plan projects at a process level and to improve their projects. This research has focused upon a specific type of construction process - those that are stochastic and cyclical - because such processes are: difficult to predict and hence control; and they are widespread throughout construction projects. Examples of processes that are stochastic and cyclical are crane operations, formwork erection and scaffold erection. Initially, a focus was placed on the process of ready-mixed concrete (RMC) supply. A significant amount of data was available for this process, collected through the observations of a previous PhD student. This data was rigorously analysed to: determine if the process requires a non-linear stochastic solution, which it does; determine if the data was valid - a method of identifying outliers in a simple manner was devised to do this; determine the key variables for use in modelling. Guided by this statistical analysis, a discrete event simulation (DES) model of the RMC supply process was developed and validated. This model could not provide accurate estimates of the process, due to the need for a user define the probability distributions that represent the process. This is a complex requirement for a construction practitioner and the issue became known as the complexity problem and a solution was sought in the field of artificial intelligence. Case-based reasoning (CBR) provides solutions to new problems using knowledge of past ones - exactly the role of a practitioner in the above simulation model. Thus, CBR was investigated as a solution to the complexity problem. CBR, when based upon a novel knowledge retrieval method, proved to be capable of solving the complexity problem. A hybrid model, CBRSim, was developed to fulfil the original aim of this thesis. In this model, CBR is used to select the probability distributions to represent the process, given a set of user-defined operating conditions. These probability distributions are then supplied to a discrete-event simulation model that accurately recreates the process under the user-defined operating conditions. CBRSim was validated and found to be able to predict the productivity of the RMC supply process (volume delivered per hour) to within +7- 3% accuracy. Experimentation with various aspects of the process, such as resource allocation or supplier selection is performed to help illustrate the practical nature of the model. CBRSim was then applied to another stochastic and cyclical process: earthmoving. CBRSim was found to be more accurate in modelling earthmoving than RMC supply, indicating a generic modelling capability.
Hashim, R (2018) Green innovation adoption in the construction sector : the role of absorptive capacity and the effect of environmental requirements, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Business School, University of Edinburgh.
Hellowell, M S (2012) Fair return for risk? An examination of structure, competition and profitability in the market for private finance in the National Health Service, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh.
Hsiao, C C (2000) Constructing a sustainable impact assessment methodology : an evaluation of Taiwanese EIA of high-rise building, Unpublished PhD Thesis, College of Art, University of Edinburgh.
Jackson, D J (2020) Addressing the challenges of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the construction industry: a multi-perspective approach, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Business School, University of Edinburgh.
Jiménez-Moreno, P (2020) Mass customisation for zero energy housing: the potential of Japanese manufacturing practices in the context of sustainable housebuilding in the United Kingdom, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Kanellopoulos, G (2022) External fire spread from timber lined compartments, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Kim, S (1998) Sustainable building practices: minimising the life-cycle environmental impact of high-rise apartments in Korea, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Architecture, University of Edinburgh.
Knebel, V (2006) Preserve and rebuild: the built environment, status transformations and identity construction in eastern Germany after reunification, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Sociology, University of Edinburgh.
Koutsomarkos, V (2023) Developing a fire robustness index for the built environment, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Marquardt, G (2017) Economic analysis of contract choice, feelings of entitlement and contract enforcement in relationships governed by incomplete contracts, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Economics, University of Edinburgh.
McArthur, J (2023) Enrolment, technical mediation, and the obligatory passage point: a socio-technical examination of the Canada Green Building Council, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
McMeel, D (2009) The artistry of construction: an investigation into construction as a creative process and the influence of mobile phones within domestic scale construction projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Architecture, University of Edinburgh.
Oliver, A K (2020) Perceptions of sustainability and their influence in the design and delivery of Scottish housing, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Oswald, D (2016) Investigating unsafe acts on a large multinational construction project, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Raman, P G (1977) Information and architectural design: A study of certain theoretical aspects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Rodger, R G (1976) Scottish urban housebuilding, 1870-1914, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Ronzani, M (2019) Designing for complexity: Data visualizations in megaproject management, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.
Saoud, E A B (1996) Expert systems for management training in the construction industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Sidwell, N C (1957) A critical examination of new constructional techniques and their influence on productivity in the building industry with special reference to housing in south-east Scotland, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Smith, S D (1994) Production estimation of earthmoving operations using a discrete-event simulation model, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Civil Engineering, University of Edinburgh.
Yang, S-A (1995) Kics: Representation of regulatory information and the use of case-based reasoning to support the relaxation process, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Edinburgh.