An innovative time-Cost-Quality tradeoff modeling of building construction project based on resource allocation

Abstract

Thetime, quality, and cost are three important but contradictive objectives in a building construction project.It is a tough challenge for project managers to optimize them since they are different parameters. This paper presents a time-cost-quality optimization model that enables managers to optimize multiobjectives.The model is from the project breakdown structure method where task resources in a construction project are divided into a series of activities and further into construction labors,materials, equipment, and administration.The resources utilized in a construction activity would eventually determine its construction time, cost, and quality, and a complex time-cost-quality trade-off model is finally generated based on correlations between construction activities. A genetic algorithm tool is applied in the model to solve the comprehensive nonlinear time-cost-quality problems. Building of a three-storey house is an example to illustrate the implementation of the model, demonstrate its advantages in optimizing trade-off of construction time, cost, and quality, and help make a winning decision in construction practices. The computational timecost- quality curves in visual graphics from the case study prove traditional cost-time assumptions reasonable and also prove this time-cost-quality trade-off model sophisticated. © 2014 W. Hu and X. He.