A Novel Resource-Leveling Approach for Construction Project Based on Differential Evolution

Abstract

In construction engineering, project schedules are commonly established by the critical path method. Nevertheless, these schedules often lead to substantial fluctuations in the resource profile that are not only impractical but also costly for the contractors to execute. Therefore, in order to smooth out the resource profile, construction managers need to perform resource-leveling procedures. This paper proposes a novel approach for resource leveling, named as resource leveling based on differential evolution (RLDE). The performance of the RLDE is compared to that of Microsoft Project software, the genetic algorithm, and the particle swarm optimization algorithm. Experiments have proved that the newly developed method can deliver the most desirable resource-leveling result. Thus, the RLDE is an effective method and it can be a useful tool for assisting managers/planners in the field of project management.