A CAD-Based Construction Simulation Tool Kit for Construction Planning

by Jeffrey F. Skolnick, Jacobus Technol, Gaithersburg, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Computing in Civil and Building Engineering

Abstract:

Current planning and scheduling techniques place considerable reliance on the planners judgement, imagination and intuition. The result of such techniques is typically lengthy text reports and symbolic networks. This requires project management personnel to develop an abstract mental model rather than a visual model of the real construction process. In order to visualize constructability issues, construction planners often rely on building plastic or cardboard models. This technique is often time consuming and not cost effective. The availability of advanced computer hardware and software allows us to develop new planning and scheduling systems to overcome current limitations. This paper discusses such a system, the Construction Simulation Tool Kit (CST). The CST allows the user to link activities in a construction schedule with objects in a 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) model of a construction project. The result is a simulation, on a computer graphics display, of the construction process. The CST lets the user customize a simulation session to view different 'what-if' scenarios.

Subject Headings: Construction management | Computer models | Computer aided design | Three-dimensional models | Construction equipment | Scheduling | Project management

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