Desgagné-Lebeuf, A; Lehoux, N and Beauregard, R (2022) Scheduling tools for the construction industry: Overview and decision support system for tool selection. International Journal of Construction Management, 22(14), pp. 2687-2698. ISSN 1562-3599
Abstract
The construction industry is a major sector of employment but it has been lagging behind other sectors in terms of productivity for years. Better planning and a heightened presence of technology are advised to reduce the productivity gap. This article aims to combat the haphazard manual process involved in building-erection planning and the associated lag in productivity growth by pointing industry stakeholders to the tools suited for their needs. It may also serve as a basis for further academic research on construction automation, by presenting all the tools found in a uniform and objective structure. To achieve these goals, a systematic literature review of industry-related articles published between January 2008 and 2019 was conducted, leading to the identification of 31 computerized scheduling tools developed specifically for the construction sector. Through this process, trends such as the most widely used software, the countries of origin, the methods of fabrication and the level of automation were identified. The review also resulted in a classification that was later validated via semi-structured interviews with members of the construction industry. Following these interviews, a decision support system was created to facilitate the selection of the tools depending on the planning requirements to address. This will allow project managers to access a wide range of tools and select the ones that best fit their needs. With automated schedule delivery and resource planning, security risks warnings or 4D visualization, project managers can find in those tools an edge that will lead to better working practices and results.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | computer tool; construction; planning; review; scheduling; software |
| Index terms: | presence, 4D visualization, automation, construction industry, systematic literature review, interview, decision support, employment, working practice, productivity, resource planning, construction sector, project manager, fabrication, scheduling |
| Subjects: | manufacturing engineering, data collection methods, profession, automation and robotics, management, visualization, industry analysis, operations research, research evaluation and metrics, decision analysis, environmental science, resource management |
| Topics: | Time Control, Engineering Principles, Business Strategy, Risk Management, Research Practice, Site Management, Organizational Design, Human Resources, Digital Applications, Roles and Professions, Sustainability |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here