Resource-constrained project scheduling problem under multiple time constraints

Kong, F and Dou, D (2021) Resource-constrained project scheduling problem under multiple time constraints. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 147(2): 04020170, ISSN 0733-9364

Abstract

This paper introduces a new practical scheduling problem called the resource-constrained project scheduling problem under multiple time constraints, which involves a duration constraint of activity, temporal constraint, and resource calendar constraint. The duration constraint of the activity exists widely in real-life projects, and it is first proposed as a resource-constrained project scheduling problem in this paper. We prove the defects of the traditional temporal constraint and improve it. The new problem combines three types of time constraints for the first time, which makes it closer to the actual scheduling problem. We developed a constraint programming optimization model for the new problem and used the IBM ILOG CPLEX-CP version 12.9.0 optimizer to solve it. Computational experiments are carried out to show that the CP optimizer is fast and provides a near-optimum solution to the new problem for projects with hundreds of activities within minutes compared to other metaheuristic methods. The results reported in this paper can be used as a benchmark for other researchers to compare and improve. The new problem contributes to developing a practical decision support system for resolving real-life constraints in projects.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: constraint programming; cplex; multiple time constraints; project scheduling; resource-constrained project scheduling problem
Index terms: experiment, project scheduling, constraint programming, duration, scheduling, decision support
Subjects: operations research, data collection methods, decision analysis, algorithms, project controls
Topics: Digital Applications, Research Practice, Risk Management, Time Control
Descriptive scope: 3 PCE

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