Modeling and optimization of the building process for systems building

[Extract from introduction] In the process of describing their requirements, clients usually ask for more items of better quality while they try to have the consequent cost and time reduced as much as possible. These two desires are conflicting. Therefore, "optimum building" often means the compromise of these contradictory desires. However, cost and time in the construction process are not simply determined by user requirements but are also affected by the choice of construction method and the nature of the environment in which the project is to be built. In general, the environment is beyond the control of construction engineers. Therefore, the main interests are construction method and user requirements specified in WHAT to build (user requirements) and HOW to build (construction method). Therefore, they focus on these areas where they can exercise some control and simply respond to the environment. For this reason, effort here is devoted to planning and modeling concepts. In the traditional building process, it is difficult for construction engineers to exercise control over WHAT to build because of the owner-architect contracting format. In this environment, the builder contracts to build a given project (the WHAT) in competition with others and he operates with some objective concept (his HOW); i.e., lower cost, more profit conditioned by competition. Therefore, the construction engineers can only make an effort to have the best construction method meet the specified time of completion of the project, as well as not exceed the estimated cost; al-though construction engineers can have very little control over the cost and completion time, even with completely free choice of available construction methods. The cost and time attributes are almost completely determined when WHAT to build is prescribed and the construction engineer's influence is restricted to efforts to complete it without waste of time-and available funds. One of the great advantages of systems building is that it gives the construction engineer the chance to participate in the design process and discuss WHAT to build from the construction point of view. This has actually been done for the designs of temporary buildings, such as pavilions of exposition sites, because for those buildings, construction and destruction are of most interest. Despite of the intended drastic changes of the building process in systems building, good tools have not yet been found which allow users, architects and engineers to cooperate with each other closely…