Construction process knowledge model to assist method selection in project planning

The construction project planning stage is a critical stage in the project development and delivery phase of the lifecycle of a building project. This stage lays the framework upon which most of the construction decisions are made. Despite its importance, most of the construction firms go through this stage in an arbitrary fashion. This problem is particularly crucial in the case of small to medium size building projects and associated construction firms, where no one has well defined responsibility for construction project planning. Advanced computer-based technologies can assist such firms in producing accurate, realistic, and consistent cost and time plans by providing required design and construction inputs at the construction project planning stage. The main objectives of this research effort are (a) to model the construction project planning (CPP) process in detail so that it can provide descriptive representation of the micro-level steps of an integrated approach to the generation of cost plans and time plans; and (b) to define and model the construction process knowledge input for the selection of construction methods with emphasis on small to medium size building projects and associated firms operating in a design-build environment. A descriptive model of the CPP process, followed by a computer implementation model of the construction method selection (CMS) process, in the targeted domain of construction, is developed to achieve the project objectives. The application potential of the CMS model is demonstrated by applying it to two of the work items associated with the basement wall system of a building project.