A constrained planning method: Considering storage space limitations and soft logic for cruise cabin assembly scheduling

The scheduling issues of repetitive projects such as high-rise buildings and houses have always focused on the research of project duration, costs, and personnel, while the temporary storage and transportation issues at construction sites are often overlooked. The cruise cabin assembly project exemplifies a repetitive project characterized by limited construction space. In such projects, when the process is amenable to soft logic, the construction sequences of subprocesses across all units can be modified without restriction, and various processes may be conducted concurrently, provided that the requisite resource conditions are satisfied. This paper introduces a flexible repetitive scheduling model, designated as CP-SLCRSOM, which incorporates storage space limitations and soft logic into the time-cost trade-off of the cruise cabin assembly project. This model, while thoroughly considering critical resource constraints such as material storage capacity and workforce allocation, facilitates the parallel execution of processes across different units and employs constraint programming to identify optimal or feasible solutions. The model's efficacy is substantiated through case studies and comparisons with solutions derived from mixed-integer linear programming models.