Activity Based Construction (ABC) Simulation Modeling vs. Critical Path Method (CPM)

Abstract

An activity represents a physical construction operation and can be easily identified. Modeling construction process by activities has been widely accepted in the construction industry. Activity is the sole modeling element in many traditional construction scheduling and planning methods such as in bar chart and critical path method (CPM). Activity-Based Construction (ABC) is a general-purpose modeling and simulation method developed in recent years by the author with activity as the only modeling element. This paper contrasts CPM technique with ABC modeling. Such comparison concludes that the ABC modeling philosophy is similar to CPM modeling, and the ABC simulation model appears also similar to the activity-on-node network diagram. However, an ABC model can be experimented in the developed ABC simulation system with the animation function to allow the user to visualize the dynamic construction progress on a computer screen.