Grid-based construction site layout planning with Particle Swarm Optimisation and Travel Path Distance

Abstract

Many temporary facilities are required during on-site construction operations of most projects. They must be situated in convenient locations as ease of access can have a significant impact on the efficiency and safety of the construction project. The feasible locations and layouts that satisfy all specified conditions and constraints can still be very large in number; thus, optimal layout planning can be very challenging, even for experienced engineers. A model for solving the construction site layout problem (CSLP) is proposed. A grid system is implemented to simulate sites and facilities more realistically. This model incorporates an algorithm that imitates and calculates the distances of typical travel paths of workers between a pair of facilities during construction operations. In addition, Particle Swarm Optimisation is adopted to solve the problem model. The prototype program was developed and tested on a real construction project case. The results show that the model was able to lay out the site efficiently and optimally. The resulting layouts were better than those from engineers and conventional distance calculation methods.