An Uncertain Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Approach for Flexible Action in Reaction to Perceived Environment Conditions

Subject Areas : International Journal of Industrial Mathematics

علی رحیمی فرد ¹ , عیسی نخعی کمال آبادی ² , کاوه خلیلی دامغانی ^{3 *} , صدیق رئیسی ⁴

1 - Department of Industrial Engineering, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 - Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj,Iran
3 - Department of Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Industrial Engineering, South-Tehran Branch Islamic Azad University Tehran, Iran
4 - Department of Industrial Engineering, Research Center for Modeling and Optimization in Science and Engineering, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, IRAN

Received: 2021-06-12 Accepted : 2024-08-05 Published : 2024-10-06

Keywords: Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem, Agent-Based Simulation, Discrete-Event Simulation, Contract Agent, Flexibility,

Abstract :

In construction projects, there is a likely possibility of changing the activities duration due to operational errors or any change in the schedule of the signed contracts. Therefore, providing a flexible approach with the ability to quickly updating the project schedule is of particular importance to planners. In this article, we have tried to consider the sources which affect the project schedule such as activities, resources, and contracts as an autonomous and adjustable agent so that after a change in any of them, easily and with the least time to get a new updated schedule. To realistically achieve this specific goal, by precisely defining a control agent, a combination of agent-based simulation modelling and discrete-event simulation in the sophisticated AnyLogic7 software is tentatively proposed. The main contribution and distinction of this paper compared to the same researches is that the contract agent is considered as an independent factor for multi-factor project scheduling system. This factor is in interacts with the other factors such as resources and methods of doing activities; so, the administrator could make the necessary changes to this factor, in order to achieve an updated schedule for the start and end of each activity and the final time of the project. It is worth mentioning this method has a very high simplicity and flexibility compared to existing mathematical modelling methods and has the necessary potential to cover a variety of random events.