Development of process and mix flexibility in construction
Abstract
The trend towards innovative construction techniques for higher productivity, higher quality and higher profit has prompted the examination of flexible production systems for their construction applications. This thesis explains how flexible construction concepts should be interpreted in construction. The approach to construction work stations is cultivated and the role of construction resources commensurate to feature technology is clarified. The understanding of the nature of construction entities, mix flexibility, and the relationship between crews and work stations, process flexibility, is developed. Construction assembly process designs, focusing at the process level, are translated into generic simulation models for flexible construction systems (FCS). Flexibility concerns of mix, process, volume, expansion and routing flexibility are incorporated into those models. Actual test models using the generic simulation models are prepared in SLAM and CYCLONE. The quantification of flexibilities and measurement of optimal process efficiencies has been a major interest among those researching flexible manufacturing systems. The author evolves formulations for quantifying flexibility and measuring process efficiency in FCS's based on standardized simulation models. Experiments are then performed with the FCS models to study the behavior of flexibility and other output characteristics. Specific behavior trends are established. An emphasis of the experiments is to arrive at specific design parameters for flexible construction processes. Another emphasis is to discover the relationships between process gain, productivity and overall flexibility. Specific methodologies and procedures for arriving at optimal FCS designs for process and mix flexibility are presented. Methods to be adopted for evaluating different flexible and non-flexible technologies for flexibility efficiency are described. Recommendations have been made for how enhancements can be made to the FCS design process by engineering 3-D curves for process output statistics. An important application of FCS's will be in the area of industrialized housing where mix flexibility plays in a crucial role.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Talavage, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Civil engineering|Industrial engineering|Management|Operations research
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