Space–Time–Workforce Visualization and Conditional Capacity Synthesis in Uncertainty

Abstract

Workspace, project duration, and workforce are three critical resources for construction projects. Project managers need to expend time and effort reviewing, comprehending, and coordinating these resources. However, the space–time–workforce interactions and their impact on decision-making in project scheduling are not fully known. Therefore, the objectives of this research were to understand the impact of workforce shifts on space, time, and labor cost performances, develop a three-dimensional (3D) visualization tool to reveal activity-level resource dynamics, and associate the risk aftermath with the occurrence probability to balance subjective risk tolerance and objective system reliability. This research developed a simulation model based on a case project to compare the workflow of five major specialty trades (i.e., bar placer, carpenter, scaffolder, pipefitter, and concreter) in 267 scenarios. A resource-oriented 3D visualization tool was developed to help project managers monitor project schedules. The research established a risk control framework using value-at-risk (VaR) and conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) approaches to associate extreme outcomes with their occurrence probability. Simulation results indicated that pipefitters significantly affected workspace overlap, whereas bar placers and carpenters predominantly impacted project duration. The scholarly contributions are (1) the creation of an intelligent system to generate a project schedule from workforce assignments specified by project managers, (2) development of a tool to visualize the three-way resource dynamics of workforce, time, and space on a 3D model for all possible scenarios, and (3) development of a framework for project managers to balance planning strategies between subjective risk tolerance and objective system reliability. This research provides project managers with a dynamic 3D visualization of space, time, and workforce utilization and interaction in uncertain environments, further facilitating reliable project scheduling decision-making.