TY - JOUR
T1 - Resource management of bridge deck rehabilitation
T2 - Jacques cartier bridge case study
AU - Zhang, Cheng
AU - Zayed, Tarek
AU - Hammad, Amin
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - The condition and performance of bridges vary widely across North America. The large amount of expenditures on bridges needs significant efforts to optimize budget and resource allocation and to select the best rehabilitation or replacement method, which reduces project cost and duration. Simulation has been widely used in the construction area to optimize productivity and resource allocation. Current research optimizes resource combination for bridge deck rehabilitation projects using discrete event simulation. The Jacques Cartier Bridge redecking project is selected as a case study. Data related to productivity and duration of different activities were collected from the project. Probability distributions are fitted, which show the robustness of normal distribution to fit most variables. A simulation model is developed for this project in order to experiment with and perform sensitivity analysis. Based on the simulation results, an optimum resource combination of deck rehabilitation is obtained, which is [five teams, two saws, three old section trucks, and five new panel trucks] TSON 5235 with the unit (panel) cost of $747h (direct cost only). The model developed is tested against real productivity where it shows reasonable results. The present research is relevant to both researchers and practitioners. It provides bridge redecking researchers with a real case study, a simulation model, and an approach to analyze projects. It also provides practitioners with an approach to optimize the usage of their resources considering direct project cost.
AB - The condition and performance of bridges vary widely across North America. The large amount of expenditures on bridges needs significant efforts to optimize budget and resource allocation and to select the best rehabilitation or replacement method, which reduces project cost and duration. Simulation has been widely used in the construction area to optimize productivity and resource allocation. Current research optimizes resource combination for bridge deck rehabilitation projects using discrete event simulation. The Jacques Cartier Bridge redecking project is selected as a case study. Data related to productivity and duration of different activities were collected from the project. Probability distributions are fitted, which show the robustness of normal distribution to fit most variables. A simulation model is developed for this project in order to experiment with and perform sensitivity analysis. Based on the simulation results, an optimum resource combination of deck rehabilitation is obtained, which is [five teams, two saws, three old section trucks, and five new panel trucks] TSON 5235 with the unit (panel) cost of $747h (direct cost only). The model developed is tested against real productivity where it shows reasonable results. The present research is relevant to both researchers and practitioners. It provides bridge redecking researchers with a real case study, a simulation model, and an approach to analyze projects. It also provides practitioners with an approach to optimize the usage of their resources considering direct project cost.
KW - Bridge decks
KW - Canada
KW - Costs
KW - Optimization
KW - Rehabilitation
KW - Resource management
KW - Simulation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=42549117975&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2008)134:5(311)
DO - 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2008)134:5(311)
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:42549117975
SN - 0733-9364
VL - 134
SP - 311
EP - 319
JO - Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
JF - Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
IS - 5
ER -