Use of Construction Project Scheduling Methods in the Czech Republic

This article deals with research in the field of construction project scheduling in the Czech Republic. The aim of the research was to determine the scheduling maturity within project management in selected medium-sized and large companies and the change in the use of these methods during the global COVID-19 virus pandemic. The research presented in this article consists of three consecutive steps: determining the research area and the research question, designing a research plan, conducting data collection and analysis and compiling research results. For the purposes of this research, the research question was defined as follows: How do the project management scheduling methods differ depending on the company size in the selected companies in the Czech Republic? For understanding both the context and the situation in the surveyed companies, qualitative approaches to data collection and analysis were used, particularly in-depth interviews and encoding method. This approach was chosen mainly due to the fact that in case of quantitative research, the results tend to be improved by the respondents or irrelevant respondents are questioned. The semi-structured interview questions which were created based on the findings of the current state of scientific knowledge and literary research were used for the needs of in-depth interviews. Open questions (topics) related to the respondents' experience, perceptions and opinions were created as a part of the preparation process. The aim was to get more reliable and relevant answers to the questions asked. The research, which lasted for 6 months, involved 10 medium-sized and large companies from the Czech Republic. The change in the use of scheduling methods took place mainly in medium-sized companies. Large companies emphasized scheduling even before the pandemic, medium-sized companies often neglected this area - planning was not documented, linked to other projects, suppliers or customers. The pandemic has changed this situation. Companies that participated in this research have started to understand integrated scheduling approaches and are going to invest or consider to invest in complex software solutions in the near future.

Trading off Time–Cost–Quality in Construction Project Scheduling Problems with Fuzzy SWARA–TOPSIS Approach

The increasing number of construction projects together with the limited resources of organizations led to tough competition for achieving project goals. Time, cost, and quality have been known as the project iron triangle. Project managers attempt to allocate the appropriate resources and make the best decisions for accomplishing projects with the shortest durations, lowest costs, and the highest quality. No study has examined the time–cost–quality trade-off problem with decision-making approaches. In this study, the fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods are exploited to choose the best mode for performing each activity. For this purpose, the SWARA method is applied to determine the importance weights of time, cost, and quality. In addition, the TOPSIS (Technique for the Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) technique is used to rank and select the best activity execution modes. The proposed model is implemented on two medium- and large-size construction projects to evaluate its efficiency. Several execution modes with fuzzy duration, cost, and quality are considered for each project activity. Finally, sensitivity analysis is conducted taking three different conditions into account: the shortest duration of the execution modes, the lowest cost of the execution modes, and the highest quality of execution modes for each activity. The solution of each trade-off is compared with the solution obtained from the fuzzy SWARA–TOPSIS method. The schedule is developed according to the best execution mode for each project activity. The obtained results in two different construction projects show significant improvements in the overall project objectives so that the projects can be completed in fewer durations and costs along with higher quality. Because of the higher importance of cost, the cost of each activity is closer to the lowest cost. The activity duration is also closer to the most likely duration, and quality is closer to the high-quality level. The application of this approach can create new opportunities for research and knowledge development in the field of construction project scheduling.

Scheduling Optimization of Prefabricated Construction Projects by Genetic Algorithm

Prefabricated buildings are the direction of the future development of the construction industry and have received widespread attention. The effective execution of prefabricated construction project scheduling should consider resource constraints and the supply arrangement of prefabricated components. However, the traditional construction resource-constrained project scheduling implementation method cannot simultaneously consider the characteristics of the linkage between component production and on-site assembly construction. It cannot also fully adapt to the scheduling implementation method of the prefabricated construction projects. It is difficult to work out a reasonable project schedule and resource allocation table. In order to determine the relevant schedule parameters that can reflect the actual construction situation of the prefabricated building and meet the scheduling requirements of the prefabricated project, this study proposes a prefabricated construction project scheduling model that considers project resource constraints and prefabricated component supply constraints. Additionally, it improves the design of traditional genetic algorithms (GAs). Research results of the experimental calculation and engineering application show that the proposed project scheduling optimization model and GA are effective and practical, which can help project managers in effectively formulating prefabricated construction project scheduling plans, reasonably allocating resources, reducing completion time, and improving project performance.