Decision support system for work flow management

There is a great potential to improve the flow of resources through locations on construction sites, termed work flow. This study presents a decision support system for work flow management that can assist decision makers to search for the most effective and reliable work flow scheduling and resource utilization plan. Employing eXtensible Markup Language (XML) for date exchange standard, the proposed system consists of two modules:(1) optimization module; and (2) simulation analysis and visualization module. Optimization module solves time-cost trade off problem using multi-objective genetic algorithms with logic relationships, availability of resource and work flow continuity constraints; simulation analysis and visualization module applies Monte-Carlo simulation to handle uncertainty and variability of task duration, and 4D-CAD technology to visualize work flow conditions and possible time-space conflicts. Application instance shows the proposed system can improve the process of construction and the feasibility of schedule.