Modeling safety considerations and space limitations in piling operations using agent based simulation

Site space availability is an aspect resource that must be taken into consideration when estimating the duration of construction operations. Site space availability has significant effect in meeting target schedule. This paper proposes a model for estimating the productivity of bored piles, taking into consideration safety requirements and space availability. Executing bored piles requires special equipment resources that require space to work and to move. The cost of equipment that is used in bored pile operations ranges from 25% to 30% of the total cost. Therefore, it is deemed important to decide on the exact number of required equipment in piling operations. The proposed model utilizes agent based simulation (ABS) to estimate bored pile productivity depending on the available resources (rig and crane equipment). The model captures the probabilities of equipment breakdowns based on equipment historical data. It also animates movements of equipment taking into consideration safety requirements. A case study is presented to demonstrate the practical features of the proposed ABS model.