Modeling Framework and Architecture of Hybrid System Dynamics and Discrete Event Simulation for Construction

Construction system modeling aims to improve construction work performance by tracking the dynamic behaviors of construction systems. More accurate system modeling can be achieved by considering the mutual effects of construction operations on the context level of the system. Hybrid models of discrete event simulation (DES) and system dynamics aim to capture these mutual effects to provide model developers with more precise system analysis. Although system dynamics models are used to capture the behavior of the system at the context level, DES models are utilized to capture construction operations. The potential benefits of utilizing hybrid models for complex systems have been argued and established, but there are still limited studies that have utilized this modeling approach for real construction systems. In this research, we have attempted to identify the challenging issues that have caused this problem and to confront this problem by proposing a hybrid framework and architecture, which address these challenges. To verify the effectiveness of the new model, the performance of the proposed hybrid modeling framework and architecture has been tested by applying the proposed model in a real-scale construction-related system.