Agent-Based Simulation Framework for Supply Chain Management of Large-Scale Construction Projects

The philosophy of lean construction has provided a great insight into the complexity of construction projects. Based on the concept of flows, this philosophy provides a theoretical and practical basis to understand the variability in flows, which can cause deterioration of the performance of construction projects by causing an increase waste. However, many previous studies conducted based on lean construction assumed the independence of flows despite the fact that the interrelationship between flows can make the global system behaviors of construction projects more complex. Furthermore, the discrete event simulation (DES) methods primarily used in previous studies have a limitation in modeling a whole construction process of construction projects, as the DES model can represent only a process that can be recognized by the intuition of modelers. Therefore, in this work, a theoretical framework is proposed to describe the primary components and flows of construction projects and their interrelationship resulting from shared resources. In addition, an agent-based simulation framework is also proposed for representing the complex behaviors of construction projects. Finally, the applicability of the proposed simulation framework is discussed, compared with DES methods. The achievements of this work will contribute to broaden the insights of researchers and to improve the managerial abilities of practitioners.