CONSTRUCTION RESOURCE SCHEDULING WITH GENETIC ALGORITHMS

A new approach for resource scheduling using genetic algorithms (GAs) is presented here. The methodology does not depend on any set of heuri stic rules. Instead, its strength lies in the selection and recombinat ion tasks of the GA to learn the domain of the specific project networ k. By this it is able to evolve improved schedules with respect to the objective function. Further, the model is general enough to encompass both resource leveling and limited resource allocation problems unlik e existing methods, which are class-dependent. In this paper, the desi gn and mechanisms of the model are described. Case studies with standa rd test problems are presented to demonstrate the performance of the G A-scheduler when compared against heuristic methods under various reso urce availability profiles. Results obtained with the proposed model d o not indicate an exponential growth in the computational time require d for larger problems.