A multi-criteria based path finding application for construction site layouts

Abstract

This paper presents an optimisation application to support the construction site planning task by finding efficient paths between two site locations based on a combination of safety, transportation cost, and visibility criteria. These criteria can be combined or individually optimised by mathematical search algorithms, namely Dijkstra and A*, in order to present site planners with the safest path, the shortest distance path, the most visible path, and the paths that reflect a combination of low risks, short distance, and high visibility measures between two site locations. This paper identifies the need for the use of simulation for site layout analysis, in particular, it investigates the potential application of mathematical optimisation techniques for the selection of site paths.