Abdalla M. Odeh's Dissertation Abstract
Dr. Abdalla Mohammad ODEH
Ph.D., The University of Michigan, 1992
Current Position:
Assistant Professor
Civil Engineering Department
Jordan University of Science and Technology (J.U.S.T)
P.O. Box 3030, Irbid 22110, Jordan
E-mail: qudah@just.edu.jo
Dissertation Title: "CIPROS: Knowledge-Based Construction Integrated Project and Process Planning Simulation System"
Advisors: Professors Iris D. Tommelein and Robert I. Carr (University of Michigan)
Abstract:
CIPROS is a knowledge-based construction planning simulation system that enables its users to formalize and test alternative construction plans by relating project-specific design drawings and specifications to a network of construction processes, elementary simulation process networks, and associated resources. Using the object-oriented paradigm, CIPROS exploits knowledge pertaining to common construction resources and design features in the form of class hierarchies of construction resources and components. The system's knowledge pertaining to construction processes is presented in the form of an expandable library of construction techniques and methods.
Construction plans are defined at two levels of abstraction: the activity and the process level. The activity-level plan is a precedence network of construction processes each of which applies to project-specific components. Associated with each process in the plan's network is an input and output, and a process-level description: a simulation network that maps the process input to the operations and the resources required to produce the output. Further, operation of different processes may compete for the same pool of resources. Functions of operations complement the simulation network and enable the user to model complex resource interactions utilization strategies. For each process and using the library of construction techniques and methods, the user may select the technique and method and provide additional information regarding resource availability and utilization policies, process input and output, and operation durations. Alternatively, the user may define new processes, and a newly defined process can be added to the library and accessed repeatedly.
The CIPROS discrete-event simulator simulates the execution of the construction plan for a user-specified number of replications. It produces statistical reports for management review which are instrumental to assessing the quality of a construction plan and identifying areas for improvement. The system thus augments construction plans with knowledge pertaining to the interaction and characteristics of construction components and resources, and it models the uncertainty inherent to construction operations.
Publications describing this work:
- Odeh, Abdalla M. (1992). CIPROS: Knowledge-based Construction Integrated Project and Process Planning Simulation System. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Co-advisors: Professors I.D. Tommelein and R.I. Carr.
- Odeh, A.M., Tommelein, I.D., and Carr, R.I. (1992). "Knowledge-Based Simulation of Construction Plans." in B.J. Goodno and J.R. Wright (eds.) Proc. 8th Conf. on Computing in Civil Engineering, 7-9 June in Dallas, TX, ASCE, New York, NY, 1042-1049.
- Odeh, A.M., Tommelein, I.D., and Carr, R.I. (1991). "Using Design Drawings and Project Plans to Construct Discrete-Event Simulation Networks." Proc. 8th Intl. Symp. on Automation and Robotics in Construction, ISARC '91, 3-5 June in Stuttgart, Germany, 419-428.
- Tommelein, I.D., Carr, R.I., and Odeh, A.M. (1994). "Assembly of Simulation Networks using Designs, Plans, and Methods." ASCE, J. Constr. Engrg. and Mgmt., 120 (4) 796-815.
- Tommelein, I.D., Carr, R.I., and Odeh, A.M. (1994). "Knowledge-based Assembly of Simulation Networks using Construction Designs, Plans, and Methods." Proc. Winter Simulation Conference, 11-14 December, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, 1145-1152.
| CE&M Program
| U.C. Berkeley |
Abdalla M. Odeh's Dissertation Abstract / IDT / May 22, 1998