The branch and bound method applied to the construction of residential quarters

Introduction. When construction works are scheduled within the framework of a project that encompasses the construction of civil or industrial facilities representing a residential quarter, the focus is placed on the continuous operation of particular specialized construction departments, subject to the adherence to applicable technologies and compliance with standard deadlines that apply to the construction of buildings. The relevance of this problem stems from the complexity of coordination of works to be performed by contractors and subcontractors, involved in the development of a quarter and responsible to the general contractor. The purpose of this research is to analyze and apply the branch and bound method to the problems arising in the course of scheduling the construction of a quarter using special methods of the scheduling theory. Materials and methods. The article addresses the problem of continuous operation of special-focus construction departments subject to the adherence to applicable technologies and compliance with standard deadlines set for the construction of individual structures when scheduling the construction of residential quarters. Results. The solution, based on the branch and bound method, is proposed. The construction of eight buildings, that comprise a residential quarter, is taken as an example. Matrices, representing continuous workflows for different methods of work organization, were obtained; principal parameters of integrated workflows, encompassing the construction of the quarter structures, were calculated with regard for the commencement and completion time for each specialized workflow at each individual structure. A displacement matrix was used to consolidate all eight structures. Two principal methods of reorganizing the integrated quarterly workflow are considered. Conclusions. The branch and bound method is used to compare original and optimized matrices; calculation results are presented. The strengths and weaknesses of the critical path/continuous resource employment method are illustrated by the project that encompasses the construction of eight facilities in a residential quarter.