Estimating the Probability Distribution of Construction Project Completion Times Based on Drum-Buffer-Rope Theory

Abstract

Various factors affecting the construction progress are regarded as bottlenecks giving rise to the project duration overrun. The contractor should combine the project schedule with the plan in order to reduce the uncertainty of the project activities. The present research describes the method derived from the theory of constraints (TOC) attempts to enhance the relationship among activities, to revise and further reduce the uncertainty of construction activities to improve the reliability of project progress. The elements of drum, buffer and rope (DBR) in TOC are added to PERT network schedule; through the identification of schedule in the bottleneck process, the implementation plan of the bottleneck is obtained. By measuring buffer time and calculating network schedule buffer time as well as feeding time, the relationship among activities and uncertainty of duration are also improved. To illustrate the impact of DBR applications on improving project schedule reliability, a case of hydropower station as an example is illustrated to show enhanced reliability of scheduling. As compared to program evaluation and review technique network (PERT) simulation, the simulation results showed that the uncertainty of construction progress could be reduced if the DBR are well cooperated mutually.

Internet of Things: Development Intelligent Programmable IoT Controller for Emerging Industry Applications

“…The TOC was introduced in the mid-1980s [ 53 , 54 ] and has had a significant impact on productivity improvement in manufacturing systems [ 55 ]. It has had great theoretical and practical diffusion in industry [ 56 ], and its activities have improved reliability [ 57 ]. A constraint, or bottleneck, is anything that limits the system from achieving higher performance [ 58 ].…”

Technology and Management Applied in Construction Engineering Projects

“…In turn, the article of Liu et al [2] applied the "drum-buffer-rope" construction schedule management and control technology into a PERT network to improve the relationship among the activities. The research described that the method derived from the theory of constraints (TOC) attempts to enhance the couplings among tasks to revise and further reduce the uncertainty of construction activities which leads to improving the reliability of project progression.…”

The Impact of Applying the Theory of Constraints on the Competitive Advantage: Evidence from Jordan

“…The theory of constraints is based on the assumption that there is at least one constraint in any system, and this theory is used for the purpose of determining the internal and external determinants and constraints that affect the company's system and limit its achievement of the objectives required of it, and to develop appropriate options to deal with these determinants and constraints, to maximize outputs by determining the mix The optimum productivity in light of the available resources, to contribute to increasing the contribution return for the product during a certain period of time, and thus increase the profitability of the company (Al-Zamili, 2014). Constraint is defined as any element or factor that limits the work of the system from doing more of what it was designed to achieve (Liu, Shen & Zhang, 2021), and also a constraint is anything that limits the ability of the system to achieve its goals, it is taken as the basis for managing and improving the system (Goldratt & Cox, 2004), and the presence of this constraint stimulates the economic unit to Making continuous improvements, through the continuous search for innovative and successful solutions (Al-Zamili, 2014), and the theory of constraints is a management method that enables the company to increase its operating income, if it effectively manages those constraints facing its operations (Atkinson et.al., 2012).…”