Automatic work package sizing for cost-effective modular construction

Abstract

<p>The accurate determination of work package size is crucial for cost reduction and achieving efficient mass production in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/modular-construction" title="Learn more about modular construction from ScienceDirect's AI-generated Topic Pages">modular construction</a> (MC) projects. However, effectively balancing sizing and cost poses a significant challenge due to the absence of a precise trade-off method. This paper describes an automatic work package sizing (AWPS) method in MC production to optimize work package sizing while minimizing costs. First, the multi-stakeholders-oriented MC production process is modeled to identify the tasks in MC production. Second, critical factors affecting the size of work packages are identified and analyzed. Then, a dynamic programming algorithm is developed to merge the tasks to work packages at a minimal cost. The AWPS method is validated in a case study, and the results show that the AWPS can effectively package production tasks while reducing costs by 1.28%–16.25% compared with traditional task-organizing methods.</p>