Enhancing the logistics of construction materials through activity-based simulation approach

Purpose - Many planners and managers prefer to maintain more than enough construction materials on site to avoid valuable labour and plant resources staying idle. Despite the fact that minimising the buffer stock would improve the productivity of a construction project, no one likes to take this risk especially when the consequences are not totally clear. This paper aims to identify the possible savings in time and cost due to different amounts of buffer stock on site, by introducing an activity-based simulation model. Design/methodology/approach - In this research, details and data of a residential project involving substantial amounts of pre-cast components are collected. The project participants are asked to unveil the constraints on site and throughout the material delivery and storage processes. Finally, the collected data are fed into the activity-based construction simulation tool for analysis. Findings - The results indicate that simulation could help quantify the productivity of resources so as to establish the most suitable strategy for improving the logistics of materials handling in a construction project. Originality/value - The paper helps construction planners and managers to streamline the flow of construction materials and determine optimal buffer stocks rather than relying on subjective judgement. Copyright © 2009 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.