Holonic Execution System for Construction Management

Abstract

Ensuring high efficiency in construction through advanced planning techniques must be supported by the simulation of construction processes. In previous research, the potential for multi-agent based simulation to support the planning phase were successfully shown with regard to some typical construction tasks. Among the main benefits determined by this approach the following ones were reported: capability of simulating real-world processes and interaction among resources; powerful 3D visualization; optimal sizing of resources. However, those models are not easy to create, because of the absence of built-in blocks and the many relationships among single agents and between agents and context.In this paper we propose the application of a novel holonic system for construction management, which is a sub-category of multi-agent systems. It combines the high and predictable performance promised by hierarchical systems with the robustness against disturbances and the agility of heterarchical systems. Holons are self-contained, stable, intermediate forms, that can be used to create a bigger whole. By using holons, designers aim to create complex systems that can be reused and redesigned much more rapidly than standard multi-agent systems. The approach was applied to the optimal scheduling of bored piles construction. Hence, a holonic construction execution system for bored piles tasks was developed. The holonic architecture was designed so as to integrate the DMAS pattern for scheduling optimization through stigmergy. The results of this paper showed the easy reusability of our simulation sub-systems and the potentials in terms of automatic optimal planning of construction works.

Integrating hierarchical and network centric management approaches in construction megaprojects using a holonic methodology

“…This requires a change of multiple processes involving various stakeholders in a synchronized fashion (Taylor and Levitt, 2007) and has effects on inter-organizational relationships (Powell, 1998), thus influencing the whole construction project, including actors and resources (Lindgren and Emmitt, 2017;Taylor and Levitt, 2007). This concept of "holarchical" or "holonic" has been applied to many different domains, including management, and has been extended to construction applications (Naticchia et al, 2019;Zekavat et al, 2014). The analogy is that of a "Janus face", with one side facing towards simple issues and requiring hierarchical management, and the other side facing towards complex issues and requiring network centric management.…”