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Final Dissertation Defense- School of Building Construction, Ph.D. Candidate Laura Florez
Date: June 18, 2015
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Caddell Building, Room 212
Committee:
Daniel Castro-Lacouture, Professor (Advisor)
School of Building Construction, Georgia Institute of Technology
Xinyi Song, Assistant Professor
School of Building Construction, Georgia Institute of Technology
Sonit Bafna, Associate Professor
School of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology
Charles Rudolph, Associate Professor
School of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology
Andres L. Medaglia, Professor
Industrial Engineering, Universidad de Los Andes
Maria Viteri, AIA, LEED BC+D
Director of Sustainability and Program Development, International Masonry Institute
Title: Decision support system for masonry labor planning and allocation considering productivity and social sustainability
Abstract
This dissertation proposes a decision support system (DSS) for sustainable labor management in masonry construction that takes into consideration information on workers and job characteristics with the intention of assisting decision makers in allocating crews. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with masonry practitioners to gather perspectives on labor requirements, rules for crew design, and drivers for crew makeup. A model that incorporates jobsite realities was implemented, supporting masonry contractors and superintendents in the challenging process of managing crews, that is, to determine the composition of each crew and the allocation of crews to maximize productivity while considering social sustainability aspects. With the DSS, project managers and superintendents are not only able to identify working patterns for each of the workers, but also optimal crew formation, and investment and labor costs. Data from several mason contractors is used to illustrate the decision model and showcase its capability. It is expected that the DSS will help contractors improve productivity and quality while efficiently managing masonry workers in a more and sustainable way.
