Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management 2002 9 4, 304317

Development and application of a hybrid genetic algorithm

for resource optimization and management
O. O. UGWU* & J. H. M. TAH
*Department of Civil Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China, and Division of
Civil Engineering and Construction Management, South Bank University, London, UK

Abstract Resource selection/optimization problems are

often characterized by two related problems: numerical
function and combinatorial optimization. Although
techniques ranging from classical mathematical
programming to knowledge-based expert systems
(KBESs) have been applied to solve the function
optimization problem, there still exists the need for
improved solution techniques in solving the combinatorial
optimization. This paper reports an exploratory work that
investigates the integration of genetic algorithms (GAs)
with organizational databases to solve the combinatorial
problem in resource optimization and management. The
solution strategy involved using two levels of knowledge
(declarative and procedural) to address the problems of
numerical function, and combinatorial optimization of
resources. The research shows that GAs can be
effectively integrated into the evolving decision support

INTRODUCTION
Many decisions in construction projects usually involve
assigning resources from one task to another. Such
decisions are often required at various levels of a project
life cycle: conceptual level when the project manager
is concerned with the total cost and project feasibility,
tender appraisal; submission level when contractors
are concerned with preparing reasonable and economic
cost estimates that has to be matched with project
resource requirements; and at the operational level
when site and contract managers have to deal with the
realities of daily operational decision-making. For a
given project the resources assigned determines the
method(s) of construction. Therefore, the decision
problems often demand evaluating the best way to
distribute available resources over different tasks that
are necessary for a successful and efficient completion
of the project. Such resource assignment and optimization problems demand efficient combinatorial computations if all possible options are to be considered,
and decision-making facilitated. This is true irrespect-

systems (DSSs) for resource optimization and

management, and that integrating a hybrid GA that
incorporates resource economic and productivity
factors, would facilitate the development of a more
robust DSS. This helps to overcome the major limitations
of current optimization techniques such as linear
programming and monolithic techniques such as the
KBES. The results also highlighted that GA exhibits the
chaotic characteristics that are often observed in other
complex non-linear dynamic systems. The empirical
results are discussed, and some recommendations
given on how to achieve improved results in adapting
GAs for decision support in the architecture, engineering
and construction (AEC) sector.
Keywords combinatorial optimization, decision support
systems, distributed project management, genetic
algorithms, resource optimization

ive of the project management level. Consequently,

research into efficient methods of resource optimization
has always been an area of interesting study on its own.
Previous research works on resource optimization
investigated the use of deterministic models in construction decision-making, while other works investigated the use of stochastic models in solving the
problem (Paulson et al., 1987; AbouRizk & Shi, 1994;
Smith et al., 1995).
However, despite the long search for simulation
models that will receive acceptance by practising
engineers, deterministic models still remain the preferred method for studying planning and scheduling in
the construction industry. Some authors (Schexnayder,
1997) have argued that deterministic models come very
close to the daily practise of engineers and are therefore
favoured. Such models enable practising engineers to
harness their experiences when studying and verifying
the effects of physical features of resources. Consequently, there still remains the need to investigate
simulation models that takes the physical characteristics
of resources into consideration. Genetic algorithms

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Hybrid GA for resource optimization

(GAs) offer potential solutions in developing such

stochastic-simulation models. This is because such
physical characteristics can be encoded as a set of
parameters that determine the final cost of the resource
components, using the features of a GA.
The objective of this study is to investigate the
potential application of GA systems in the general
resource selection problem domain. The purpose is to
establish how such efficient computational techniques
can be applied to facilitate decision-making in the area
of resource optimization and management within the
framework of a distributed decision support environment. The focus is on project management at various
levels of strategic decision-making, and ensuring that
any choice of optimal strategy is underpinned by a
careful analysis of the benefits and costs associated with
implementing all the possible alternatives. In addition,
the sensitivity of the output to changes in certain
parameters that GAs need during execution will be
examined.
The aims of this paper are as follows:

to give a comprehensive treatise on GA and their

potential applications in the context of resource
optimization and management;
to demonstrate the application of combinatorial
design techniques (i.e. the interaction between
mathematical modelling and computing technology
such as databases) in solving complex multidimensional problems;
to discuss an empirical investigation on the reliability of the proposed GA system as a decision
processing component in resource management;
and
to highlight the challenges and problems in the
development and deployment of GA and other
evolutionary techniques for decision support. It
is intended to provoke some serious research
questions in construction information technology
research.

BACKGROUND
Genetic algorithms belong to the family of artificial
intelligence techniques that are increasingly being
employed to solve optimization problems. Such algorithms mimic the operations of natural selection when
searching for optimal solutions. The power of their
use in applications is derived from their ability to
combine numerical parameter optimization with combinatorial searches within an application domain.
Genetic algorithms are therefore uniquely suitable
for solving multidimensional optimization problems

such as resource selection in construction. In practice, the application of a GA involves designing

artificial chromosome structures that represent a
simple genetic model of the computation, and then
implementing the genetic operators by simple bitmanipulation operations. Problem-domain analysis
and encoding constitute substantial activities in
designing a GA as a solution to an optimization
problem. The basic building blocks that influence the
efficiency and performance of a GA is the schemata
from which the genetic model representation is
constructed. The underlying details of the schemata
theory are discussed in the seminal book by John
Holland (Holland, 1975).
Genetic algorithms have been successfully applied in
different optimization problems including the famous
Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) in Operations
Research. Some of the applications in design and
construction management problems include: oil pipeline network optimization (Goldberg, 1989), structural
optimization for truss roofs (Koumosis & Georgiou,
1994, Nagendra et al., 1996), determination of the
laying sequence for a continuos girder reinforced
concrete floor system (Natsuaki et al., 1995) and
resource scheduling (Chan et al., 1996).
Bennet et al. (2000) report on the development of
a GA-based decision support system (DSS) for
location of new major housing allocations. Rafiq
et al. (2001) discuss the use of structured GA
(SGA) to generate and evaluate different feasible
design solutions concurrently, within a DSS framework. Borkowski & Grabska (2001) discuss the
application of graphs in layout optimization and
highlight the potential applications of GA in the
layout optimization of trusses. Griffiths & Miles
(2001) present a research project that is investigating
the application of improved GA to optimize shape
discovery in design, using two-dimensional string
representations for the genetic search. Soibelman &
Pena-Mora (2001) describe a distributed multireasoning mechanism that incorporates GA and case-based
reasoning within a multiagent system environment to
provide designers with design solutions using a set of
user-defined parameters and constraints. The problem domain is the conceptual phase of the structural
design of tall buildings.
The above catalogue of research projects shows an
increasing interest on the development and application of GA-based systems. Majority of the research
works on GA still focuses on encoding and representing the required solution as fixed length character strings (chromosome structure) and this same

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approach was adopted in our study. However, while

most of the GA applications still focus on onedimensional string processing, the work reported in
this paper extended the basic GA by investigating its
application in a two-dimensional matrix problem. In
general, most GAs employ three primary genetic
operators: Reproduction, Crossover, and Mutation.
Details of these genetic operators are exhaustively
discussed in the referenced GA textbooks (Holland,
1975; Goldberg, 1989; Davis, 1991; Rawlings, 1991),
and such finite details do not fall within the scope of
present discussion.
The functionality of a GA is maximized if it is used
in an unconstrained optimization problem. However,
GAs are usually applied to constrained optimization
problems (COPs), by assigning penalty functions that
transform them into unconstrained problems (Goldberg, 1989). The major disadvantage of this approach
is that because the penalty functions are often
arbitrarily assigned, some constraints may be violated
by good solutions that are close to the border of
feasible region. Other approaches include using genetic repair to cushion the effects of possible constraint violations by the resulting GA solutions
(Paredis, 1993). These approaches enforce some
synthatic correctness and consequently, they may not
be acceptable in optimization problems that demand
both numerical function and combinatorial optimization a distinct characteristic of resource selection
problems. Some authors and researchers have advocated that other tools such as greedy algorithms and
constraint programs be incorporated to sift through
an optimization problem before GA is finally called to
solve the function and combinatorial aspects of the
problem (Davis, 1991; Rawlings, 1991; Watson,
1995). This argument also supports the systematic
approach to planning, and the authors agree with the
thinking. The work that is reported in this paper
represents a significant advancement in GA applications by integrating with project databases. In this
study, the Structured Query Language (SQL) processing algorithm is used to sift through candidate
resources in the database that satisfy duration constraints before the combinatorial optimization. This
approach improves distributed resource optimization
and project management. The ensuing sections describe the problem domain, as well as the solution
strategy we adopted. The coding system that was
found suitable for the problem and the experimental
design for studying the system behaviour are also
discussed. Finally, the empirical results obtained after
analysing the output data are presented and recommendations given for further research.

THE NATURE OF RESOURCE

ASSIGNMENT PROBLEMS
Resource allocation as a network problem
In order to investigate the suitability of GA for resource
assignment and optimization, it is necessary to examine
the problem in a generic context. In this regard
resource assignment is viewed as analogous to network
problem. The following sections discuss the characteristics of resource-assignment problems when viewed in
this context.
Fig. 1 is a graphical illustration of a resource selection/
combinatorial problem, showing the tasks and resources
network. The problem description is outlined below:

Each ellipse in the network (X1Xm) is a node that

represents a construction task, and each circle (Y1
Yn) represents different resources to be assigned.
Thus, the problem depicted here is how to assign
resources (Y1Yn) among tasks (X1Xm) when it
is possible to use the resources (or a combination of
resources) in completing any of the tasks, subject to
constraints on allowable combinations.
The following characteristics of the problem can be
deduced from the network shown in Fig. 1 (Ugwu
& Tah, 1998):
It is a function-evaluation/combinatorial problem. The optimization problem is to find the
best traversal path in the network that minimizes
the total cost of the project tasks.
In order to generate a solution space, the GA
traverses through the network to create a new
chromosome. This chromosome (bit string)
results from a permutation of a list of the cost
indices that is encoded in the problem space and
then generated by scrambling through the order
of the nodes. This is a coevolutionary process.
The problem is epistatic solutions over the
feasible region are closely coupled and small

Figure 1 A network of the resource-assignment problem.

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alterations in the nodal weightings trigger cumulative effects (perturbations) in the solution space.
Consequently, this affects the fitness of each
traversal path, and also has some impact on the
efficiency of a GA system, often leading to termination at local optima (Paredis, 1993, 1995).
Each ellipse has multiple cost values, resulting from
its interactions with the circles. These interactions
can be translated into a payoff matrix of order
(m n) by using the generalized resource-allocation formulae described in the following section.

Mathematical model formulation

The resource-based mathematical model expresses the
total cost of a construction process as a function of the
respective tasks performed using available resources,
and the corresponding resource productivity and economic attributes (e.g. resource unit costs). The model
considers resource optimization and management as a
generic problem, and is built upon two fundamental
sets of class objects:

a project that consists of at least one task and the

task(s) at hand required to be completed as part of
the project this task completion is a transformation process; and
the resources that are required to execute the above
project task(s).

The mathematical model is given by Equations (1)

and (2) below (Winston, 1994):
X
Minimize
rt xt t 1; T
1
X
2
subject to:
gt xt  W
where W is the units of a resource available, T the
number of activities to which the resource can be
allocated, gt(xt) the units of resource that are used by
activity t, and rt(xt) the associated cost of using the
resource gt(xt).
A structured modelling approach was employed to
translate this network into the corresponding payoff
matrix (Geoffrion, 1987, 1988, 1992). This is shown in
Fig. 2.
The resulting payoff matrix yields the grid given in
Equation (3):
aij  rt xt i 1; m : j 1; n

where aij corresponds to the cost or duration values for

a given locus i, j in the matrix table (Fig. 2). The
application of the matrix is illustrated in the genetic
state-space search (GSSS) shown in Tables 26 in the
Case Study section.

Figure 2 Payoff matrix structure of the resource-assignment

problem.

While certain data values such as the task quantity

are defined by the user (based on project details) the
output of a given resource is determined by certain
productivity factors, such as size, capacity, correction
factors (resource attributes), and the type and nature
of the material encountered at site (material attributes). For a given resource within each resource group,
there is therefore a corresponding cost and duration
attached to its usage. The task and resource attributes
are both indexed directly to their respective classes/
objects and stored in the project database. The model
has been applied in the earthwork operations domain
and details of the application domain are discussed in
(Ugwu, 1999). Table 1 summarizes the variables
expressed in the mathematical model:
Constraints in evaluating the objective function
Time constraints (task and project duration)
A set of duration constraints must be satisfied for a
given assigned resource. The general expression for the
duration constraint is given as:
X XQmt i; j; N
 Dt
4
Rot i; j; N
i
j
where Rot is the output of a given resource R in
performing task t, Qmt is the quantity of task under
consideration, and Dt is the task duration. The general
objective function also allows for a mixture of resources. In generating the mathematical model, the unit
costs of resources are assumed deterministic here and
are user-specified. The unit costs of labour, and plant
are also assumed constant in this study but it may vary

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Table 1 Description of variables in the mathematical model.

Indices, sets and relation
p* P*
rR
pP
lL
mM
t T = {e.g. e, h, f, c}
Constants
Ur for r R
Variables
Po
Lo
Qmt for r R
DP, DT
Cr (for r R = {plant, labour, material})
Constraints
DT DP
C0
ru ra (for r R)

Objective function

Projects (P* various types of construction projects)

Resources (R contains three types of resources: plant, labour, material)
Plant is an ordered set classified by functional and operational uses
Labour is an ordered set classified by type
Material is an ordered set, classified by types
Task is an ordered set by sequence of construction (e.g. excavation, haulage,
filling, compaction in earthworks construction)
Unit cost of resource (assumed deterministic and is user specified)
Plant productivity (but assumed constant over section i, j)
Labour productivity (but assumed constant over section i, j)
Quantity of tasks handled by a resource group over the section i,j as extracted from
project contract drawings and specifications but is user defined
Project and task duration, respectively determined by specifications in the
conditions of contract
Cost of a given resource element r, the cumulative sum of which gives total cost of
construction/earthwork operations over the section(s) of interest to the user
Duration limit constraint
Cost limit constraint over section i, j
Resource utilization constraint: resource utilization ru must be less than or equal to
resource availability ra. The user certifies satisfaction of initial availability
constraints
As given in Equation (1)

with work conditions at various sections along a project

profile. Previous works have been undertaken to generate models and programs that compute and simulate
these unit costs (Easa, 1987, 1988, 1989) and it is not
considered to be within the scope of this research.
Equation (1) is the objective function that underpins
this research. Equation (4) was imposed by using a
parameterized query to sift through all possible candidate resources in the project database, before the
preprocessed data set is passed on to the GA for
functional and combinatorial optimization. This
approach is underpinned by the fact that the existing
SQL processing algorithms are extremely powerful,
robust, and very suitable for the kind of constraint
manipulation that is desired in this type of combinatorial problem. The next section discusses the incorporation of this objective function in the formulated
genetic model.
MODEL FORMULATION
The genetic model representation of the resource
assignment problems incorporates two important decision-making parameters cost and duration. Using
such a model would ensure that a users choice of
construction resource(s) or resource combination is
underpinned by a careful analysis of the costs and

benefits associated with implementing all the possible

alternatives. In addition, the sensitivity of the output to
changes in certain of the parameters that GAs need
during execution was examined as part of the experiment designed for the system testing/validation. The
ensuing section describes the algorithmic procedures of
the hybrid GA.
A hybrid genetic algorithm for resource
assignment
This section describes the hybrid GA that is integrated
with a project database to perform combinatorial
optimization. The database maintains the following
task-schedule information task/activity ID, names and
description, activity durations, assigned resources,
resource IDs and the corresponding productivity and
economic factors, etc. The project database was
implemented in Microsoft Access and used for persistent storage of task-schedule data. The hybrid GA uses
parameterized structured query that is passed to the
database engine, to extract details of tasks and resource
productivity/economic attributes from the database.
The extracted data are then used to process the
associated costs and duration for each resource
assigned to various tasks. Figures 3 and 4 show the
database and structural relationship between the

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Figure 3 A view of the database table

objects.

Figure 4 Relationship between the database table objects (project, tasks, and resources).

various database table objects project, tasks, resources

and resource assignment.
This level of data and information storage improves
the robustness of the GA because the services it
provides (functional and combinatorial optimization)
is independent of the data on which it acts in performing such services. The distinct feature also means that
the imposition of genetic operators such as reproduction, crossover, and mutation do not result in an

arbitrary loss of information, as the knowledge about

the problem domain on which the combinatorial
optimization takes place is stored in the project database. Figure 5 shows the formulated hybrid GA with all
its delineating features.
The algorithm modifies the simple GA (Holland,
1975; Goldberg, 1989), in order to incorporate the
specific data structure requirements of the problem. It
is based on generating and mapping a fitness network

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Figure 5 Hybrid genetic algorithm for resource selection and optimization.

that constitute the genetic search space. This fitness

network which encapsulates information related to a
given resource or construction method and tasks, was
then mapped into a set of genes with the associated cost
values within a defined chromosome structure (a oneto-one genetic mapping). Solutions include identifying
optimum combination of resources and tasks that

minimize the total cost of construction over the feasible

region. The initial constraint fitness maps the value of
each gene as the cost of completing the tasks with a
given resource.
An initial population was generated from which the
algorithm learns and imposes the genetic operators and
consequently coevolves other feasible solutions within

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the search space. Therefore, the fitness network serves a

dual purpose by integrating two general paradigms:
genetic search and state-space search. Some authors have
advocated the adoption of this GSSS approach in
solving COPs (Paredis, 1993, 1995). This is the
approach we adopted in solving the problem. However,
a salient feature of this hybrid GA is that all analytical
computations are based on the actual resource productivity and economic data extracted from the project
database. Ugwu (1999) and Ugwu & Tah (1999)
discuss details of the decision-support framework and
the underlying system architecture that underpin this
level of integration of the GA in a prototype DSS.
The genetic model
The proposed genetic model/coding encapsulates the
payoff value of a gene at a given locus. The genetic
search space is illustrated in the system validation
section (see Tables 15). The string representation is
given in Equation (5).

j1;N
Chromosome: Cij ; Dij i1;M
5
where Cij is the cost value of a gene, Dij the corresponding duration, and i, j define the locus of a gene in
the chromosome structure.
In this model, a gene defines a type of resource (e.g.
construction plant) and the locus defines the task to
which the resource has been assigned. Thus, values of a
gene at a given locus corresponds to the cost and
duration of executing a given task with a particular
assigned resource. For example, a 7-bit chromosome
defined as 1011001 represents a resource allocation
model that assigns two different resources to seven
different tasks. This type of binary chromosome representation can precisely match to a given set of resource
assignments provided the chromosome contains
enough bit strings to define the various possible
resource assignments. In this model, the GA maintains

a population with fixed size of chromosomes (length

and depth).
CASE STUDY
A pipe laying project was selected for this case study
because it involves earthwork operations which was
initially chosen as a test bed for the prototype implementation of the proposed model. The example project
used for the validation is based on a detailed typical
construction project information as documented in
Carvalbo & Turner (1969). The requirements for
resource optimization and project management were
identified and analysed from the project documents.
The following tasks were identified: Huts delivery, Huts
assembly, Workshop delivery, Workshop assembly,
Tanker greasing pit, Access Road Section 1, Trench
for Tunnel Section VI, Trench for Tunnel Section VII,
Trench for Tunnel Section VIII, Trench for Tunnel
Section IX, Stone Filling over Tunnel Section VI,
Stone Filling over Tunnel Section VII, Stone Filling
over Tunnel Section VIII, Stone Filling over Tunnel
Section IX. Two resources (a digger crane and truckmounted vehicle that could be converted for digging)
are available for use in executing the outlined tasks.
The extracted task and resource attributes were used to
populate the appropriate database table objects. The
problem involves optimizing the tasks and resource
assignments from the case study project.
GA system testing and validation
The test on the GA system was carried in the context of
sequential decision-making problem outlined in the
preceding section. In order to apply GA, the project is
broken down into the above component tasks, and
there are two items of interest (control variables): 15
tasks, and two candidate construction resources that
satisfy availability and duration constraints. A

Table 2 A sample preprocessed cost data sets for combinatorial optimization.

Resource ID

P1

P2

P3

P4

P5

P6

P7

P8

P9

P10

P11

P12

P13

P14

P15

ML1
TV1

30
150

30
150

10
50

10
50

10
50

10
50

100
500

40
200

40
200

20
100

10
50

10
50

10
50

10
50

10
50

Table 3 A sample preprocessed duration data sets for combinatorial optimization.

Resource ID

P1

P2

P3

P4

P5

P6

P7

P8

P9

P10

P11

P12

P13

P14

P15

ML1
TV1

3
1

3
1

1
0.5

1
0.5

1
0.5

1
0.5

10
2

4
1

4
1

2
0.5

1
0.5

1
0.5

1
0.5

1
0.5

1
0.5

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two-dimensional binary code string representation was

used to model the decision-making parameters that are
of interest (i.e. the cost and duration values associated
with a given assigned resource). Each population
consists of the binary strings 1 or 0, and both the bitstring breadth and depth are fixed. The GA evaluates
the fitness of a given population set (chromosome)
using preprocessed cost and duration data sets extracted from the database (Tables 2 and 3).
The combinatorial optimization process begins with
a set of initial populations, which are randomly generated for subsequent use by the GA (Tables 46).
The user inputs include the values of certain GA
optimization parameters, such as the number of generations, the mutation rate, and the crossover site.
There are no strict restrictions on the users choice of
GA optimization parameters. However, from the trial
tests, the values used for number of generations and
mutation rates ranged from 2002000 to 0.00.3%,
respectively. The GA uses these to learn and dynamically generate other populations (a coevolutionary
process), and then generates, as a final output, the

cumulative cost of completing the tasks with various

possible combinations of resources (i.e. method(s) of
construction). The data structure of each output
(chromosome) was designed to generate five sets of
coded results, and each stream of the solution represents a possible combination of resources, and the
associated cost. This is desired because in a DSS the
user makes the final choice on the basis of other
practical considerations, such as some logistics related
to the project management.
A typical structure of such output data is illustrated
below:
Optimization parameters:
No. of generations 800
Bit mutation rate 0.1
Crossover rate 1
Strings correspond to construction methods (alternative
combination of resources)
String no. 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0
String no. 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1

Table 4 Genetic coding/representation of the search space using bit vectors.

Resource
combination

P1

P2

P3

P4

P5

P6

P7

P8

P9

P10

P11

P12

P13

P14

P15

String
String
String
String
String

0
1
1
0
1

0
1
0
0
0

0
1
1
1
1

0
1
1
0
1

0
1
1
0
1

0
1
1
0
0

0
1
0
1
1

0
1
0
1
0

0
1
1
0
0

0
1
0
0
0

0
1
0
1
0

0
1
0
0
0

0
1
0
1
1

0
1
1
1
1

0
1
1
0
0

0
1
2
3
4

Table 5 Randomly generated initial population of costs (Cij).

Resource
combination

P1

P2

P3

P4

P5

P6

P7

P8

P9

P10

P11

P12

P13

P14

P15

String
String
String
String
String

30
150
150
30
150

30
150
30
30
30

10
50
10
50
50

10
50
50
10
50

10
50
50
10
50

10
50
50
10
10

100
500
100
500
500

40
200
40
200
40

40
200
200
40
40

20
100
20
20
100

10
50
10
50
10

10
50
50
10
10

10
50
10
50
50

10
50
50
50
50

10
50
50
10
10

0
1
2
3
4

Table 6 Randomly generated initial population of duration (Dij).

Resource
combination

P1

P2

P3

P4

P5

P6

P7

P8

P9

P10

P11

P12

P13

P14

P15

String
String
String
String
String

3
1
1
3
1

3
1
3
3
3

1
0.5
1
0.5
0.5

1
0.5
1
1
0.5

1
0.5
0.5
1
0.5

1
0.5
0.5
1
1

10
2
1
2
2

4
1
4
1
4

4
1
1
4
4

2
0.5
0.5
0.5
1

1
0.5
1
0.5
1

1
0.5
0.5
1
1

1
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5

1
0.5
0.5
1
0.5

1
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5

0
1
2
3
4

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Hybrid GA for resource optimization

String no. 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
String no. 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
String no. 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Value of objective function for each string
String
String
String
String
String

no.
no.
no.
no.
no.

0: 630
1: 750
2: 350
3: 390
4: 510

Thus for a given test run, the system is able to outline

the cost implications of various strategies combinations of tasks and resources (Fig. 6).
In its present form, the decision-maker decodes and
interprets the output from the system. Further research
is required to enable the GA system decode the output
by itself, and classify the resulting bit strings in terms of
the coded variables, i.e. the task names and description
of the construction method(s). The experimental
design to study the behaviour of the GA is discussed
in the following sections, together with some of the
observations that were made during the various stochastic-simulation sessions.
Experimental design
The experiment to study the behaviour of the GA
system was designed to measure a set of output data for
a given test run. Various statistical indicators were then
used to measure the reliability of the system as a search/
optimization tool for decision support, by comparing
the output with the actual best solution of the problem.
It was also necessary to measure the sensitivity of the
system to changes in the optimization parameters
number of generations and mutation rate. The following data were recorded:

maximum (best) value

minimum (worst) value

average value, and

execution time in seconds.

The average value measures the overall quality of the

system output for a given test run, higher values
representing improved solutions. The execution time
is an indication of the computing resources consumed
by the system. For a given set of parameters, the
program was executed 40 times and results were
recorded in all cases. The output data were analysed
using a statistical and a spreadsheet package. These
tools facilitated a study of certain statistics and various
levels of data exploration, which in turn revealed some
interesting characteristics of GA systems (see Table 7).

Table 7 Performance data of 40 test runs.

No. of generations
Statistic

100

200

400

800

Pmutation = 0.0
Avg. minimum cost ()
Standard deviation
Maximum ()
Minimum ()

437.00 559.00 452.00 449.00

97.93 81.013 88.27 89.67
590.00 590.00 590.00 590.00
350.00 350.00 350.00 350.00

Pmutation = 0.1
Average minimum cost () 413.00 457.00 408.00 432.00
Standard deviation
84.44 114.72 74.12 115.98
Maximum ()
590.00 790.00 590.00 790.00
Minimum ()
350.00 350.00 350.00 350.00
Pmutation = 0.2
Average minimum cost () 410.00 442.0
Standard deviation
84.27 104.94
Maximum ()
630.00 750.00
Minimum ()
350.00 350.00

430.00
122.20
990.00
350.00

422.00
108.77
750.00
350.00

Pmutation = 0.4
Average minimum cost () 424.00 436.00 443.00 418.00
Standard deviation
84.27 125.04 93.87 83.12
Maximum ()
750.00 750.00 830.00 790.00
Minimum ()
350.00 350.00 350.00 350.00

Figure 6 Graph showing typical

minimum cost profiles for the various
outputs.

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Ugwu, O. O. & Tah, J. H. M.

Figure 7 Graph of the GA output for 40

test runs.

RESULTS
The graphs of best, worst, and average best were
analysed (Fig. 7).
Because of some chaotic characteristics exhibited by
the GA system, statistical analysis of the output focused
on determining the level of replication of output for
different input parameters. The range of values,
frequency distribution, and the proportion of results
that satisfy a certain range are the indices that can be
used to determine the reliability of the system as a DSS
component. The solutions for which the maximum
output lie over the range 85100% of the best solution
were also measured (Table 8; Fig. 8).
From the results of the experiments (Tables 48;
Figs 68), the following observations are made:
1. GA systems are very efficient tools for complex
combinatorial searches over a highly multimodal
parameter space.
2. A cross-impact analysis was carried to study the
effect of changes in the values of the optimization
parameters on the output generated by the system
on the different trial runs. It was observed that
keeping one of the optimization parameters constant and varying the value of the other did not
result in a predictable output pattern (Fig. 6).
Also, an ANOVA test did not indicate a significant
Table 8 Proportion of output within the range 85100% of best
solution.
No. of generations
Pmutation

100

200

400

800

0.0
0.1
0.2
0.4

77.5
85.0
87.5
77.5

85.0
75.0
75.0
67.5

80.0
65.0
72.5
70.0

80.0
72.5
77.5
70.0

correlation between the output data sets for different values of the parameters (GA system variables). Such chaotic behaviour is usually
characteristic of other complex dynamic systems.
The random nature of the stochastic modelling/simulation and the cumulative impact of the genetic
operators (crossover and mutation) may induce
these perturbations.
3. In general, mutation appears to distort the performance of the system increasing the computation
time without necessarily improving performance
(Fig. 8). The variation in the execution time with
the number of generations and the probability of
mutation shows a logarithmic relationship. The
time generally increases with the optimization
parameters. This translates to computer processing
resources utilized (cost), and can be very significant
for a GA used in industrial applications.
4. Although the GA system generates the cost profile
for various options as an output, a DSS will enable
the project manager to investigate other options so
as to be well informed of the consequences of
taking a particular action. Hence, the GA system
will be optimized if it is used as a component of a
DSS in a wider context, and integrating of GA with
the project database allows for a wide range of
applications in real-time or real-life situations
(Ugwu et al., 1998).
DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
OF THE RESULTS
This paper has reported a research project that investigated a new approach to resource optimization and
management using hybrid GAs and a solution strategy
that is based on the object-oriented paradigm. The
study also investigated the efficiency and behaviour of a
GA system as a DSS component for distributed

2002 Blackwell Science Ltd, Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management 9 4, 304317

Hybrid GA for resource optimization

Figure 8 Proportion of the output within

the range of 85100% of the best
solution.

decision-making in project management. The paper

discussed a genetic model that represents the problem
space for construction method selection and resource
optimization/management.
The hybrid GA uses a resource cost model that
expresses project costs and duration in terms of task
details, the physical characteristics (technical and productivity attributes) of construction resources, and the
economic data such as resource unit costs. By adopting
this solution strategy, the authors proposed two levels
of knowledge utilization in GA-based resource optimization and management:

Declarative knowledge in which project, task and

resource details are stored as FACTS in a database.
These are then coded as a set of cost parameters in
the two-dimensional genetic model developed for
the research investigation; and
Procedural knowledge in which resource combinations are modelled as a stochastic process expressed
in terms of the genetic operators (crossover, mutation, and reproduction) within the multidimensional genetic model.

By utilizing knowledge at the above two levels, the

GA system generates the cost profile for various
options (combination of the assigned resources) as an
output. The project manager or user is also able to
investigate other options so as to be well informed of
the consequences of taking a particular action. The
results demonstrate that a hybrid GA system is a
potential reusable component for resource-optimization problems in various types of construction
projects.
The application has the following limitations in its
present form:

The representation of decision-making parameters

in the genetic model is limited to two attributes:
cost and duration. However, there is scope to
expand on, and increase the number of project
evaluation parameters to include: project location

factors, economic forecasts of the project, project

risk factors and other investment decision-making
parameters.
The GA output is used to populate the taskscheduling database table object manually, so that
the project management system can interface with
the GA results. There is a need to automate the
update functions of the database so that the GA
output can be used to automatically update the
database. Further work could also investigate the
possible application of eXtensible Mark-up Language (XML) to extract display and/or interpret
GA output data in various formats based on user
preferences in a web-enabled distributed project
management environment.

CONCLUSION
This paper discussed the application of a hybrid GA to
resource optimization and management. It described
the formulation of a genetic model that addresses the
specific problems of combinatorial optimization in
managing construction resources. A suitable twodimensional data structure for the problem was also
investigated. The GA interacts with a database and
extracts the detail project and resource attributes for
use in quantitative computations and combinatorial
optimization. This approach of integrating GA
with project databases is quite novel and adopting GA
in this manner makes it a true global optimization
technique.
The study focused on the efficiency and behaviour of
GA system as component(s) of a DSS. Our approach
has been to examine resource assignment and optimization as a generic problem. The following observations
were made:

GAs can be effectively integrated into the evolving

DSSs for resource optimization and management,
and in solving other engineering problems. The
study demonstrates that with adequate design of

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Ugwu, O. O. & Tah, J. H. M.

data structures a GA system can be a reusable

component for resource assignment problems in
various types of construction projects. Integrating a
hybrid GA that incorporates resource economic
and productivity factors would enhance the
development of more robust DSS. This helps to
overcome the major limitations of current optimization techniques such as linear programming.
The output do not necessarily constitute the overall
best solution in all cases but nevertheless, the speed
of computation has been demonstrably very
impressive as this supersedes any attempt to
evaluate similar combinatorial trials manually. This
suggests that the main advantage of a GA is that it
guarantees a good solution over a large complex
search space within a short time. GA should
therefore be applied only to appropriate problems.
The basic assumption at this stage of model development and testing is that each selected resource in
the GA satisfies resource availability requirements.
Although resource availability constraint is verified
or relaxed by the user, further work is needed to
incorporate greedy algorithms that sifts the
resources to ensure that this fundamental assumption is not violated by any resource(s) in the solutions generated by the GA.

The result of the system validation shows that GA

systems are very efficient tools for complex combinatorial searches over a highly multimodal space. The
tests also reveal that although GA systems are capable
of converging at optimal solutions within a very short
time, they also exhibit some chaotic characteristics such
as a complete absence of the optimal solution in a
generation of results. However, such chaotic behaviours
are often observed in other complex nonlinear dynamic
systems. In addition a GA must have enough search
space to minimize degradation of its performance.
The major contribution of this work is that it extends
the simple GA model by: (a) designing a GA that
processes two-dimensional string objective functions,
and (b) integrates with organizational databases in
solving the multidimensional problem of resource
management. This means that resource productivity
factors can be independently updated and maintained
in the database and dynamically extracted for function
and combinatorial optimization by the GA even in a
distributed environment. With this functionality for
analytical evaluations, the hybrid GA exploits the
power of the genetic operators in search and optimization over a large search space. The interaction with the
project database(s) ensures that the knowledge of the
tasks and assigned resources from which the analytical

results are computed is distinctly separated from the

coded information on the genetic model that is subjected to the actions of the genetic operators. Thus the
resource optimization problem is addressed here in a
generic context while available task and resource
attributes are used to populate the project database.
Furthermore, the GA results can be propagated to
other database table objects for integration with project
management systems such as MS Project (Ugwu,
1999). This enhances distributed collaborative project
management.
The study reported in this paper has shown that
GAs have huge potential generic applications in
resource optimization in construction engineering and
management, and that it is best suited for large and
complex search problems. Most of the current works
concentrate on developing GAs that optimize onedimensional string functions. This has very limited
application in solving real life multidimensional problems such as resource selection and optimization. It is
therefore recommended that further work be directed
towards developing improved data structures that
would facilitate solutions to such problems. Further
research is also required to address the chaotic
behaviours of GAs, and investigate its applications
for decision support in other areas of engineering
design and management. This will be a major step
towards realizing its industrial applications in the
architecture, engineering and construction sector.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This research was conducted as a PhD programme
funded by the Faculty of the Built Environment, South
Bank University London, SW8 2JZ, UK. The authors
also wish to acknowledge the useful comments and
suggestions from the anonymous reviewers of this
paper.
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