An Integrated Approach to Construction Management.

The research developed an integrated approach to construction management that provides an optimal decision-making tool for improving the cost-effectiveness of management organizations. The construction problem is defined in terms of the management processes of planning, scheduling, and controlling construction operations. These processes evaluate the time-cost tradeoffs of alternative courses of action when resources are limited. The integrated approach reflects the true state of the decision-maker in hierarchical management organizations of dynamic construction systems. A new network-based project analysis model was developed that integrates the total costs of construction operations. A rigorous mathematical formulation of the model provides a basis for an optimal solution method using an implicit enumeration, computer routine. The integrated approach was applied to a sample project to yield optimal project and resource schedules. Author