Automated DSS for Lighting Design of Nighttime Operations in Highway Construction Projects

Nighttime construction lighting is reported to be a crucial factor affecting quality, safety, cost and productivity of nighttime construction projects. This paper presents an automated decision support system (DSS) for lighting design in highway nighttime construction projects. The DSS is designed to optimize four major objectives: (1) maximizing average illuminance; (2) maximizing lighting uniformity in the work zone; (3) minimizing glare produced by the lighting system; and (4) minimizing cost of the lighting system. Seven decision variables are optimized in this lighting design problem namely: (1) lighting equipment selection; (2) type of lamps; (3) lamp lumen output; (4) mounting height; (5) lighting towers positioning; (6) luminaires aiming angle; and (7) lighting towers rotation. A multi objective evolutionary algorithm (NSGA-II) is used to optimize this lighting design problem. The proposed DSS provides a practical tool for the design and optimization of lighting arrangements in nighttime construction operations.