Graphical Simulation System for Planning and Visualizing Construction Processes

Three-dimensional graphical simulation is very useful for construction planning with its geometric analysis and visualization capability. This technique can further contribute to the improvement of construction planning processes by visualizing the numerically expressed results of process simulation(discrete-event simulation). This paper describes a graphical simulation system that has links to construction process simulation based on mathematical/statistical models. By fusing the visualization capability of the graphical simulation and the analytical superiority of construction process simulation in determining resource requirements and process optimization, the system proposed in this paper can overcome the limitations of the two different types of simulation. Earthmoving operation was selected as a case study to demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed research work.