Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation of Multidimensional Impacts of Construction Labor Productivity Factors

Despite numerous attempts to quantify the impacts of factors influencing productivity in the construction industry, such factors are still perceived as static and independent, resulting in unrealistic productivity estimates. Therefore, this paper investigates the different factors' impacts on not only productivity, but also each other. The objective is to highlight the necessity of perceiving the already heavily researched factors affecting productivity as dynamic and interdependent through a multidimensional lens. Two generic agent-based models are built to simulate the outcomes of a project through varying levels of detail, each investigating a certain set of impacts. The first model includes the quantified impacts of the factors on productivity (traditional approach), while the second encompasses all quantified impacts of the factors on productivity and on each other (comprehensive approach). Findings proved the accuracy of the proposed comprehensive approach in estimating durations compared to planned durations and to those obtained from the traditional approach.