Simulation Modeling For Sustainable Construction: A Case Study To Highlight The Social Aspect

To cut costs and drive innovation in product development, many projects have turned to remote worksites for construction component pre-fabrication. Fabricating pipe spools in shops eliminates delays due to weather and allows for better resource planning. This paper aims to optimize labor resource usage in a pipe spool manufacturing plant that fabricates three different types of spools. It utilizes historical data to implement a discrete-event simulation model. The proposed simulation model effectively reduced idle time and evenly distributed the workload. As a result, the overall fabrication time for all three spools was reduced, leading to a 22% decrease in active shop usage. This allowed subsequent jobs to commence earlier, giving the team more flexibility in meeting deadlines and addressing labor constraints. This research provides insights into how resource allocation plans can be created to maximize sustainability results, both socially (through improving working conditions and reducing workloads) and economically.