Bi-stakeholder Conflict Resolution-Based Layout of Construction Temporary Facilities in Large-Scale Construction Projects

Planning a layout of construction temporary facilities (CTFs), a specific construction site layout problem, is crucial to the successful completion of large-scale construction projects. Despite considerable research undertaken, mutual relationships and conflicts between the layout planner and other pre-planning task stakeholders (i.e., for the scheduling of construction activities or the material purchase) are not yet addressed in the layout process. Resolving conflicts is crucial to the layout optimization and this study is among the first to plan appropriate CTF layouts by taking bi-stakeholder conflict resolution into account. A new bi-level mathematical method is developed based on the resolution of conflicts between the CTF layout planner and the material purchase stakeholder, and thus providing an example for future layouts with bi-stakeholder conflicts. In this method, a bi-level programming model is first established to model layout-related goals, constraints, and conflicts. Second, a bi-level genetic algorithm is proposed to solve the model for appropriate layouts. To demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method, the method is applied to design a CTF layout for the construction of a practical dam project. The results demonstrated that an appropriate layout and a satisfactory purchase plan were determined, and conflicts between the CTF layout and the material purchase were prevented. The contributions of the method are the ability to capture the mutual conflicts of the CTF layout and the material purchase in the bi-level model, the capacity to develop a more efficient and realistic layout, and the practicality to guide planners in other situations.