The construction environment is dynamic in nature and is characterized by various degrees of uncertainties. The uncertainties such as lack of coordination, non availability of resources, condition of temporary structures and varying weather conditions have a significant impact on estimating the duration of activities. These are subjective, vague and imprecisely defined and are expressed in subjective measures rather than mathematical terms. Conventionally, various quantitative techniques such as CPM and PERT have emerged in construction industry. These techniques cannot solve the above problems and rely on human experts which may not always be possible. In such situations Artificial Intelligence tools such as fuzzy sets and neural networks handle such variables and provide global strategies. The present paper evaluates the effect of qualitative factors to identify the activity duration using new intelligent approach. The results are compared with conventional methods for effective project management. A case study is considered to demonstrate the applicability of fuzzy logic for project scheduling.
The authors express their sincere thanks to the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India for funding this research work through permit number SR/S3/RM/55/2002. Authors also wish to express their gratitude to the Department of Civil Engineering, OU for providing facilities to carry out this research work.