Requirement and availability time-window analysis of intermediate function

Many existing resource-constrained scheduling tools may be inadequate for representing and evaluating intermediate functions, a major category of construction requirements, with respect to availability time-windows and alternative construction sequences. This study develops a time-window analysis approach for calculating and matching the requirement and availability time-windows of an intermediate function. Consequently, the proposed analysis approach can facilitate planning engineers to formally detect unfulfilled construction requirements residing in a construction schedule. Moreover, the analysis tool can also be used for accommodating alternative construction sequences to work out better construction schedules, which is demonstrated and validated by using the case of constructing a nursing house.