An object-oriented model for planning and control of housing construction

A practical object-oriented model for the planning and control of housing construction is presented that can generate efficient schedules and determine the time and cost performance of a housing project at three levels: (i) entire project, (ii) particular housing unit and (iii) an individual subcontractor. The model comprises five major components: (1) input module, (2) scheduling module, (3) database module, (4) control module and (5) reports module, and incorporates 18 classes that are designed to address the main requirements in planning and control of housing construction. The model is implemented as a user-friendly prototype software system using Visual C++ 6.0 and Microsoft Foundation Class (MFC). The prototype software is named 'Residential Planner', and runs in Windows 2000 and NT. An example of an application is analysed to illustrate the use of the developed model and demonstrate its practical features.