An integrated system for earthmoving planning

In earthmoving operations, there are a number of activities that need to be considered; for example, path identification, plant selection, assessing the compatibility of the paths and the plants so selected, cost and productivity comparison of alternatives, safety and environmental considerations, etc. The traditional approach to this problem by heuristic rules generated from the experience of planners cannot guarantee an optimal solution. Hence, a scientific method is proposed to automate the earthmoving planning by integrating: (1) a path-finding algorithm; (2) a plant selection system; (3) application of extenics theory to address the compatibility; and (4) the use of genetic algorithms to optimize the alternatives in terms of costs, productivity, safety and environmental considerations. The integrated system is illustrated step by step using a genuine construction project as an example. The result demonstrates the effectiveness of the system in automating the earthmoving planning exercise.