Construction Project Planning

Construction project optimization schedules tasks, allocates crews, and sequences activities to finish projects on time and within budget. Construction projects involve interdependent tasks where delays cascade through the entire schedule -- the optimizer finds the fastest or cheapest completion order while respecting task dependencies and resource limits.

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

1. Define project tasks

List every task with its estimated duration (in days or weeks). Examples: excavation (5 days), foundation (10 days), framing (15 days), electrical (8 days), plumbing (6 days), finishing (12 days).

2. Establish task dependencies

Specify which tasks must finish before others can start. Foundation cannot begin until excavation is complete. Electrical and plumbing can run in parallel after framing, but finishing requires both to be done.

3. Define available resources

List crews and equipment with their daily availability. You might have 3 general crews, 1 electrical crew, and 1 plumbing crew. Each task requires specific crew types.

4. Set the objective

Choose your goal:

Minimize total project duration (most common)
Minimize total project cost (when overtime and crew costs vary)
Level resource usage to avoid peak-and-valley crew scheduling

Construction Planning in JAOT Builder

5. Review the optimized schedule

The solver returns the start and end date for each task, which crews are assigned when, and the critical path (the sequence of tasks that determines the minimum project duration). Focus attention on critical path tasks -- any delay there delays the entire project.

Example Parameters

import httpx

API_URL = "https://jaot.io/api/v2"
headers = {"Authorization": "Bearer ok_live_your_key_here"}

# Minimize project makespan for 6 tasks with 3 crews
response = httpx.post(f"{API_URL}/solve", headers=headers, json={
    "variables": [
        # start_X = start day of task X
        {"name": "start_excavation", "type": "continuous", "lb": 0},
        {"name": "start_foundation", "type": "continuous", "lb": 0},
        {"name": "start_framing", "type": "continuous", "lb": 0},
        {"name": "start_electrical", "type": "continuous", "lb": 0},
        {"name": "start_plumbing", "type": "continuous", "lb": 0},
        {"name": "start_finishing", "type": "continuous", "lb": 0},
        {"name": "project_end", "type": "continuous", "lb": 0},
    ],
    "objective": {
        "sense": "minimize",
        "coefficients": {"project_end": 1},
    },
    "constraints": [
        {
            "name": "foundation_after_excavation",
            "coefficients": {"start_foundation": 1, "start_excavation": -1},
            "sense": ">=",
            "rhs": 5,
        },
        {
            "name": "framing_after_foundation",
            "coefficients": {"start_framing": 1, "start_foundation": -1},
            "sense": ">=",
            "rhs": 10,
        },
        {
            "name": "electrical_after_framing",
            "coefficients": {"start_electrical": 1, "start_framing": -1},
            "sense": ">=",
            "rhs": 15,
        },
        {
            "name": "plumbing_after_framing",
            "coefficients": {"start_plumbing": 1, "start_framing": -1},
            "sense": ">=",
            "rhs": 15,
        },
        {
            "name": "finishing_after_electrical",
            "coefficients": {"start_finishing": 1, "start_electrical": -1},
            "sense": ">=",
            "rhs": 8,
        },
        {
            "name": "finishing_after_plumbing",
            "coefficients": {"start_finishing": 1, "start_plumbing": -1},
            "sense": ">=",
            "rhs": 6,
        },
        {
            "name": "end_after_finishing",
            "coefficients": {"project_end": 1, "start_finishing": -1},
            "sense": ">=",
            "rhs": 12,
        },
    ],
})
result = response.json()

print(f"Minimum project duration: {result['objective_value']:.0f} days")
for var in result["variables"]:
    print(f"  {var['name']}: day {var['value']:.0f}")

Templates

Custom Optimization -- build a project scheduling model with task dependencies, crew assignments, and deadline constraints

Next Steps

Facility Location -- Optimize where to place warehouses, plants, or service centers intermediate
Real Estate Investment -- Evaluate property development portfolios and acquisition strategies intermediate
Workforce Scheduling -- Optimize crew shifts and assignments across job sites intermediate