ITcon Vol. 30, pg. 1749-1767, http://www.itcon.org/2025/72

Dynamic material management for improved multi-crane operations

DOI:10.36680/j.itcon.2025.072
submitted:April 2025
revised:September 2025
published:December 2025
editor(s):Bosché F
authors:Pedram Moussavi, MSE student
Civil, Environmental Engineering and Construction, University of Nevada Las Vegas
moussavi@unlv.nevada.edu

JeeWoong Park, Associate Professor
Affiliation; Civil, Environmental Engineering and Construction, University of Nevada Las Vegas
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2205-6585
jee.park@unlv.edu

Ali Khodabandelu, Ph.D.
Civil, Environmental Engineering and Construction, University of Nevada Las Vegas
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2956-5542
khodaban@unlv.nevada.edu
summary:Inefficient multi-tower crane operations are a persistent source of delay, cost overruns, and safety risks in complex projects. These inefficiencies are influenced by many interacting factors. While building on prior research in crane motion path flexibility and dynamic supply selection, this research advances crane operations by integrating dynamic material management planning with the established agent-based modeling (ABM) methods. It introduces Agent-Based Dynamic Material Planning (ABDMP), a heterogeneous material management framework that dynamically reallocates materials in various supply points for crane operations within overlapping areas. Through scenario generation and simulation analyses, ABDMP identifies optimal material supply setups and reallocation strategies that improve crane utilization, reduce idle time, and shorten project durations compared to traditional methods. A detailed case study provides analytical evidence of its benefit: reductions in total schedule time and improvements in crane efficiency as material flexibility increases. By tackling a previously unaddressed gap related to how to systematically and flexibly manage material flows in multi-crane environments, this research advances construction operations planning, especially with crane operations. While acknowledging implementation challenges in practices, as a pilot research study, the framework offers a scalable and practical tool for enhancing safety, efficiency, and reliability in complex, high-risk construction environments.
keywords:material management, agent-based modelling, case study, multi-crane planning
full text: (PDF file, 1.059 MB)
citation:Moussavi P, Park P, Khodabandelu A (2025). Dynamic material management for improved multi-crane operations, ITcon Vol. 30, pg. 1749-1767, https://doi.org/10.36680/j.itcon.2025.072
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