Non-dominated NSGA-II genetic algorithm for schedule acceleration considering the discrete time-cost compensation problem (DTCTP) in a construction project

Sometimes after scheduling a project, it is necessary to shorten its duration. There are many factors that force to crash the duration. Some reasons may be saving costs, early commissioning or avoiding potential risks. In this case, it is necessary to allocate more resources to activities to shorten their duration while trying to invest as little money as possible. The time–cost tradeoff problem is one important problem in project scheduling. In this study the time–cost tradeoff problem is aborded considering a discrete approach and it is solved using a non-dominated genetic algorithm. The application in a construction project identified a Pareto front that managers could use for decision making. Managers were able to analyze different scenarios to meet delivery date, costs, and scope.