Prediction of hoisting time for tower cranes for public construction housing in Hong Kong.

Planning is a major determinant of project success in the construction industry. There are many planning techniques, each with its strengths and weaknesses. However, the accuracy of determining the activity duration is the prime requisite for effective planning tools. High-rise building construction prevails in the building industry of Hong Kong. Hence, tower cranes are used extensively on building sites and are particularly useful in vertical and horizontal transportation in one single process. However, the number of tower cranes allowed on a site is restricted by site area and location, including closeness to adjacent properties or to buildings under construction. In a densely populated urban area like Hong Kong, the required number of tower cranes may not be permissible. Therefore planners have to overcome this problem by formulating a balanced crane usage schedule or crane allocation schedule to avoid conflicts between users. However, imbalance in crane usage is so common on site that the estimation of hoisting time may not be realistic. Therefore the prediction of hoisting time is worthy of study and is critical in formulating a realistic crane schedule.