Application of the DEVS framework in construction simulation

The Discrete Event Systems Specification (DEVS) framework is based on systems engineering principles and is used for modeling and simulation in many application domains. This framework supports a number of important features such as component based hierarchical simulation model development, scalability, reusability and distributed simulation. This paper demonstrates the application of the DEVS framework for construction simulation through a simple, but representative real world application. The application focuses on analyzing the work flow between various trade contractors in production home building. The software tool 'DEVSJAVA' is used for modeling and simulation of the construction application. DEVSJAVA is object oriented; it implements the DEVS framework using Java programming language. This paper consists of three main components: an overview of the state-of-the-art in construction simulation methods and tools, an introduction to the DEVS framework, and a detailed construction example to highlight the application of DEVS framework.