Meaningful Level of Change in hybrid simulation for construction analysis

Hybrid models of System Dynamics (SD) and Discrete Event Simulation (DES) in the construction industry aim to provide decision makers with more accurate analysis. However, there are certain issues that can limit the applicability of SD-DES hybrid models for real construction job situations. Meaningful Level of Change (MLC) is a concept that has been proposed to prevent the time advancing issue in the hybrid models used within the construction domain. It is claimed that by utilizing the MLC, the running time of hybrid simulation models can be reduced while only slightly contributing to model inaccuracy. In this paper, we investigate the effects of utilizing the MLC for SD-DES hybrid models used for construction systems. First, the theoretical aspects of applying the MLC in hybrid models are investigated. Second, the effects of using different set values of MLC in an experimental model of a real construction system are illustrated.