Arrangement of material depots for line segment–modeled structures using continuous conditions

In this study, we introduce a model for optimizing the arrangement of final material depots at a construction site. The target is to minimize the construction time, cost and resources by minimizing the total delivery distance. The model simplifies the structures that shall be constructed as line segments or curves. The model uses continuous conditions: the feasible positions of the final material depots are searched on the entire XY plane and the structures are used in a continuous way also. A simple example demonstrates the algorithm, and the calculated result is compared with an expert's solution. The practicability of the model is discussed by comparing the result of the model with the output of the mentality of the laborers. The further generalization of the model is declared. It needs less input data than the discrete model does so that it can be an alternative model to the discrete model if the number of units that build up the structure is large or unknown. This article is an extended version of a conference paper (Pém and Mályusz 2016).