A Cloud-based shareable library of cooperative behaviors for Agent Based Modeling in construction

• A Cloud-based Agent Based Modeling (ABM) database called HCBL is proposed.
• 12 cooperative behaviors in construction are programed as ABM methods in HCBL.
• HCBL was tested in a case study about cross-functional cooperation in a construction project.
• Result shows that HCBL helps develop ABM in a sustainable and reusable manner.
• HCBL can be easily reused by future ABM modelers.

Recognizing the importance of cooperation in construction, a growing community of scholars has started applying Agent Based Modeling (ABM) to investigate micro-level cooperative behaviors. In the process, numerous models were separately developed, resulting in duplicate development efforts, inconsistent theoretical foundations and a lack of integration. A sharable, universal and open source database of behavioral models comprised of cooperative behaviors relevant to construction problems is proposed, namely Human Cooperative Behavioral Library (HCBL). Facilitated by a cloud environment, HCBL allows fast queries from remote modelers. HCBL is also expandable: future contributors can add or modify behavioral modules upon discovering new evidence, which will continuously improve the information. An HCBL prototype was developed with 12 cooperative behaviors modeled and coded as behavioral modules, or methods, encapsulated in a parent class called actor. To prove its usefulness, HCBL was used in an ABM model to investigate cross-functional cooperation in an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) project. Result has shown that HCBL makes the development of ABM models easier. This study sets a stepping-stone for modularizing ABM for behavioral simulation studies in construction.