Partner Selection and Evaluation Problem for Construction Projects

Abstract

Different contractors with varied specializations work together in construction projects. Project managers form these teams from a pool of contractors. The success of these collaborations depends on each contractor's performance. These collaborations' competitiveness can be jeopardized if the right partners are not selected. This is attributable to imprecise nature of human evaluations. Limited research has investigated techniques for selecting and evaluating contractors and their performance. This study defined partner selection and evaluation problem as a multi-attribute represented in a hierarchical structure. Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP), a Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) algorithm was designed and used by different project consultants to evaluate and select right partners to implement structural engineering works for a building. Five case studies were used to verify the results. Partners' selection and evaluation problem is a MCDM problem, solvable using fuzzy algorithms. FAHP algorithm can be used when evaluators' judgements are precise and imprecise.