A Decision Support System for the Selection of Best Procurement System in Construction

The procurement system is a key means through which the client creates pre-conditions for successful achievement of project specific objectives. Wrong selection of procurement system generally leads to project failure and client dissatisfaction. Therefore, a systematic and realistic approach for the selection of the best procurement system is critical to the success of any project to achieve the clients' ultimate goals. As far as Sri Lankan construction industry is concerned, the practice of procurement selection is rather unstructured and ad hoc. Therefore, a realistic and consistent approach is essential to aid the clients in selecting the most appropriate procurement system. This paper presents a Decision Support System developed for the procurement selection based on Multi Attribute Utility Technique. Four rounds of Delphi surveys were carried out to investigate the most significant factors and their level of influence on various construction procurement systems. From the third and fourth round of Delphi, utility values for each factor against various procurement systems were derived. Based on decisive factors and the utility values derived form the survey, a multi-criteria model was developed. The special feature of the model is the inclusion of a set of exclusive selection criteria at macro level and wide range of various procurement options. The outcome of the model was evaluated for its applicability and efficiency with the use of multiple case studies and an expert opinion survey. Finally, the evaluated model was further enhanced to a Decision Support System. The model has the potential to assist the clients/their consultants and it seeks to overcome any inconsistency in the effective decision making process.

DOI: 10.4038/besl.v7i2.1943

Built-Environment Sri Lanka Vol.7(2) 53-43