An analytic approach to prioritizing construction projects: Fid-Bau Portal

An analytic approach to prioritizing construction projects

Simpson, G. W. / Cochran, J. K.

Anyone who needs to allocate a limited budget among proposed construction projects or facility improvements faces a difficult task. A logical and consistent prioritization method can ensure that the most needed projects receive funding and get accomplished. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AH P) of Saaty and Vargas is an ideal decision analysis technique for this application. Evaluation criteria which may be both quantitative and qualitative are numerically combined. Data is collected in the form of pairwise comparisons of criteria (and then of alternatives with respect to the criteria) in a hierarchical structure. Inconsistencies in the form of violations of proportionality among pair preferences and even of transitivity are allowed (and measured for feedback to the decision-maker). A matrix is formed with all pairwise values, and the results are combined by matrix perturbation resulting in a normalized vector of priorities among the alternatives. The AHP methodology is applicable to problem sizes from order 2 to about order 15. If a large number of projects is to be considered, some means is required to reduce the number of candidate alternatives. A simple ranking technique using the priority vector for the criteria has been suggested, but has several weaknesses. We propose to add a final step to that methodology-a full hierarchical analysis in the borderline region. This new methodology for analytic prioritization is presented through a case study of its use carried out at Williams Air Force Base in Arizona. A list of 40 actual projects at WAFB is analysed with a I0-factor model. The results indicate the ease of use, appropriateness for civil engineering application, and increased understanding and credibility of results obtained with this analytic analysis approach. Prospects for future research appear promising.