Decision Support Model for Selecting the Project Delivery Method for Sustainable Construction Projects

Abstract

As the demand for sustainable construction increases, the need to update project management practices in order to satisfy the objectives of sustainability becomes more significant. Project delivery method is a crucial decision in project management that impacts the success of construction projects. The extensive literature review conducted identified several gaps such as the lack of a comprehensive criteria list to select project delivery methods in sustainable construction projects and a lack of selection model that comprises that comprehensive criteria list. This research bridges the gaps in literature by developing a comprehensive decision support model that will provide decision-makers with a justified rationale for choosing the most appropriate delivery method for their sustainable construction projects. In order to achieve this, the underlying challenges of sustainable construction delivery were first categorized using factor analysed. These were then used to derive relevant sustainability -specific criteria which consisted of five groups: level of integration, green liability, green team, green criteria, and technology and innovation. Structural Equation Modelling was then used to predict the significance of these sustainability-specific selection criteria to the achievement of project success criteria such as efficiency, impact on client, team effectiveness and sustainability. Moreover, Analytical Hierarchy Process was used to calculate the relative weights of the traditional and sustainability-specific criteria as well as the effectiveness values of the three most common delivery methods in achieving the comprehensive criteria. The outputs of all these statistical procedures were then used to develop two decision support models that incorporate a comprehensive selection criteria list of both traditional and sustainability-specific criteria and the three most common delivery methods. Moreover, a customizable prototype software of the decision model was developed where the unfamiliar operations required in the adopted technique would be transparent to the end-users. A case-study that was administered in the end clearly indicates that DBB is outmatched by the unique requirements of sustainable construction. While, CMR and DB are both potentially competitive candidates that can enhance the success rate of sustainable construction projects.