A Decision Support Model for Prequalifying IPD Project Participants in Construction Projects

Abstract

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is an innovative and collaborative delivery method in the construction industry. It has recently gained momentum after several projects in the US, and other regions, with partial utilization of IPD, showed great results. One of the key success factors is the proper selection of major project participants. The literature review revealed absence of decision support models that assist clients in selecting project participants based on their suitability for IPD. The lack of such models decreases the chances of a successful IPD implementation. This thesis aims to introduce a robust decision support model that helps prequalify project participants based on their suitability for IPD implementation. Twenty critical IPD project participant selection criteria were identified through extensive literature review. Indicators, for each of the criteria, were determined to facilitate the usage of the model. A questionnaire was then administered to 44 construction professionals with knowledge of IPD to evaluate the effectiveness of the identified criteria based upon an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methodology. The results show that the most effective criteria are “3D BIM Modelling,” with a global weight of 0.103, and “Project Management Information Systems and Cloud Computing Proficiency,” with a global weight of 0.099. Both belong to the “IT Infrastructure” criteria group, emphasising the group’s importance as the most effective group of criteria. “Experience with Multiparty Contract Agreements” and “Readiness to waive claims and share risks and rewards,” both founding principles of IPD, follow with global weights of 0.084 and 0.079 respectively. Profiling of the collected responses shows the influence of IPD-experienced professionals’ responses on the results, confirming the reliability of the results. A decision support model framework was developed to assist clients in selecting the most suitable firm for IPD implementation. The model provides decision-makers with an IPD suitability score that aids with the assessment of the readiness and responsiveness of firms for the implementation of IPD. Finally, a case study is used to demonstrate the use of the model. A sample Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is presented to guide the model usage.