The present review examines decision-making methods developed for dealing with uncertainties and applied to solve problems of civil engineering. Several methodological difficulties emerging from uncertainty quantification in decision-making are identified. The review is focused on formal methods of multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM). Handling of uncertainty by means of fuzzy logic and probabilistic modelling is analysed in light of MCDM. A sensitivity analysis of MCDM problems with uncertainties is discussed. An application of stochastic MCDM methods to a design of safety critical objects of civil engineering is considered. Prospects of using MCDM under uncertainty in developing areas of civil engineering are discussed in brief. These areas are design of sustainable and energy efficient buildings, building information modelling, and assurance of security and safety of built property. It is stated that before long the decision-making in civil engineering may face several methodological problems: the need to combine fuzzy and probabilistic representations of uncertainties in one decision-making matrix, the necessity to extend a global sensitivity analysis to all input elements of a MCDM problem with uncertainties, and an application of MCDM methods in the areas of civil engineering where decision-making under uncertainty is presently not common.

The design of infrastructure systems for "accidental" situations, i.e., abnormal service conditions, may include a comparison of alternative design solutions of system components. These solutions are compared by means of applying a universal methodology known as a multiattribute selection (MAS). The alternative designs are described by a number of attributes that characterize each of them. Failure probability and quantitative measure of the risk are used as safety-related attributes of the alternative designs. This article shows how to carry out the MAS in the presence of epistemic uncertainties in safety-related attributes. Distributions of epistemic uncertainties are specified by means of methods used for quantitative risk assessment. The MAS is carried out as a propagation of these uncertainties. The Monte Carlo simulation is used to propagate uncertainties through the algorithm of MAS. The approach proposed in this article is illustrated by two examples, which consider alternative designs of a protective barrier and alternative sprinkler systems.

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The protection of buildings against fire disasters may require a comparison of alternative fire safety designs. The fire safety solutions can be compared by means of a general methodology known as multi‐attribute selection or multi‐criteria decision making. The alternative fire designs can be described by a number of attributes which characterise each of the alternatives. Fire risk expressed in the general form used for the quantitative risk assessment is applied to compose the set of attributes of a multi‐attribute selection problem. It is shown how to accomplish the multi‐attribute selection in the presence of epistemic uncertainties in the elements of fire risk estimate. Epistemic probability distributions assigned to elements of fire risk are specified and propagated though models of the multi‐attribute selection by means of Monte Carlo simulation. An example presented in the paper considers the choice among alternative systems of automatic fire sprinklers. Santruka Norint užtikrinti pastatu gaisrine sauga, gali prireikti lyginti alternatyvius projektinius saugos sprendimus. Tai atlikti galima pasitelkiant daugiakriterinio vertinimo metodologija. Alternatyvieji sprendimai gali būti aprašyti keletu charakteristiku (atributu) ir lyginami vienas su kitu. Straipsnyje atributu sarašas sudaromas naudojant gaisro rizikos išraiška, sudaroma kiekybinio rizikos vertinimo principais. Parodyta, kaip atlikti daugiakriterini vertinima, kai rizikos išraiškos elementai yra neapibrežti epistemine prasme. Episteminio neapibrežtumo skirstiniai priskiriami uždavinio atributams ir propaguojami matematiniais daugiakriterinio vertinimo modeliais pasitelkiant Monte Karlo modeliavima. Pateikiamas pavyzdys, nagrinejantis automatiniu sprinkleriu sistemos parinkima iš keliu alternatyviu variantu.