The growing pressure to ensure sustainable construction is also associated with stricter demands on the cost-effectiveness of construction and operation of buildings and reduction of their environmental impact. This paper presents a methodology for building life cycle cost estimation that enables investors to identify the optimum material solution for their buildings on the level of functional parts. The functionality of a comprehensive model that takes into account investor requirements and links them to a construction cost estimation database and a facility management database is verified through a case study of a “façade composition” functional part, with sublevel “external thermal insulation composite system (ETICS) with thin plaster”. The results show that there is no generally applicable optimum ETICS material solution, which is caused by differing investor requirements, as well as the unique circumstances of each building and its user. The solution presented in this paper aims to aid investor decision-making regarding the choice of the building materials while taking the Life Cycle Cost (LCC) into account.
A way to minimize uncertainty and achieve the best possible project performance in construction project management can be achieved during the procurement process, which involves selecting an optimal contractor according to “the most economically advantageous tender.” As resources are limited, decision-makers are often pulled apart by conflicting demands coming from various stakeholders. The challenge of addressing them at the same time can be modelled as a multi-criteria decision-making problem. The aim of this paper is to show that the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) together with PROMETHEE could cope with such a problem. As a result of their synergy, a decision support concept for selecting the optimal contractor (DSC-CONT) is proposed that: (a) allows the incorporation of opposing stakeholders’ demands; (b) increases the transparency of decision-making and the consistency of the decision-making process; (c) enhances the legitimacy of the final outcome; and (d) is a scientific approach with great potential for application to similar decision-making problems where sustainable decisions are needed.
A contractor’s ability to prepare a competitive bid for a construction tender is crucial for its survival on the market. The bid price estimation strategy should promote the probability of winning a sufficient amount of tenders but, at the same time, ensure the economic stability and development of the company. This paper aims to address this issue in the area of Czech public construction procurement. The opinions, experiences and practices of contractors were collected through a questionnaire survey, and the data were evaluated with the support of statistical methods. This revealed that Czech contractors mostly base their multicriteria bidding strategy on cost-oriented pricing while considering various aspects such as the risks and attractiveness of the tender. The Czech construction market is generally perceived as oriented toward low costs, and with a relatively common occurrence of abnormally low bids. The findings presented in this paper may help contractors improve their current bidding strategies in public construction procurement.
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