Application of Multiple Criteria Decision Making Methods in Construction: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Decision making is a key to business or project success in any sectors, especially in construction that requires handling numerous information and knowledge. Multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) is an important tool for decision problem solving due to simultaneous consideration of multiple criteria and objectives. Various MCDM methods are continually emerging and tend to be increasingly adopted to address the real-world construction problems. Therefore, it is urged to systematically review the existing body of literature to demonstrate the evolution of the mainstream MCDM methods in general and their application status in construction. A total of 530 construction articles published from 2000 to 2019 are selected in this study and then categorized into seven major application areas using a novel systematic literature review (SLR) methodology. The bibliometric analysis is then used to describe the research trend. Subsequently, the qualitative discussion by themes is conducted to analyze the application of MCDM methods in construction. A further discussion makes it possible to identify the potential challenges (e.g. applicability, robustness, postpone effect, dynamic and prospective challenges and scale problem) to existing research. It also contributes to the recommendation of future directions for the development of MCDM methods that would benefit construction research and practice.

Bibliometric Analysis of the MCDM Methods in the Last Decade: WASPAS, MABAC, EDAS, CODAS, COCOSO, and MARCOS

“…Apart from the bibliometric analysis, the literature includes other review studies on MCDM methods' applications. Some focused on MCDM methods and applications in general (Zavadskas et al, 2014), while others examined MCDM applications in specific fields, such as sustainable engineering (Stojčić et al, 2019), sustainable renewable energy development (Kumar et al, 2017), corporate sustainability (Chowdhury & Paul, 2020), logistics performance evaluation (Chejarla et al, 2022), supplier selection (Yildiz & Yayla, 2015), construction (Zhu et al, 2021), energy policy and decision-making problems (Kaya et al, 2018), oncology (Adunlin et al, 2015), architecture and engineering (Ogrodnik, 2019), financial modeling (Almeida-Filho et al, 2021), health care (Khan et al, 2022), andCovid-19 pandemic (Sotoudeh-Anvari, 2022). There are also review studies based on a specific MCDM method, such as TOPSIS (Behzadian et al, 2012), ELECTRE (Govindan & Jepsen, 2016), SWARA and WASPAS (Mardani et al, 2017), VIKOR (Gul et al, 2016), and COPRAS (Stefano et al, 2015).…”

Boosting large‐scale construction project risk management: Application of the impact of building information modeling, knowledge management, and sustainable practices for optimal productivity

“…r ij represents the net value of j for option i. x j criteria may be quantitative or qualitative; consequently, the criteria in this model are frequently of various scales and frequently in conflict with one another, making it challenging to select an option that is optimal and provides the ideal of each criterion. [46][47][48] TABEJAMAAT ET AL.…”

Bim-Based Prototype of a Mathematical Model of Construction Planning

“…Multi-criteria decision-making methods using vector optimization based on a decision process model are called multi-criteria optimization methods or multi-objective methods (MODM). These methods are applied to solving a problem involving many objective functions that are optimized simultaneously, and many researchers study in detail multicriteria optimization methods (Zhu et al, 2021). Efficiently planned temporary access roads and parking spaces (later referred to as access roads) not only save time and costs, but also improve the sustainability and safety of construction works.…”