Selection of engineering consulting firms using multi criteria decision making methods

Abstract

An engineering design consultant plays a significant role in the altogether performance and success of a construction project. Therefore, selecting the appropriate and best fit engineering consulting firm should be one of the priorities of an owner. In order to assist owners in making the right decision, staying away from the lowest bid selection practice, a Qualifications based selection (QBS) approach is proposed and explored. This approach is based on a process that simplifies the selection of the best qualified firm for a precise project, followed by a negotiated contract. This research study’s aim is to integrate the QBS approach along with numerous multicriteria decision making methods to generate a simplified step-by-step decision-making technique that could be easily adapted and used by owners in the construction industry to facilitate the selection of an engineering consulting firm. Weighted Decision Matrix (WDM), technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), and Sensitivity Analysis were applied and integrated in the decision-making models in order to analyze and select the highest ranked firm. The technique has been applied to a case study incorporating three projects, and the results of the analysis indicate flexibility and impartiality in the application of this tool which is a prodigious advantage in the assessment and analysis in order to achieve the goal by making the adequate decision.