Establishing and Weighting Decision Criteria for Building System Selection in Housing Construction
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 138, Issue 11
Abstract
A lack of value-based decision criteria leads to an inability to effectively compare prefabrication and off-site production with conventional construction, which inhibits the realization of benefits of off-site approaches. This paper develops value-based decision criteria and quantifies their relative importance for assessing building technologies systematically. The research employed a multimethodological strategy within a broad case-study-based design, with six large house-building organizations in the United Kingdom. These companies together accounted for more than one-tenth of new-build home completions in the United Kingdom. More than 50 criteria were developed, grouped under cost, time, quality, health and safety, sustainability, process, procurement, and regulatory and statutory acceptance. Cost was ranked most important, which, coupled with time and quality, predominated technology selection in these companies. Sustainability, process, and procurement were weighted lower, whereas health and safety and regulatory and statutory acceptance were deemed compulsory, hence offering no trade-off opportunity. A lack of incorporating innovative sustainable technology into corporate strategy was observed. The developed criteria and the systematic process should help house-building organizations manage technological innovation and hopefully achieve more informed corporate decisions.
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Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 138 • Issue 11 • November 2012
Pages: 1239 - 1250
Copyright
© 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jan 10, 2011
Accepted: Feb 10, 2012
Published online: Feb 13, 2012
Published in print: Nov 1, 2012
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