Consulting stakeholders when selecting a structural form

Abstract

The authors have constructed a model for choosing between ten structural steel and concrete forms for an office block on the basis of a number of decision criteria, including cost, initial embodied energy, frame construction time and overall construction time. A multi-criteria decision model was utilised within this analysis, resulting in a ranking from 1 to 10 of the different structural options. A centrally important part of the modelling process was the assignment of importance weightings by different stakeholders to the four criteria, with these weightings then input directly into the multi-criteria decision model. Stakeholders were divided into different groupings with potentially significant inputs into the planning/design/construction process, including engineers, architects, planners, contractors and developers. The decision model was then run using each set of weightings derived from the weighting preferences of the different groupings. This paper outlines the method used to derive the weightings, analyses the effect the different weighting inputs have on the rankings of the ten structural options examined, and thus demonstrates how the views of the various stakeholders in this decision-making process regarding the choice of an optimal structural form can be accommodated using a weighted multi-criteria decision model.