Abstract
The increasing number of construction projects together with the limited resources of organizations led to tough competition for achieving project goals. Time, cost, and quality have been known as the project iron triangle. Project managers attempt to allocate the appropriate resources and make the best decisions for accomplishing projects with the shortest durations, lowest costs, and the highest quality. No study has examined the time–cost–quality trade-off problem with decision-making approaches. In this study, the fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods are exploited to choose the best mode for performing each activity. For this purpose, the SWARA method is applied to determine the importance weights of time, cost, and quality. In addition, the TOPSIS (Technique for the Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution) technique is used to rank and select the best activity execution modes. The proposed model is implemented on two medium- and large-size construction projects to evaluate its efficiency. Several execution modes with fuzzy duration, cost, and quality are considered for each project activity. Finally, sensitivity analysis is conducted taking three different conditions into account: the shortest duration of the execution modes, the lowest cost of the execution modes, and the highest quality of execution modes for each activity. The solution of each trade-off is compared with the solution obtained from the fuzzy SWARA–TOPSIS method. The schedule is developed according to the best execution mode for each project activity. The obtained results in two different construction projects show significant improvements in the overall project objectives so that the projects can be completed in fewer durations and costs along with higher quality. Because of the higher importance of cost, the cost of each activity is closer to the lowest cost. The activity duration is also closer to the most likely duration, and quality is closer to the high-quality level. The application of this approach can create new opportunities for research and knowledge development in the field of construction project scheduling.
Highlights
Implementation of project activities requires an effective and integrated project schedule, in which the start time of activities are accurately determined
The solution of each trade-off is compared with the solution obtained from the fuzzy SWARA–TOPSIS method
Fuzzy numbers can be used to deal with the uncertainty associated with linguistic and verbal variables that lead to the fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem
Summary
Implementation of project activities requires an effective and integrated project schedule, in which the start time of activities are accurately determined. In the late 1950s, the critical path method was introduced as a useful tool for scheduling project activities. Calculations of this method assume that all activities can be performed at their expected and usual durations. To complete a project earlier, the durations of some activities should be reduced which is associated with the cost increase. Reducing the duration of critical activities leads to the reduction of project makespan, provided the type of relationships between activities is finish-to-start, and is it not necessarily true for the other types of precedence relationships. The use of more advanced equipment and machinery or more human resources can be an appropriate way for reducing project duration, project costs will increase. Project planners seek to find a way to complete the projects on time and at the predetermined cost
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