Abstract
The paper is a brief presentation of the pairwise comparison (PC) method, implemented with the use of the Concluder, a modern tool for PC analysis which is being developed by Professor Waldermar Koczkodaj and which is used for comparing tenders in the road-and-bridge construction industry. The paper discusses the tender criteria which are adopted for tenders in this industry. It addresses the issue of developing the relevant weights while using one of the functions of the expert system, i.e. the function which relies on the opinions of the experts familiar with a given matter, who however not always present the same views. Once the experts’ opinions have been collected, they can be “agreed” while using the PC method. Diversification of the criteria is particularly important from the point of view of improvement of the quality of the services offered by the road-and-bridge construction industry in Poland, since in to-date practice the price has been the only or the dominant criterion. The paper contains examples (in terms of numbers) of analysis of tender criteria where the price was not the only criterion, which is the starting point for further research.
Highlights
Is there any universal criterion that can be applied to assessment of multiple issues in so a diversified field as the construction business, especially bridge construction? Is there an optimum method of selecting the best solution? Even if we are not a fairy and are unable to foresee the best variant or find the best solution when it is not precisely defined, still we can use some approximation or a method which offers tangible solutions and enables finding a result in the form which is easy to compare, based on unambiguous assessment criterion, for example based on the weights of tender criteria
Should the price account for 60% of the assessment, with other criteria making up the remaining part, or should the price account for 50%, or should the split be still different?
One should strive to obtain as many opinions as possible, so that it will be possible to examine “the entire” opinion of the civil engineering community, including the opinions of the bridge construction engineers, so as to adopt the best method of implementation of tasks/projects. This does not mean that one “uniform” opinion will be developed for the entire industry which will be suitable for “all occasions,” though we think that this could be possible with the use of the pairwise comparison method (PC) method if a methodical approach was adopted
Summary
Is there any universal criterion that can be applied to assessment of multiple issues in so a diversified field as the construction business, especially bridge construction? Even if we are not a fairy and are unable to foresee the best variant or find the best solution when it is not precisely defined, still we can use some approximation or a method which offers tangible solutions and enables finding a result in the form which is easy to compare, based on unambiguous assessment criterion, for example based on the weights of tender criteria. Which is often the source of our dilemmas Is it worth investing in a better but more expensive product, or choose a cheaper one which will last shorter” How to select the tender criteria? The method can be useful when operating and maintaining these facilities, e.g. for assessing their technical condition, etc
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