Subcontractor Selection with Choosing-By-Advantages (CBA) Method

Abstract

Construction projects are complex and require the involvement of several parties in order to complete the work with success. Therefore, many construction firms subcontract some of their work packages to successfully execute the projects. To achieve higher rates of performance, contractors need to enhance teamwork and collaboration among project participants. Thinking that complex construction projects require the involvement of multiple subcontractors, it is challenging for main contractors to select best subcontractor for the works requiring special expertise. Especially, projects conducted with Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) or Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) consists of several parties, where some tasks are challenging and bring the need for collaborative structures. This paper focuses on subcontractor selection, which is a major challenge for many construction firms and uses choosing-by-advantages (CBA) methodology to select the best alternative among different subcontractors. CBA is selected as the research methodology due to its ease of use and priorities over the other multi criteria decision making methodologies such as Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) or Weighting Rating and Calculating (WRC). Within this context, the paper first identifies each subcontractor as the alternative and develops factors and attributes for each subcontractor based on various criterion. The paper is expected to guide main contractors to adopt CBA in their subcontractor selection process and assign tasks to the experts of each work package in their projects along with making transparent decisions. The main contractors would best benefit from CBA method to document and track their subcontractors' performance and involve them in the processes at the right time.