Analyzing the influence factors of the post-earthquake reconstruction project using fuzzy DEMATEL

Abstract

The high degree of integration of the Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) method can more effectively reduce waste during construction and improve the sustainability of post-disaster reconstruction. The post-earthquake reconstruction in China is increasingly using the EPC method, and it is necessary to sort out the applicability and operating mechanism of the EPC method in the context of reconstruction. This study first established a process model for the post-earthquake reconstruction EPC project, and extracted 15 influencing factors. By using the fuzzy DEMATEL method, the prominence and mutual influence relationship between factors are determined. After setting a reasonable threshold, the key factors and influence paths are revealed. The study finds that the owner’s behavior, owner’s requirement, general contractor, available resources, contract and plan, and optimization information are the factors that need to be prioritized for resource allocating and managing, and they have a clear path of influence on other factors.