FUZZY-LOGIC FOR EVALUATING ALTERNATIVE CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY

The construction environment is changeable and full of uncertainties, so each alternative work method for an operation may have optimistic a nd pessimistic cost estimates, along with corresponding probabilities. The cost variability and thus the risk of a new technology is often e ven greater, which affects the acceptability of the technology. The ex pected monetary values of technology alternatives do not reflect a dec ision maker's preference for potential gains or his or her aversion to likely adversities. Formal decision analysis techniques, such as the one based on utility theory, must be employed to model a decision make r's value system. As an alternative to those traditional techniques, t his paper presents a fuzzy-logic-based, risk-incorporating approach to evaluating new construction technology, intended to produce consisten t technology implementation decisions. Its concepts and steps are desc ribed in detail, followed by an example in which alternative methods f or the formwork operation of a high-rise building project are evaluate d. Experimental results show that the approach can produce a consisten t evaluation of the available options, according to a set of user-defi ned linguistic rules that state the priorities in a given project scen ario.