Elazouni, A M and Metwally, F G (2000) D-sub: Decision support system for subcontracting construction works. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 126(3), pp. 191-199. ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Letting work to subcontractors is a very common practice in construction industry. Subcontractors help contractors overcome problems including the need of special expertise, shortage in resources, and limitation in finances. The decision to subcontract involves designating work items to be subcontracted and making assignments to subcontractors. Generally, work assignments to subcontractors can be for the total quantity of a work item or a proportion thereof. This paper presents a decision support system that makes assignments to subcontractors of the work items designated for subcontracting. Moreover, the system calculates and plots the overdraft profile based on the financial terms of the contract and project schedule. The ultimate goal of the system is to make work assignments to subcontractors under constraints economical and predict the expected profit at the end of the project. The system encompasses four basic components including project data, linear programming module, sensitivity analysis module, and financial analysis module. The sensitivity analysis adds strength and flexibility to the system by allowing the user to experiment with different scenarios. Finally, the developed system that represents a structured method for making subcontracting decisions is demonstrated through an illustrative example project.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Index terms: | construction work, module, construction industry, linear programming, subcontracting, subcontractor, subcontract, decision support, sensitivity analysis, project data, profit, experiment, financial analysis |
| Subjects: | organization, contract type, data collection methods, practitioner, operations management, economic analysis, design economy, algorithms, architectural elements, decision analysis, environmental hazards, industry analysis |
| Topics: | Supply Chain Management, Design Practice, Digital Applications, Contract Administration, Research Practice, Project Management, Business Strategy, Sustainability, Risk Management, Roles and Professions |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here