A decision support matrix for build system selection in housing construction

Abstract

The increasing demand of housing supply in the UK drives the industry to consider using more alternatives of build systems. However, the selection of build systems appears to be normally left to late design stages, which may expose the business to undesirable risks. This paper aims to improve build system selection by introducing a transparent structured decision support matrix. A number of interviews with leading house builders were used to examine the decision criteria and establish mechanisms of selection. These firms, together, contribute a tenth housing unit completions by the industry overall. The paper develops the matrix which provides over 50 value-based criteria for system selection and methods for calculating weights of criteria and scores of systems. The matrix can be used as a tool for system selection in early design processes, which should help improve efficiency and mitigate risks for housing construction. Copyright © 2008 IAHS.