A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH FOR THE SELECTION OF THE ARCHITECT/ENGINEER PROFESSIONAL IN CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

This paper presents a model for selecting Architect/Engineer (A/E) professionals for construction projects. The model takes into account all relevant criteria considered by the owner. These criteria were identified through a comprehensive literature review, and were then clustered into seven groups, namely firm background; past experience; technical resources; management capabilities; financial stability; quality assurance; and innovation capability. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was utilized to develop a model for A/E professional selection. This involved constructing a hierarchy of the decision, taking into account all of the identified criteria and sub-criteria and comparing the relative importance of each criterion with all other criteria. A synthesis of the results was undertaken to determine the ranking of the different professionals considered in the model. The paper is practically useful to owners interested in achieving the desired cost, quality and time in their projects.