Use of Pairwise Comparison Method in Road-and-Bridge Tenders

¹ WUT, The Faculty of Civil Engineering, Institute of Roads and Bridges, Dep. of Bridges and Rail Roads, ul. Lecha Kaczyńskiego 16, 00-637 Warsaw, Poland
² Laurentian University, Subury, Ontario, Canada

^* Corresponding author: k.bucholc@il.pw.edu.pl

Abstract

The paper is a brief presentation of the pairwise comparison (PC) method, implemented with the use of the Concluder, a modern tool for PC analysis which is being developed by Professor Waldermar Koczkodaj and which is used for comparing tenders in the road-and-bridge construction industry. The paper discusses the tender criteria which are adopted for tenders in this industry. It addresses the issue of developing the relevant weights while using one of the functions of the expert system, i.e. the function which relies on the opinions of the experts familiar with a given matter, who however not always present the same views. Once the experts’ opinions have been collected, they can be “agreed” while using the PC method. Diversification of the criteria is particularly important from the point of view of improvement of the quality of the services offered by the road-and-bridge construction industry in Poland, since in to-date practice the price has been the only or the dominant criterion. The paper contains examples (in terms of numbers) of analysis of tender criteria where the price was not the only criterion, which is the starting point for further research.