The construction projects involve various risk factors which have various impacts on time objective that may lead to time-overrun. This study suggests and applies a new technique for minimizing risk factors effect on time using lean construction principles. The lean construction is implemented in this study using the last planner system through execution of an industrial project in Egypt. Evaluating the effect of using the new tool is described in terms of two measurements: Percent Expected Time-overrun (PET) and Percent Plan Completed (PPC). The most important risk factors are identified and assessed, while PET is quantified at the project start and during the project execution using a model for time-overrun quantification. The results showed that total project time is reduced by 15.57% due to decreasing PET values, while PPC values improved. This is due to minimizing and mitigating the effect of most of the risk factors in this project due to implementing lean construction techniques. The results proved that the quantification model is suitable for evaluating the effect of using lean construction techniques. In addition, the results showed that average value of PET due to factors affected by lean techniques represents 67% from PET values due to all minimized risk factors

This paper introduces and further applies an approach to support the decision makers in construction projects differentiating among a variety of deep excavation supporting systems (DESSs). These kinds of problems include dealing with uncertainty in data, multi-criteria affecting the decision, and multi-alternatives to select one from them. The proposed approach combines the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) with the fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (fuzzy TOPSIS) in a multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) model. The MCDM model emphasize the ability to combine expert knowledge, cost calculations, and laboratory test results for soil properties to achieve the scope. The model proved it had a superior ability to deal with the complexity and vague data that are related to construction projects. Furthermore, it was applied to a real case study for a governmental housing project in Egypt. Secant pile walls, sheet pile walls, and soldier piles and lagging are selected and studied as being the most common DESSs and as they satisfy the project requirements. The model utilized four criteria and fourteen comparing factors, including site characteristics, safety, cost, and environmental impacts. Based on the results of the model application on the investigated case study, a decision was reached that using secant piles as a supporting system in this project is mostly preferred. Furthermore, sheet pile wall, and soldier piles and lagging, come next in the ranking order. A sensitivity analysis is carried out to investigate how sensitive the results are to the criteria weights. In addition, the paper discusses in detail the reasons and factors which affect and control the decision-making process.

Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) techniques are found to be useful tools in project managersâ hands to overcome decision-making (DM) problems in Civil Engineering Projects (CEPs). The main contribution of this paper includes selecting and studying the popular MCDM techniques that uses different and wide ranges of data types in CEPs. A detailed study including advantages and pitfalls of using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (Fuzzy TOPSIS) is introduced. Those two techniques are selected for the purpose of forming a package that covers most available data types in CEPs. The results indicated that AHP has a structure which simplifies complicated problems, while Fuzzy TOPSIS uses the advantages of linguistic variables to solve the issue of undocumented data and ill-defined problems. Furthermore, AHP is a simple technique that depends on pairwise comparisons of factors and natural attributes, beside it is preferable for widely spread hierarchies. On the other hand, Fuzzy TOPSIS needs more information but works well for the one-tier decision tree as well as it shows more flexibility to work in fuzzy environments. The two techniques have the facility to be integrated and combined in a new module to support most of the decisions required in CEPs. Keywords: Decision-making, AHP, Fuzzy TOPSIS, CBA, Civil Engineering Project

This paper discusses in detail the current level of awareness of the Saudi Arabia stakeholders regarding the use and application of green building rating systems. The paper used a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods through an exploratory method that utilized an online survey targeting experts and construction stakeholders to fill the gap of previous research papers and support the argument of the increase in the level of the awareness of stakeholders in the use and application of green building rating systems in Saudi Arabia. This research aims to focus on the level of awareness of the Saudi construction market stakeholders on green building rating systems in Saudi Arabia with focus on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design system LEED and Mostadam. It also investigated which rating system responds to the need of the Saudi construction market with regard to energy conservation and water consumption more effectively. The methodology utilized in this research used a combination of primary and secondary data where the primary data were a survey sent to Saudi construction stakeholders where a total of 1320 respondents participated in the survey. Results from this research showed a promising number of agreements between the participating stakeholders to the level of awareness of green building rating systems in Saudi Arabia and to the willingness to use internationally recognized rating systems such as LEED and the use of locally recognized systems such as Mostadam. Furthermore, the research aims to link the results with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a focus on SDGs 6 and 7. The results show a high level of appreciation and agreement to the importance of energy and water conservation in green buildings that will be using either LEED or Mostadam in Saudi Arabia and accomplish the targets outlined under the SDGs.

This paper develops a model, introduced in software, namely Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Model (MCDMM). The model helps decision makers selecting the most suitable alternative based on the customer requirements and preferences. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (Fuzzy TOPSIS) form a package that covers most available data types in construction projects. In MCDMM, AHP produces criteria relative weights according to their influence on the discussed problem, while Fuzzy TOPSIS is applied to rank the available alternatives. The model consists of two modules, first one uses AHP only to deal with precise, qualitative alongside quantitative data, while the other module combines AHP with Fuzzy TOPSIS due to the importance of linguistic variables to cover undocumented data. MCDMM is verified using two real case studies. The model is applied to a real case project for constructing solar power plants at Saudi Arabia. A decision required to select the most suitable surveying technique for producing Digital Terrain Model (DTM) among four alternatives (Total Station, Remote Sensing, Photogrammetry, and Global Positioning Systems). This issue is studied and key points are identified for prioritizing among them. Total Station is selected based on the model results.