CONSTRUCTION PREQUALIFICATION USING DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS

Contractor prequalification is essential in most construction projects and the process has been performed by many different methods in practice. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) had been recognized as a useful technique to prequalify contractors by assigning relative efficiency scores. DEA, however, usually requires a large amount of data and has not been fully developed to achieve reliable results. An enhanced contractor prequalification model using DEA was developed together with a methodology for determining a “practical frontier” of best contractors. The established practical frontier can be used as a regional performance standard for the owner in prequalification and as improvement guidelines for contractors.The authors respectfully acknowledge and enthusiastically appreciate the financial and research support of the Greater Toronto Airports Authority and MGP Project Managers in conjunction with NSERC Industrial Oriented Research Grant # 216754-98 in the development of this model