Decision Support Systems in Construction Management

by Makarand Hastak, Purdue Univ, West Lafayette, United States,
Jorge A. Vanegas, Purdue Univ, West Lafayette, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Computing in Civil and Building Engineering

Abstract:

A Decision Support System is defined as a computerized tool to improve the effectiveness of decision-making in semi-structured tasks (e.g., tasks that require a manager's judgmental input. In these types of systems, the role of the computer is to support, rather than replace, managerial judgement. The highly unstable environment of construction projects, combined with the need to focus on effectiveness rather than efficiency, provide an ideal context for the application of a Decision Support System. However, construction managers are not using Decision Support Systems extensively, and few researchers have addressed this issue. The primary objective of this paper is to present an overview of the state-of-the-art of Decision Support Systems in construction management, highlighting the many benefits of using these types of systems in various contexts of application. The paper will then describe a Decision Support System prototype for developing a project cost control strategy, currently under development by the authors of this paper.

Subject Headings: Construction management | Decision support systems | Systems management | Project management | Construction costs | Computing in civil engineering | Managers

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