Developing a new sustainable rating system for assessing construction projects using BWM

Abstract

This research presents a methodology for assessing the contractor's abidance towards preserving the environment during the construction phase. This goal is achieved by the indication of the most prevalent factors. Based on a thorough literature review and experts' review, a list of forty factors is presented, which are grouped into nine categories. These categories are: Solid Waste Management; Water Management; Energy Efficiency; Pollutants Control; Traffic Management; Site Arrangement; Procurement; Awareness Leverage & Education; and Social Governance. Firstly, a two-step questionnaire survey is conducted in this research to review and assess the factors list extracted from the literature review. Upon completing the questionnaire survey, statistical analysis is applied, including the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test, Exploratory Factors Analysis (EFA), and the Cronbach's Alpha test for reliability, resulting in thirty-two final factors list after eliminating eight factors. Using the weights calculated by the Best-Worst Method (BWM) and the assessment benchmarks set for each factor, the environmental scoring sheet is generated along with the overall scoring evaluation thresholds to indicate the holistic environmental performance grade. Finally, the application of the proposed research methodology is presented by applying the scoring tool through a case study.