Evaluating the construction methods of cold-formed steel structures in reconstructing the areas damaged in natural crises, using the methods AHP and COPRAS-G

One of the major principles of crisis management, aimed at converting the emergency situations into the normal state by considering sustainable development and all safety regulations, is based on the reconstruction of the damaged areas. To achieve this, the use of cold-formed steel structures, allowing for cost saving in materials and flexibility in the implementation method, seems to be highly suitable for reconstructing the damaged areas. These structures may be implemented by using three types of construction, including panelized, modular construction and, finally, construction of stick-built buildings. For this purpose, a conference meeting for identifying important criteria was held and twelve experts in four scientific areas, including civil engineering, economy and architecture, as well as top managers, participated in this conference. Then, the experts took part in assigning weights to important criteria and evaluating the alternatives. In the present research, the AHP method for weighing the important criteria, as well as a novel multi-criteria decision-making method called 'Complex Proportional Assessment of alternatives with Gray relations' (COPRAS-G) for evaluating the alternatives, were applied. The COPRAS-G deals with criteria determined by the gray relational grade. The criterion values are expressed in intervals. The results show that the construction quality is the most important criterion, while panelized construction is the best way of reconstructing the damaged areas. The research results presented in this paper can be useful for crisis management in any country of the world. (C) 2012 Politechnika Wroclawska. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved.