ELECTRE III model for value engineering applications

Value engineering (VE) programs are implemented to enhance the value received over the life-cycle of constructed assets. It is defined as the process of relating the functions, quality, and costs of the project in the determination of optimum solutions for the project. Value engineering is carried out to optimize the performance and costs of products (e.g., project, service, item, etc.) by identification and removal of unnecessary costs. Such costs include either total life-cycle costs or direct costs of production (e.g., construction, implementation, installation, etc.). This paper considers the application of the ELECTRE III model in the context of value engineering. The steps of the ELECTRE III model include; estimation of concordance indices, estimation of discordance indices, estimation of credibility scores, performing distillation procedure, and performing complete ranking. The proposed methodology is intended to support the decision making on alternatives with an increase in the efficiency of the resolution process. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the use of the proposed methodology. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.