Advancing Fuzzy Hybrid Techniques for Competency Modeling of Construction Organizations

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The construction industry is vitally important to Canada's economy, representing over 6% of Canada's gross domestic product and employing over 7% of the Canadian workforce in 2011. In the same year, the construction sector was responsible for the most bankruptcy cases in Canada, reflecting the high level of risk and uncertainty in the construction environment. Construction owners and contractors are always exploring new approaches for assessing their competencies to improve their performance and reduce the risks of project failures. The variables that define competency are both objective, and easy to measure, and subjective, and difficult to quantify. The relationship between competencies and performance is complex and difficult to define. Fuzzy logic is a powerful modeling technique that can quantify subjective variables and uncertainty and model complex relationships between variables. This technique has been successfully applied to some aspects of construction management, but it needs further development specifically for the construction domain, which relies heavily on expert knowledge. In this research, fuzzy logic is combined with other artificial intelligence modeling techniques to create a comprehensive framework for defining and evaluating construction organizational competencies and identifying their relationship to performance. By adapting fuzzy logic for the construction domain, this research will provide improved methods of modeling uncertainty in construction and effectively capitalizing on expert knowledge, leading to better solutions for construction problems. The organizational competency assessment framework will help construction owners and contractors improve their competencies and performance and increase their competitiveness. Helping construction organizations improve their competencies will make them more profitable, improve the quality of constructed facilities, create safer and better work environments, and help employ the Canadian workforce. This research will contribute to the overall competitiveness of the Canadian construction industry on a national and global level and make a significant contribution to the Canadian economy and society.