Achieving a Construction Barrier–Free Environment: Decision Support to Policy Selection

Abstract

The construction barrier removal (for the physically disabled) policy selection is a complex task and a vital part of the planning phase within the management of such construction projects. This paper deals with design of the decision support concept for this kind of task. It focused on support for identification, selection, and priority ranking of schools’ facilities, and adoption of this concept improves the project realization. The implementation of the concept began with analysis of the issue and identification of relevant stakeholders followed by a goal analysis. Combining the gained goal tree and its objectives and criteria with the multicriteria decision-making methods analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and Preference Ranking Organization Method For Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE) II, the priority ranking of schools’ facilities was determined. Afterward, using budget and/or other constraints introduced by the PROMETHEE V method, several different sets of schools to be sequentially funded in the following investment years were defined. Depending on introduced constraints, three policy design styles were defined (budget, spatial-functional, and combined) and compared mutually, and one was selected. Validating the proposed concept in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia showed that a high-quality policy to achieve a construction barrier–free environment (by adapting 95 facilities in 4 years) can be selected in a sustainable and systematic manner.