Fuzzy AHP Model for Prequalification of Engineering Consultants in the Iranian Public Procurement System

Abstract

Prequalification of engineering consultants in the Iranian public procurement system is suffering from arbitrary processes and criteria that cannot effectively shortlist the increasing number of potential bidders. This study aims to develop a prequalification model that can serve as the basis for revising the existing regulations and criteria. The authors conducted interviews among experts to localize a framework of prequalification criteria. Fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP), accompanied by a survey among industry participants, was used to determine the importance level of decision criteria. The results confirmed that the existing guidelines cannot meet the expectations of the industry due to the overemphasis on the past performance of consultants and disregarding their current capabilities. For the international audience, this study clarifies that (1) the working culture of industry participants impacts their judgments on the importance level of intangible and tangible criteria used for prequalification processes, (2) short-listing consultants for long-term and fragmented data collection in national registration or project prequalification should be avoided, and (3) researchers must test FAHP models with different fuzzy scales because the success of the widely used fuzzy extent analysis method is highly dependent on the scale of fuzzy functions and judgments of decision makers.