A decision support system for project managers to measure safety flaws in building construction projects

New strategies are emerging so as to raise the safety standards in the construction industry. As part of its strategies to improve safety standards in construction projects, Singapore conceptualises the implementation of the Quality-Fee Method (QFM) for tender evaluations, departing from the traditional lowest price method. Under the QFM, tenders are scored based on both price and quality attributes; the safety management proposal by the tenderer is one of the key quality attributes. Effective assessment and scoring of tenderers' safety proposals is therefore a crucial task for clients' project managers. This study proposes a tool for assessing the effectiveness of safety management proposals in building projects. A triple-index model was initially developed and then translated into a Decision Support System (DSS). The DSS was subsequently tested for its reliability with real project data. The proposed model and its DSS would facilitate the implementation of the QFM for tender evaluations and thereby reduce accidents.