Application of the graph theory and matrix methods to contractor ranking

The most important element in construction procurement is the contractor selection, which can result from contractor’s ranking. Contractor prequalification is essential in most construction projects, and the process has been performed by many different methods in practice. In most studies of contractor selection, selection criteria are assumed to be independent of each other. However, these criteria are likely to affect each other. The main purpose of this paper is to show how the graph theory and matrix methods may be served as a decision analysis tool for contractor selection–which is more suitable to be employed in this interdependent relationship framework. This method can be used as a decision support system by project owners in order to identify an eligible contractor to be awarded the contract.