Date of Award

12-2011

Degree Name

Master of Science in Engineering

Department

Civil and Construction Engineering

First Advisor

Dr. Upul Attanayake

Second Advisor

Dr. Haluk Aktan

Third Advisor

Dr. Osama Abudayyeh

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Campus Only

Abstract

Decision making is a cognitive process which includes attention, remembering, understanding, and solving. In every industry decisions are required at every step along the way. Available information should be analyzed or if information is not available it should be gathered first to come up with a decision. A predefined decision-making process helps in making informed decisions along with maintaining consistency in the decision made. Contiguous parameters to a specific application are required along with an ideal mathematical model for informed decision-making. A potential management which requires an optimal decision-making is bridge construction industry due to the fact that, the bridges not only connect communities making commute shorter and faster but also shape our lives through urban development. The need for bridge rehabilitation/ replacement engenders bottlenecks and closures on existing freeways which creates outrageous conditions for travelling public. Thus, the demand of travelling public for deploying bridge rehabilitation/ replacement process using innovative construction processes evolved in Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC). Various state departments of transportation have developed decision-making models to identify if ABC is a viable option for a site, yet the deficiencies pertaining in those models require contemplation. The herein study identifies the bridge construction contiguous parameters and models to precisely address the deficiencies in the existing decision-making models for bridges. The outcome of this study is an informed decision-making model that can be customized using site specific data in selecting an optimal bridge construction process. A decision making tool is developed for implementation of the decision-making model. The tool is demonstrated through a case study of Parkview Bridge over US 131 in Kalamazoo, MI.

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