Optimization of the Evaluation and Selection Process of Finishing Subcontractors Using the Choosing by Advantages (CBA) Method in Multi-family Housing Projects

Construction projects are intricate, involving numerous parties for successful completion. Hence, most construction firms subcontract to boost performance, cut costs, and delegate specialized labor responsibilities. Selecting subcontractors significantly impacts project success and the general contractor's competitiveness. Unfortunately, subcontracting often lacks thorough analysis, with total cost overshadowing decisions, leading to unqualified, inexperienced, and underfunded subcontractor choices detrimental to project budgets, schedules, and quality. This research focuses on optimizing the evaluation and selection process in multifamily housing projects for the finishing stage, which is directly related to customer satisfaction, through a decision-making procedure that includes the application of the multicriteria decision-making method Choosing By Advantages. The methodology comprises information recording, traditional procedure analysis, new procedure development, and proposed procedure implementation. Furthermore, the optimization of subcontractor evaluation and selection is based on the perception of professionals, with over 5 years of experience, responsible for the subcontracting process of the evaluated project. Finally, it is concluded that the proposed procedure, which includes the application of CBA, optimizes the evaluation and selection of subcontractors by enabling a more informed final decision for the selection of finishing stage subcontractors based on the most important evaluation factors determined in the research: quality, financial capacity, experience, trained personnel, references; as well as the proposed criteria, the Likert scale, and the format developed for the application of CBA. Comparing reliability, objectivity, precision, and ease of achieving consensus, the proposal demonstrates a 20% improvement in subcontractor evaluation and selection over traditional methods.