A hybrid risk prioritization approach in construction projects using failure mode and effective analysis

Purpose Construction projects involve with various risks during all phases of project lifecycle. Failure mode and effective analysis (FMEA) is a useful tool for identifying and eliminating possible risk of failure modes (FMs) and improving the reliability and safety of systems in a broad range of industries. The traditional FMEA method applies risk priority number method (RPN) to calculate risk of FMs. RPN method cannot consider the direct and indirect interdependencies between the FMs and is not appropriate for complex system with numerous components. The purpose of this study is to propose an approach to consider interdependencies between FMs and also using fuzzy theory to consider uncertainties in experts' judgments. Design/methodology/approach The proposed approach consist of three stages: the first stage of hybrid model used fuzzy FMEA method to identify the failure mode risks and derive the RPN values. The second stage applied Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (FDEMATEL) method to determine the interdependencies between the FMs which are defined through fuzzy FMEA. Then, analytic network process (ANP) is applied in the third stage to calculate the weights of FMs based on the interdependencies that are generated through FDEMATEL method. Finally, weight of FMs through fuzzy FMEA and FDEMATEL–ANP are multiplied to generate the final weights for prioritization. Afterward, a case study for a commercial building project is introduced to illustrate proficiency of model. Findings The results showed that the suggested approach could reveal the important FMs and specify the interdependencies between them successfully. Overall, the suggested model can be considered as an efficient hybrid FMEA approach for risk prioritization. Originality/value The originality of approach comes from its ability to consider interdependencies between FMs and uncertainties of experts' judgments.