Assessment of Quality in Saudi Arabian Roadways

Abstract

A new assessment model was developed in this work. The developed model introduced a new approach and reference for assessment factors control the quality in Saudi Arabian roads using the fuzzy logic system. Fuzzy logic system was chosen to be used in this research due to its suitability for uncertain and approximate reasoning that involves human intuitive thinking as well as, it requires a little data to achieve the aim of the proposed model. Furthermore, the fuzzy logic has the ability for combining many effects such as the probability of occurrence and the impact of factors on the quality of roadways construction. The methodology of this research included conducting a field survey with construction practitioners in the field of roadways projects across Saudi Arabia. The proposed model was then evaluated and applied using the collected data from the field survey. The study results proved that the proposed model can be successfully used in the assessment of factors affecting quality in roadways. The major factors that found to be significantly affecting the quality in construction of roadways projects were identified according to their importance as; 1) Change order control; 2) Fluctuation default of Subcontractor; 3) Third party delay 4) Contract dispute results from disagreement. The proposed model is considered as a general model that can be easily adapted and applied to other types of projects.