Risk Assessment of Deep Excavation in Construction Projects Using a Combined SWARA-COPRAS Approach in a Fuzzy Environment
Keywords:
Deep excavation, construction projects, fuzzy SWARA, fuzzy COPRAS, risk managementAbstract
Nowadays, with the expansion of urban life across the world, the development of construction activities in various urban sectors—ranging from high-rise building projects to the expansion of subway lines—has become highly tangible and, indeed, inevitable. This study was conducted to assess the risks associated with deep excavation in construction projects. In this study, a combined SWARA and COPRAS approach within a Fuzzy logic environment was used to identify risk assessment indicators and to rank the risks associated with the project. The research setting was the deep excavation project of Atieh Gharb Hospital in Tehran, and the required data were collected from experts involved in this project during the excavation phase. Based on the analysis of the study data in its two distinct stages, it was first determined that 11 risk assessment indicators constitute the most important indicators for measuring the risks of deep excavation activities. Among these indicators, risk analysis capability, the degree of risk uniqueness, and the level of project vulnerability to risk were identified as the most critical indicators for assessing the risks of deep excavation projects. Moreover, based on the second stage of the analysis, it was found that the deep excavation project of Atieh Gharb Hospital involves 12 key and major risks. The fuzzy COPRAS approach revealed that among these risks, three key risks were identified as safety management in the project, the presence of massive surrounding buildings, and the availability of skilled workers. Following these, three other important factors—namely the presence of a complex transportation network near the project, project financing, and potential computational errors—were also identified as other significant risks in this project. Finally, recommendations and strategies were provided, based on expert opinions and existing standards, to reduce the risks of similar future deep excavation projects.
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