A Fuzzy Based Decision Support System for Air Conditioner Selection and an Application to Turkish Construction Sector

Original scientific paper In the construction industry, air conditioners (AC) are vital structural segments affecting human’s comfort and health directly. In this context selection process for the proper AC requires the usage of multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods due to conflicting criteria such as purchasing and maintenance costs, technical sufficiency, quality of service, performance, etc. This study provides distinct systematic approaches both in fuzzy and crisp environments to deal with the selection problem of appropriate AC and proposes a decision support model helping decision makers in construction sector to assess the potentials of different products. The required data for decision matrices is obtained via a questionnaire administered to specialists as well as deep discussions with experts working in one of the leading construction firms and making use of past studies. An application of the proposed model is also performed in a leading construction company in Turkey.