A Hybrid Approach Based on Factor Analysis and Fuzzy AHP Multi-criteria Decision-Making Model for Evaluating Pavement Maintenance Management Practices: The Case of Ethiopian Roads Authority

Abstract

The construction industry has long been realized as one of the most important enablers for the social, economic, and political development of countries. Road pavement that has been constructed undergoes a process of deterioration and catastrophic failure after opening to traffic starts at a low rate and with time this rate increases because of aging, overuse, misuse, and mismanagement. Proper maintenance management practice helps to reduce the cost of maintenance and to make sure the pavement is in good condition with minimum maintenance. Thus, the study focuses on exploring the pavement maintenance management practice in the Ethiopian road authority. The method of data analysis for this study was carried out by using factor analysis and fuzzy AHP methods. Factor analysis provides as to reduce a data set to a more manageable size without much loss of the original information while fuzzy AHP is used to determine the preference weights of the variables. To achieve the objective, the data were collected from primary and secondary sources. SPSS software version 23, and Microsoft Excel were used as analysis tools. The study revealed that written maintenance management plans (0.072), maintenance staff training (0.071), maintenance management team leader (0.069), maintenance checklists (0.068), and periodic maintenance (0.063) were mostly practiced in the Ethiopian road authority. Finally, it can be recommended that the decision-makers conduct practical solutions to enhance, advance, and improve pavement maintenance management practices.