Application of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis in Environmental and Civil Engineering

Book excerpt: The use of a multi-criteria, decision-making theory was first studied in the 1970s. Its application in civil and environmental engineering is a new approach which can be enormously helpful for manufacturing companies, students, managers, engineers, etc. The purpose of this book is to provide a resource for students and researchers that includes current application of a multi-criteria, decision-making theory in various fields such as: environment, healthcare and engineering. In addition, practical application are shown for students manually. In real life problems there are many critical parameters (criteria) that can directly or indirectly affect the consequences of different decisions. Application of a multi-criteria, decision-making theory is basically the use of computational methods that incorporate several criteria and order of preference in evaluating and selecting the best option among many alternatives based on the desired outcome.