Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 104 (2013) 282 – 291 1877-0428 © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of International Scientific Committee. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.11.121 ScienceDirect 2 nd Conference of Transportation Research Group of India (2nd CTRG) Selection of Equipment for Construction of a Hilly Road using Multi Criteria Approach MAJOR VIRENDER SINGH PHOGAT 1 , AJIT PRATAP SINGH 2* 1 Postgraduate Student, Department of Civil Engineering, BITS, Pilani-333031-India 2 Professor and Dean, Department of Civil Engineering, BITS, Pilani-333031-India Abstract Planning and construction of a road in hilly region is very challenging which involves complex processes such as reconnaissance and survey to fix the alignment, formation work and construction of various layers of pavement. It has always been a daunting task for implementing agencies to select proper equipments effectively during construction of a road by taking into consideration of both tangible and intangible factors so as to maximize the benefits of the limited resources. An application of five multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) techniques to a typical selection of equipments used for hilly road construction is presented. Three criteria representing earthwork operations, operational efficiency and convenience of manager have been considered with six sub criteria each for selection of seven different construction equipment alternatives. Five MCDM techniques: Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), Simple Additive Weights Method (SAW), Distance Based Method (DBM), Preference Ranking Organization Method (PROMETHEE) and Elimination Et Choice Translating Reality (ELECTRE) methods are examined as potential decision-aid tools to select the appropriate management scheme. Comparison of the results shows that these quite different MCDM techniques lead to a similar subset of recommended solutions. Finally, a case study of Katra-Reasi road of 26 Km length has been carried out to evaluate correct equipments/machinery used for construction of the road hereby optimizing the output. The study clearly demonstrates that alternative dozer D80 is the best choice among the alternatives which has maximum output of 48 cum/hr. © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.Selection and peer-review under responsibility of International Scientific Committee. Keywords: Decision Maker (DM); Formation work; Hill road; MCDM Techniques; Equipment Selection. 1. Introduction Construction of hilly roads involves a number of operations such as earthworks, excavating, hauling, placing, and compacting. Earthworks become more important in context to the construction of hilly roads due to occurrence of land-sliding and non-availability of sufficient quantity of desired materials due to higher transportation cost. Moreover, the operations require expensive heavy equipment as well as manpower. Thus, 2 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +919694096454; fax: +91-1596-244183. E-mail address: apsbits@gmail.com Available online at www.sciencedirect.com © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of International Scientific Committee.