Problem Set $9-$ Decision Matrix

Problem:

Assume that you, as the Student Engineer intern working with Facilities Management, are designing a new door set for the $1201$ classrooms $($Smith $267,$ Smith $269,$ and Smith $272)$ to replace the double doors currently in use. All three classrooms must use the same selected door set. The new doors must be in place before the beginning of the new fiscal year on July $1.$ The order is to be placed on April $15.$ The alternatives being considered are:

Door Set $1-$ made completely of wood; cost $$2,250$ installed; has a three$-$hour fire rating; is a full ${88}^{\text{'}\text{'}}$ high and $72"$ wide; must be scraped, primed and painted each year, at an estimated cost of $$250$ per year; has no installed windows $($but can be added, estimated cost of $$250$ per door panel$)$; can be delivered to site within two days of placing order; requires minor changes to the existing door opening $($estimated cost of modifications $$800$ in addition to the cost of the door set$).$

Door Set $2-$ made of foam core and $\frac{1}{4}"$ steel veneer; cost $$3,100$ installed; has three$-$hour fire rating; is a full ${84}^{\text{'}\text{'}}$ high and ${72}^{\text{'}\text{'}}$ wide and requires no changes to existing door opening; must be scraped, primed and painted every five years, at an estimated cost of $$300$ per maintenance cycle; has installed ${18}^{\text{'}\text{'}}w{24}^{\text{'}\text{'}}h$ window in each door; can be delivered to site eight weeks following order placement.

Door Set $3-$ made of fiberglass; cost $$3,650$ installed; can be delivered to site six weeks following order placement; is a full ${84}^{\text{'}\text{'}}$ high and ${72}^{\text{'}\text{'}}$ wide, but only one door $({36}^{\text{'}\text{'}}$ wide$)$ opens; requires no changes to existing door opening; ${18}^{\text{'}\text{'}}w{24}^{\text{'}\text{'}}h$ windows in both doors; two$-$hour fire rating; requires no annual or periodic maintenance.

Door Set $4-$ made of composite board with a wood veneer; cost $$2,700$ installed; has a three$-$hour fire rating; is a full ${84}^{\text{'}\text{'}}$ high and ${72}^{\text{'}\text{'}}$ wide; ${18}^{\text{'}\text{'}}w{24}^{\text{'}\text{'}}h$ windows in both doors; requires no changes to existing door openings; must be special ordered and will be available on August $1$; must be scraped and painted every five years at an estimated cost of $$250$ per maintenance cycle.

You decide to use a decision matrix to help with the project. Facilities Management has determined five criteria to be considered in the evaluation process: Initial Cost, Ease of Installation, Maintenance Costs, Fire rating of the doors, and Delivery Date$/$Availability of product. Define the rating scale for each of the criteria using a $1-5$ rating scale, where $5$ is the best $($highest$)$ rating, $1$ being the worst $($lowest$)$ for each of the five criteria. Justify the appropriate rating measure of each criteria. Facilities has set the weighting of the criteria and they are presented below. This is often one of the more difficult aspects of using a decision matrix $-$ the weights you assign to the various criteria must accurately reflect the needs of the customer or client $-$ even if the customer is an internal one, such as another department in your company.

Decision Matrix Problem Set

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Selecting the appropriate evaluation criteria is often the easy part of the process $-$ deciding on how to rate each alternative for each of the selected criteria is where the heavy lifting occurs. How do you decide what is a "good" rating for one alternative relative to a "bad" rating for a different alternative? You must be able to document and show some reasoning behind why one alternative will get a $"5"($a good rating$)$ versus another alternative only getting a $"3"($average$,$ or acceptable rating$),$ while a third alternative gets a $"1"($not so good rating$).$ Does your rating scale reflect the needs and priorities of the client$/$customer$?$ Is a rating of $"4"$ twice as good as a $"2"?$ Is it four times better than a $"1"$ rating? You need to be prepared to defend not only the selection criteria but also the rating scale used, and your individual ratings for each alternative.