Journal of Civil Engineering Vol 68 No 2

Volume 68 Number 2 June 2026  Journal of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering 6 remaining 45 (30.2%) respondents are not registered with ECSA. Figure 3 shows the registration status of the respondents with the SACPCMP indicates that 30 respondents (20.1%) are registered as candidate construction man- agers, 20 respondents (13.4%) are registered as candidate project managers, 10 respond- ents (6.7%) are registered as professional construction managers, and 41 respondents (27.5%) are registered as professional con- struction project managers. The remaining 48 (32.2%) respondents are not registered with the SACPCMP. Figure 4 delineates that 101 respondents (67.8%) operate in the civil engineering field, 28 respondents (18.8%) are in the gen- eral building field, 3 respondents (2%) oper- ate in the mechanical engineering field, and 2 respondents (1.3%) operate in the electrical engineering field. The remaining 15 respondents (10.1%) operate in other fields, which include construction of large integrated projects from cradle to grave, project management, water management, general property development, toll road operation and maintenance, government, and mega project delivery. The Analytical Hierarchy Process According to Saaty (1990), the AHP is a technique widely used to guide the deci- sion-making processes in a multi-criteria and multi-stakeholder environment. In general terms, this technique arranges the factors that are important for the decision in a hierarchical structure descending from an overall goal to criteria, sub-criteria, and alternatives in successive levels; it values the importance of criteria and makes it possible to assess several alternatives according to these criteria. The advantage of the AHP is in integrating qualitative aspects, which are often excluded from analysis processes but can be relevant to some actors involved in the decision-making process. Some of these qualitative factors are the risk of the decision, the uncertainty, the equity, and the participation level, to name a few (Ávila 2000). The AHP splits a complex multi-factor problem into a hierarchy. It uses hierarchical structures and linear algebra to understand the problem better and support the final decision. The AHP determines weights for each criterion and alternatives by analysing the judgmental matrices and by applying the mathematical theory of eigenvalues and eigenvectors. The AHP combines both Figure 2 Professional registration status in engineering Candidate Engineer Pr Eng Technologist Pr Eng Technician Pr Cert Engineer Professional Engineer 22.10% 25.50% 14.10% 6.70% 1.30% Figure 3 Professional registration status in construction Candidate Construction Manager Candidate Construction Project Manager Professional Construction Manager Professional Construction Project Manager 20.10% 13.40% 6.70% 27.50% Figure 4 Field of operation Civil Engineering General Building Mechanical Engineering Electrical Engineering Other 67.80% 18.80% 39% 1.30% 2%