Multi-criteria ratings methodology for suitability evaluation of open-deck pier sites

Author: Ismael Aargorn D. Inocencio, Eric C. Cruz, Edgardo P. Kasilag II

Presenter: Ismael Aargorn D. Inocencio


Due to its archipelagic coastlines, the Philippines has more than 2,400 ports. Causeway piers are the most common docking structure in these ports. In interior coastlines, open piers are usually considered. Where the port is not sheltered by breakwaters, however, open piers are exposed to the hazards of the waves, tides, currents, and sediments. Thus, when planning the site for a proposed open pier, it is important to quantify these hazards and account for them in both the engineering design and the economic costing of the pier structure. 

Along a long project coastline, the optimal selection of an open pier site is based on the criterion of minimum wave agitation under prevailing wave conditions (Cruz and Kasilag, 2009). Where multiple sites are being considered, it becomes imperative to carry out a ratings approach where the possible sites are assessed based on a ratings scale with objective weighting coefficients (Cruz, et al 2010). While the ratings scale approach is effective in selecting the optimal site among several alternatives, it does not provide an economic costing rating of the sites.

This paper discusses a methodology applied to a multiple pier site feasibility study of a proposed cargo pier along a relatively sheltered coastline of Batangas, Philippines. In order to select the optimal site based on both technical and operational considerations, a multi-criteria ratings approach was applied.


Conference/s:

37th Virtual Conference on Coastal Engineering (vICCE 2020), ASCE


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