CERIU 2025 Rising Award: Basma Ben Mahmoud Honored for Her Innovative Construction Project!
As part of its INFRA 2025 Congress, the Centre of Expertise and Research in Urban Infrastructures (CERIU) awarded its prestigious 2025 Rising Award to Basma Ben Mahmoud, a researcher at Université Laval, on November 25, 2025, for her ambitious project: « Development of Decision-Support Tools to Improve the Construction Value Chain: From Supplier Integration to Contextual Selection of Delivery Methods.»
This achievement crowns rigorous and passionate work conducted under the supervision of Professor Nadia Lehoux (Université Laval) and co-supervision by Professors Pierre Blanchet (Université Laval) and Gabriel Jobidon (ÉTS Montréal). Ms. Ben Mahmoud successfully defended her thesis on October 27, 2025, marking a major milestone in her academic journey.
Recognized for its innovative approach and transformative potential, this project offers decision-support tools designed to optimize the construction value chain, from supplier integration to the selection of delivery methods adapted to each context. It perfectly illustrates CERIU’s mission: promoting innovation and excellence in civil engineering and urban infrastructure.
In recognition of this outstanding achievement, Basma receives a $2,000 award and will have the unique opportunity to present her project at the CERIU INFRA 2026 Congress, taking place on November 23–24, 2026, at the Québec City Convention Centre. Her presentation will give professionals and researchers the chance to explore and discuss cutting-edge work with high impact on the construction sector.
This year, the Rising Award was presented in collaboration with the Association of Consulting Engineering Firms of Quebec (AFG). Mr. Pierre Nadeau, Deputy Director General of AFG, represented the association and praised the excellence and innovation of the next generation of engineers.
The CRMR warmly congratulates Ms. Basma Ben Mahmoud for this recognition, as well as for her dedication, creativity, and the quality of her work, which contribute to advancing the field of urban infrastructure and construction in Quebec.
For more information on the INFRA 2025 Congress and the Rising Award, visit CERIU’s website: www.ceriu.qc.ca.
Credit 📸 : CERIU: Mr. Pierre Nadeau and Ms. Basma Ben Mahmoud
Thesis Summary
In the face of a globally unstable context, the construction value chain is becoming increasingly vulnerable. Fragmented, discontinuous, and characterized by decentralized decision-making, it suffers from inefficiencies and poor coordination, making it less productive and more exposed to external risks. Researchers and practitioners are therefore seeking innovative approaches to make the value chain more efficient, connected, and resilient. Key challenges include insufficient supplier integration, rigorous selection of project delivery methods, and inadequate consideration of external criteria in decision-making processes.
This thesis project aims to develop organizational and planning tools to improve the efficiency of the construction value chain. The research is structured around three main objectives:
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Develop a theoretical framework to identify levers that promote supplier integration, informed by a systematic literature review.
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Develop a decision-support tool based on a multi-objective optimization model that combines the allocation of delivery methods with project scheduling, accounting for internal resources, and tested with a major public client in Quebec.
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Incorporate external criteria (political, economic) into a second optimization model to assess their impact on the selection of delivery methods, risk anticipation, and alignment with government priorities.
This project makes both theoretical and practical contributions to managing the construction value chain by proposing levers to promote early supplier integration and flexible tools that enable public decision-makers to effectively guide the selection of project delivery methods, taking into account both internal and external conditions.
 Par: Besma Bouslimi