Monitoring the performance of petrochemical organizations in Saudi Arabia using data envelopment analysis

The petrochemical industry plays a crucial role in the economy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the effectiveness and efficiency of this industry is of high importance. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is found to be more acceptable in measuring the effectiveness of various industries when used in conjunction with non-parametric methods such as multiple regression, analytical hierarchy process (AHP), multidimensional scaling (MDS), and other multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) approaches. In this study, ten petrochemical companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are evaluated using Banker, Charnes and Cooper (BCC)/Charnes, Cooper, and Rhodes (CCR) models of DEA to compute the technical and super-efficiencies for ranking according to their relative performances. Data were collected from the Saudi Stock Exchange on key financial performance measures, five of which were chosen as inputs and five as outputs. Five DEA models were developed using different input–output combinations. The efficiency plots obtained from DEA were compared with the Euclidean distance scatter plot obtained from MDS. The dimensionality of MDS plots was derived from the DEA output. It was found that the two-dimensional positioning of the companies was congruent in both plots, thus validating the DEA results

EVALUATION OF IRANIAN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED INDUSTRIES USING THE DEA BASED ON ADDITIVE RATIO MODEL – A REVIEW

Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is a prominent procedure in the decision-making process with a pivotal role in the sustainable development assay. Project identification is the first step of sustainability assessment in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) program for the industrial projects prior to complete establishment. The present review research comprised 405 Iranian industries assessment regarding both input and output criteria via DEA integrated with the ratio model of Additive Ratio ASsessment (ARAS) and weighing systems of Kendall and Friedman's tests supported by SPSS software. The findings deployed a classification for Iranian industries pertaining to industries' nominal capacity in certain clusters. Also, the current review paved the pathway towards executing both energy and materials streams in industries

A novel approach to improve the bank ranking process: an empirical study in Spain

In this paper, a novel approach to the bank ranking process based on the possibilistic theory is proposed. Through this new method, the sensitivity of the results can be improved. Several methods are applied in order to rank the financial performance of Spanish Banks. Methods such as the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and fuzzy TOPSIS are integrated in the proposed model. Criteria and sub-criteria weights are computed based on the judgments of experts using FAHP. These weights and financial indicators are inputs of the fuzzy TOPSIS methods for ranking the banks. The financial ratios are based on the CAMEL rating system criteria. Moreover, the results from the application of several distance measurements (Vertex, Hamming and Euclidean) in fuzzy TOPSIS as well as a new measure based on the possibilistic theory are compared. Finally, the results obtained applying fuzzy TOPSIS show that they vary depending on the separate measure, so it is necessary to have different measures to be able to correct decision making

An Application of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) for ERP System Selection: Case of a Petrochemical Company

As a comprehensive software solution, ERP seeks to integrate all departments and functions of a company into a single computer system that can satisfy all departments’ information needs. Nowadays, many companies have invested in the implementation of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. But, a large number of them have wasted millions of dollars as a consequence of failed ERP implementation and adoption. Some of the failures come back to the selection of inappropriate ERP systems. This paper seeks to propose a method for selecting appropriate ERP systems, to enable firms’ decision-makers to achieve an overall consensus by using a multicriteria decision making model

Determination of the most suitable Technology Transfer Strategy for Wind Turbines using an Integrated AHP-TOPSIS Decision Model

The high-speed development of industrial products and goods in the world has caused “technology” to be considered as a crucial competitive advantage for most large organizations. In recent years, developing countries have considerably tended to promote their technological and innovative capabilities through importing high-tech equipment owned and operated by developed countries. There are currently a variety of solutions to transfer a particular technology from a developed country. The selection of the most profitable technology transfer strategy is a very complex decision-making problem for technology importers as it involves different technical, environmental, social, and economic aspects. In this study, a hybrid multiple-criteria decision making (MCDM) model based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) is proposed to evaluate and prioritise various technology transfer strategies for wind turbine systems. For this purpose, a number of criteria and sub-criteria are defined from the viewpoint of wind energy investors, wind turbine manufacturers, and wind farm operators. The relative importance of criteria and sub-criteria with respect to the ultimate goal are computed using the eigenvalue method and then, the technology transfer alternatives are ranked based on their relative closeness to the ideal solution. The model is finally applied to determine the most suitable wind turbine technology transfer strategy among four options of reverse engineering, technology skills training, turn-key contracts, and technology licensing for the renewable energy sector of Iran, and the results are compared with those obtained by classical decision-making models

Techno-economic analysis of solar stills using integrated fuzzy analytical hierarchy process and data envelopment analysis

Desalination using solar stills is an ancient economic method for water desalination. Over the years, research and development in the area of solar still has resulted in increased distillate yield by means of integration of PCM (phase change material), photo-voltaic thermal (PVT), etc with the still. Nano-PCM is an upcoming technology which modifies the thermal performance of PCM. The aim of this research is to analyze the efficiency of 20 solar stills including nano-PCM based solar stills considering various input and output criteria using integrated fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and data envelopment analysis (DEA). The efficiency derived here is relative with regard to the parameters and stills considered in this study. The result infers that, even though the productivity of stepped solar still with sun tracking system was high, but when techno-economic aspects were considered it is not among the top solar stills. The analysis indicated pyramid type solar still, single slope solar still with PVT, solar still with NPCM (paraffin + copper oxide), solar still with NPCM (paraffin + titanium dioxide) and solar still with PCM (paraffin) occupies the top five positions with relative efficiency of 100, 100, 88.47, 88.46 and 76.93% respectively

Combining Fuzzy MCDM with BSC Approach in Performance Evaluation of Iranian Private Banking Sector

The objective of this study is to construct an approach based on multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) and balanced scorecard (BSC) for evaluating performance for three nongovernmental Iranian's banks. Following the literature relating to banking performance and BSC concepts, experts and managers select 21 indexes for evaluation. Furthermore, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) calculated the relative weights of each chosen index in order to tolerate vagueness and ambiguity of information, and three MCDM analytical tools (TOPSIS, VIKOR, and ELECTRE) were adopted to rank the banking performance. The results indicate that a customer “” has the most significant BSC perspectives and the customer satisfaction “1” is the most major index in banking sector. This proposed fuzzy MCDM method combined with BSC approach is a comprehensive and up-to-date model that can be a useful and effective assessment tool

Advanced risk management in offshore terminals and marine ports

This research aims to propose a Risk Management (RM) framework and develop a generic risk-based model for dealing with potential hazards and risk factors associated with offshore terminals' and marine ports' operations and management. Hazard identification was conducted through an appropriate literature review of major risk factors of these logistic infrastructures. As a result in the first phase of this research a Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchal Process (FAHP) method was used for determining the relative weights of the risk factors identified via the literature review. This has led to the development of a generic risk -based model which can help related industrial professionals and risk managers assess the risk factors and develop appropriate strategies to take preventive/corrective actions for mitigation purposes, with a view of maintaining efficient offshore terminals' and marine ports' operations and management. In the second phase of the research the developed risk-based model incorporating Fuzzy Set Theory (FST), an Evidential Reasoning (ER) approach and the IDS software were used to evaluate the risk levels of different ports in real situations using a case study. The IDS software based on an ER approach was used to aggregate the previously determined relative weights of the risk factors with the new evaluation results of risk levels for the real ports. The third phase of the research made use of the Cause and Consequence Analysis (CCA) including the Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) and Event Tree Analysis (ETA) under a fuzzy environment, to analyse in detail the most significant risk factors determined from the first phase of the research, using appropriate case-studies. In the fourth phase of the research an individual RM strategy was tailored and implemented on the most significant risk factor identified previously. In the last phase of the research and in order to complete the RM cycle, the best mitigation strategies were introduced and evaluated in the form of ideal solutions for mitigating the identified risk factors. All methods used in this research have quantitative and qualitative nature. Expert judgements carried out for gathering the required information accounted for the majority of data collected. The proposed RM framework can be a useful method for managers and auditors when conducting their RM programmes in the offshore and marine industries. The novelty of this research can help the Quality, Health, Safety, Environment and Security (QHSES) managers, insurers and risk managers in the offshore and marine industries investigate the potential hazards more appropriately if there is uncertainty of data sources. In this research with considering strategic management approaches to RM development the proposed RM framework and risk based model contribute to knowledge by developing and evaluating an effective methodology for future use of the RM professionals

Identifying and overcoming barriers in launching sustainable energy projects in the industrial sector using multi-methodology

Mestrado em Engenharia e Gestão IndustrialThe aim of this essay has been to try out Soft Systems Methodology in development of a multidisciplinary framework to launch energy sustainability in Iranian industry sector. A petrochemical industry, one small sized company from the automobile industry and an energy service company are studied due to their diversity in conditions. The petrochemical industry is recognized to possibly have more gains in terms of improving energy consumption. Beyond SSM, the AHP model, MCIR framework, UML, and financial feasibility study methods are used in the development of CSEL framework. The AHP model applied in this study transforms qualitative data into quantitative decision making results. The MCIR framework classifies the barriers which have interrelated nature and identifies the gaps of energy sustainability in industry. NPV and SPB of financial analysis methods are applied in this framework and finally UML diagrams depict the information process in the latter subsystem of this framework.O objectivo desta tese é definir uma metodologia multidisciplinar, usando Soft Systems Methodology, com vista a analisar o sector da Indústria no Irão do ponto de vista de lançamento de novos projectos de sustentabilidade energética. Para a metodologia proposta uma indústria petroquímica, uma pequena empresa do ramo automóvel e uma empresa que faz consultoria em energia são analisadas. A indústria petroquímica surge como a que potencialmente terá maiores ganhos do ponto de vista de poupança energética. Para além de SSM, o modelo AHP, a framework MCIR, diagramas UML e um estudo de viabilidade financeira são usados para o desenvolvimento da metodologia proposta. O modelo AHP usado neste estudo permite trabalhar dados qualitativos de uma forma quantitativa. A framework MCIR classifica as barreiras interrelacionadas e identifica as necessidades de sustentabilidade energética na indústria. Métodos de análise financeira são usados na metodologia proposta e, por último, diagramas UML mostram o processo de informação