Multi crteria decision making and its applications : a literature review

This paper presents current techniques used in Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) and their applications. Two basic approaches for MCDM, namely Artificial Intelligence MCDM (AIMCDM) and Classical MCDM (CMCDM) are discussed and investigated. Recent articles from international journals related to MCDM are collected and analyzed to find which approach is more common than the other in MCDM. Also, which area these techniques are applied to. Those articles are appearing in journals for the year 2008 only. This paper provides evidence that currently, both AIMCDM and CMCDM are equally common in MCDM

A methodology for the selection of new technologies in the aviation industry

The purpose of this report is to present a technology selection methodology to quantify both tangible and intangible benefits of certain technology alternatives within a fuzzy environment. Specifically, it describes an application of the theory of fuzzy sets to hierarchical structural analysis and economic evaluations for utilisation in the industry. The report proposes a complete methodology to accurately select new technologies. A computer based prototype model has been developed to handle the more complex fuzzy calculations. Decision-makers are only required to express their opinions on comparative importance of various factors in linguistic terms rather than exact numerical values. These linguistic variable scales, such as ‘very high’, ‘high’, ‘medium’, ‘low’ and ‘very low’, are then converted into fuzzy numbers, since it becomes more meaningful to quantify a subjective measurement into a range rather than in an exact value. By aggregating the hierarchy, the preferential weight of each alternative technology is found, which is called fuzzy appropriate index. The fuzzy appropriate indices of different technologies are then ranked and preferential ranking orders of technologies are found. From the economic evaluation perspective, a fuzzy cash flow analysis is employed. This deals quantitatively with imprecision or uncertainties, as the cash flows are modelled as triangular fuzzy numbers which represent ‘the most likely possible value’, ‘the most pessimistic value’ and ‘the most optimistic value’. By using this methodology, the ambiguities involved in the assessment data can be effectively represented and processed to assure a more convincing and effective decision- making process when selecting new technologies in which to invest. The prototype model was validated with a case study within the aviation industry that ensured it was properly configured to meet the

Optimization of the supplier selection process in prefabrication using BIM

Prefabrication offers substantial benefits including reduction in construction waste, material waste, energy use, labor demands, and delivery time, and an improvement in project constructability and cost certainty. As the material cost accounts for nearly 70% of the total cost of the prefabrication project, to select a suitable material supplier plays an important role in such a project. The purpose of this study is to present a method for supporting supplier selection of a prefabrication project. The proposed method consists of three parts. First, a list of assessment criteria was established to evaluate the suitability of supplier alternatives. Second, Building Information Modelling (BIM) was adopted to provide sufficient information about the project requirements and suppliers’ profiles, which facilitates the storage and sharing of information. Finally, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to rank the importance of the assessment criteria and obtain the score of supplier alternatives. The suppliers were ranked based on the total scores. To illustrate how to use the proposed method, it was applied to a real prefabrication project. The proposed method facilitates the supplier selection process by providing sufficient information in an effective way and by improving the understanding of the project requirements

Application of integrated fuzzy VIKOR & AHP methodology to contractor ranking

Contractor selection is a critical activity, which plays an important role in the overall success of any construction project. The implementation of fuzzy multiple criteria decision attribute (MCDA) in selecting contractors has the advantage of rendering subjective and implicit decision making more objective and transparent. An additional merit of fuzzy MCDA is the ability to accommodate quantitative and qualitative information. In this paper, an integrated VIKOR–AHP methodology is proposed to make a selection among the alternative contractors in one of Iranian construction industry projects. In the proposed methodology, the weights of the selection criteria are determined by fuzzy pairwise comparison matrices of AHP

A review of application of multi-criteria decision making methods in construction

Construction is an area of study wherein making decisions adequately can mean the difference between success and failure. Moreover, most of the activities belonging to this sector involve taking into account a large number of conflicting aspects, which hinders their management as a whole. Multi-criteria decision making analysis arose to model complex problems like these. This paper reviews the application of 22 different methods belonging to this discipline in various areas of the construction industry clustered in 11 categories. The most significant methods are briefly discussed, pointing out their principal strengths and limitations. Furthermore, the data gathered while performing the paper are statistically analysed to identify different trends concerning the use of these techniques. The review shows their usefulness in characterizing very different decision making environments, highlighting the reliability acquired by the most pragmatic and widespread methods and the emergent tendency to use some of them in combination

Selection of the Best Proposal using FAHP: Case of Procurement of IT Master Plan’s Realization

IT master plan, which allows planning and managing the development of the computer systems, derives its importance in the central role of the computer systems in the functioning of organizations. This article focuses on the use of FAHP method for analysis and evaluation of tenders during the awarding of contracts of IT master plan’s realization. For those purposes, a painstaking work was realized for making an inventory of criteria and sub-criteria involved in the evaluation of tenders and for specifying the degrees of preference for each pair of criteria and sub-criteria. To find a provider for the IT master plan’s realization, organizations are increasingly using tendering as the mode of awarding contracts. This paper is an improvement of a previous published paper in which AHP method was used. The goals of this work are to make available to members of tenders committee a decision support tool for evaluating tenders of IT master plan’s realization and endow the organizations with effective IT master plans in order to increase their information systems’ performance

Effects on Service Improvement of Transport in view of urban sustainability

In these years, the urban planning system has been reconsidered in terms of sustainable policies. The sustainability in urban areas involves attempts of urban development including environmental, social and economic improvements, policies and practices in the next generation stage. In most of Japanese cities and towns, transport planning was based on the efficiency of car vehicles use until now. 　As a result, traffic congestion occurred and caused slower speeds, longer times of car vehicles in a downtown area, while car drivers used the car vehicles even for walking distance. Therefore, it is necessary for the cities to improve the transport service in their areas including walking, cycling, and public transit oriented system and so on. These modes contribute to the urban sustainability positively and correspond to the appropriate mobility of the people. In this study, first of all, the effect on the introduction of a new public transport system, namely, an extension of tram car system was examined. Here, the impacts on surrounding areas due to tram line extension are assessed in view of the sustainable urban planning. In the next objective, the effects on the improvement of an underground passage, which is more convenient for pedestrian to go around the downtown area, were evaluated. The practical research and study was examined in Sapporo City, Japan. The results of analysis show in the following aspects: 1) the inhabitants expects the extension of tramcar in the supposed area, 2) people also expect activeness and attractiveness resulted from the extension of tram car line, 3) the pedestrians expect to be capable more choice of shop facilities, particularly, in rainy or snowy weather due to the use of underground passage, 4) the underground passage stimulates the behaviors of visitors between two commercial areas which exist separately to stay and enjoy for longer time.