Super-efficiency and stability intervals in additive DEA

This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication in Journal of the Operational Research Society. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. The final version will be available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/jors.2012.1

Partner selection in agile supply chains: A fuzzy intelligent approach

Partner selection is a fundamental issue in supply chain management as it contributes significantly to overall supply chain performance. However, such decision-making is problematic due to the need to consider both tangible and intangible factors, which cause vagueness, ambiguity and complexity. This paper proposes a new fuzzy intelligent approach for partner selection in agile supply chains by using fuzzy set theory in combination with radial basis function artificial neural network. Using these two approaches in combination enables the model to classify potential partners in the qualification phase of partner selection efficiently and effectively using very large amounts of both qualitative and quantitative data. The paper includes a worked empirical application of the model with data from 84 representative companies within the Chinese electrical components and equipment industry, to demonstrate its suitability for helping organisational decision-makers in partner selection

Airport Benchmarking The Key Performance Area of Safety

The utility of an airport benchmarking process is widely recognised in a world where competition between airports is becoming a reality. Therefore, there is a need for a broad consensus to establish and construct reliable databases for measuring airport performance and consequently the development and the implementation of even more accurate performance management systems. A wide number of studies that focus on airport benchmarking - but mainly based on economic and productivity performance indicators are done and can be found in the literature. However, there is a lack of studies that focus on the airport performance in a holistic form, set in different areas for a truly global analysis. A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) approach applied to Safety key performance area from PESA–AGB (Performance Efficiency Support Analysis – Airport Global Benchmarking) model. This model is based on MACBETH (Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation Technique) methodology is used to evaluate its impact on the overall performance of three airports; and under two distinct processes, peer and self-benchmarking - along eleven years. The Safety area performance analysis is done describing four case studies, where a selfbenchmarking analysis was conducted for three airports, A, B and C, with distinctive characteristics, each one representing the main Portuguese air infrastructures: Airport A is considered the largest one in terms of number of passenger and movements, related to Lisbon airport; Airport B mainly a Low-Cost Carrier (LCC) and Cargo one, resembling Oporto airport; and finally Airport C, an LCC oriented one with seasonality peaks along the year resembles the Faro airport. The last case study englobes the three airports in a peer-benchmarking analysis. As an important result, it was found that the Safety Performance Area has the greatest weight and therefore is the most important area in relation to airport performance, according to research done considering the opinions of experts. Through the performance analysis, it was found that airports A, B and C have medium to excellent performance in the security area, with a positive evolution in general since 2007 and with worse performances in 2004. The results evidence the importance of this type of evaluation to understand how airports deal with Safety issues and how this key performance area may impact in any benchmarking process, and on the overall evaluation of such complex transport infrastructure too.A utilidade do processo de benchmarking de aeroportos é amplamente reconhecida num mundo onde a competição entre aeroportos se esta a tornar uma realidade cada vez mais presente. Logo há uma necessidade por um consenso mais amplo para estabelecer e construir bases de dados confiáveis para medir a performance de aeroportos e consequentemente o desenvolvimento e implementação de melhores e mais precisos sistemas de gestão da mesma. Existem vários estudos focados na avaliação comparativa, mas sobretudo baseados em fatores económicos e de produtividade. No entanto há uma escassez de estudos focados na performance do aeroporto como um conjunto de áreas que devem ser abordadas numa verdadeira análise global. Por meio de análise multicritério de apoio à decisão (multiple-criteria decision analysis- MCDA), aplicada à área de segurança operacional e no modelo desenvolvido designado por PESA-AGB (Performance Efficiency Support Analysis- Airport Global Benchmarking) por sua vez baseado na metodologia MACBETH (Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation Technique) pretende-se avaliar a performance de 3 aeroportos fictícios (O aeroporto A com características semelhantes ao Aeroporto de Lisboa com grande número de movimentos e também considerado o principal aeroporto português, o Aeroporto B, semelhante ao aeroporto do Porto com características próprias de um aeroporto de companhias aéreas de baixo custo e transporte de carga e por último o aeroporto C com semelhanças ao aeroporto de Faro, marcado pela sazonalidade da sua procura) e em dois processos distintos, numa análise comparativa por grupos de aeroportos pertencentes ao mesmo grupo, e numa análise comparativa de cada aeroporto ao longo de um período de 11 anos. A performance da área de segurança é feita comparando classificações obtidas entre os aeroportos (peer-benchmarking) e através dos resultados obtidos por cada aeroporto nos últimos anos (self-benchmarking), demonstrando-se assim a utilidade e flexibilidade da ferramenta para os agentes com interesses ligados à infraestrutura aeroportuária. Como um importante resultado constatou-se que a Área de Desempenho de Segurança tem o maior peso e, portanto, é a área mais importante em relação ao desempenho do aeroporto, de acordo com a pesquisa feita levando em conta as opiniões dos especialistas. Os acidentes em pista como indicador de performance de segurança ocupam o lugar de maior importância e maior peso dentro dos indicadores de performance de segurança. Através da análise da performance constatou-se que os aeroportos A, B e C têm desempenho médio a excelente na área de segurança com uma evolução positiva de uma maneira geral a partir de 2007 e com piores performances no ano de 2004. Como outputs do modelo utilizado encontraram se medidas que permitem a análise de performance na área de Segurança. Com este tipo de avaliação deverá ser possível um melhor entendimento de como os aeroportos, infraestruturas de grande complexidade, lidam com as questões de segurança num processo de análise comparativa

Adding Value to Bank Branch Performance Evaluation Using Cognitive Maps and MCDA: A Case Study

The performance evaluation of bank branches is a difficult task. One of the main reasons for this difficulty is the complexity inherent in the variety of aspects to be considered in the evaluation, and the multiple and conflicting interests of the different stakeholders involved. In this paper we aim to show how cognitive mapping and the MACBETH approach can be used to support the evaluation of bank branches through the development of multidimensional performance evaluation systems, and to deal explicitly with the trade-offs between the different dimensions of performance and interests of different stakeholders. A case study is discussed where these techniques are used in a constructive way, making the learning activity easier and introducing transparency in the decision making process. The strengths and weaknesses of the integrated use of these two operational research techniques in this context are also discussed.

Decision-making methods in engineering design: a designer-oriented approach

The use of decisional methods for the solution of engineering design problems has to be tackled on a "human" viewpoint. Hence, fundamental is the identification of design issues and needs that become a designer oriented viewpoint. Decision-based methods are systematically classified in MCDM methods, Structured Design methods and Problem Structuring methods. The results are organised in order to provide a first reference for the designer in a preliminary selection of decision-based methods. The paper shows the heterogeneous use of decision-based methods, traditionally expected to solve only some specific design problems, which have been used also in different design contexts. Moreover, several design issues, which emerged from the review process, have been pointed out and discussed accordingly. This review provided useful results for the enlargement of the state of the art on Decision Based Design methods in engineering design contexts

A contribution to supply chain design under uncertainty

Dans le contexte actuel des chaînes logistiques, des processus d'affaires complexes et des partenaires étendus, plusieurs facteurs peuvent augmenter les chances de perturbations dans les chaînes logistiques, telles que les pertes de clients en raison de l'intensification de la concurrence, la pénurie de l'offre en raison de l'incertitude des approvisionnements, la gestion d'un grand nombre de partenaires, les défaillances et les pannes imprévisibles, etc. Prévoir et répondre aux changements qui touchent les chaînes logistiques exigent parfois de composer avec des incertitudes et des informations incomplètes. Chaque entité de la chaîne doit être choisie de façon efficace afin de réduire autant que possible les facteurs de perturbations. Configurer des chaînes logistiques efficientes peut garantir la continuité des activités de la chaîne en dépit de la présence d'événements perturbateurs. L'objectif principal de cette thèse est la conception de chaînes logistiques qui résistent aux perturbations par le biais de modèles de sélection d'acteurs fiables. Les modèles proposés permettent de réduire la vulnérabilité aux perturbations qui peuvent aV, oir un impact sur la continuité des opérations des entités de la chaîne, soient les fournisseurs, les sites de production et les sites de distribution. Le manuscrit de cette thèse s'articule autour de trois principaux chapitres: 1 - Construction d'un modèle multi-objectifs de sélection d'acteurs fiables pour la conception de chaînes logistiques en mesure de résister aux perturbations. 2 - Examen des différents concepts et des types de risques liés aux chaînes logistiques ainsi qu'une présentation d'une approche pour quantifier le risque. 3 - Développement d'un modèle d'optimisation de la fiabilité afin de réduire la vulnérabilité aux perturbations des chaînes logistiques sous l'incertitude de la sollicitation et de l'offre

Air Transport Performance and Global Decision Analysis

Since the beginning of aviation, airports have played a pivotal role in Aeronautical Engineering. The airport concept has changed a lot over the past century from small airfields to international hubs. These airport infrastructures have played a significant role in the economic development of the regions they operate. The emergence of the airport city concept as a new successful organisational model suggests that any infrastructure of this kind to be competitive should adopt it. With all its inputs and outputs, the airport industry significantly influences the global economy. The balance between the public interest in general, shareholders, and airport operators must seek to be reconciled. I was investigated how it would be possible to determine whether an airport would have the expected impact on the economy at different scales. Those scales could be that of a continent, a country, a region, or even a city and establish the decision criteria for building (or not) new airport infrastructures and making improvements (or not) in them. Searching for tools that would allow an appropriate evaluation of the management processes of an airport, the measurement of the position of the airport compared to its counterparts (benchmarking) is essential. However, the complexity of the models used makes this tool unfriendly for airport administration. Apart from that, the essential focus of this type of study is the land side of the airport. Nevertheless, there are other types of studies for evaluating the performance of airport processes. Still, these are also complex and do not involve all operational, financial and agent components near the airport. The studies review reinforces the idea that a global analytical tool is essential to find the global perspective (airside, landside, and agents) of any airport's performance beyond the challenges that will be put to them soon and a complete benchmark of direct competitors. The construction of a new methodology requires that airport, land, and airside infrastructures be considered, and agents near the airport, customers, shareholders and airport operators. Thus, a well-founded analysis for a Global Decision Analysis (GDA) incorporates all the infrastructure stakeholders' interconnections in a single tool. GDA is, therefore, friendlier to stakeholders given the management and optimization of decisions based on an analysis system based on the MACBETH multi-criteria methodology, the PESA-AGB. This tool was built and applied to an airport with dimensions identical to Lisbon airport, demonstrating and comparing the evolution of performance and efficiency over 11 years from 2003 to 2013 by six key performance areas of the airport and the respective key performance indicators. The development of an airport efficiency tag for each year of assessment was implemented. An APE-Label implementation, applied to any airport, is presented, and discussed in this study regardless of its size and location. The main obstacle to implementing this APE-Label is the heterogeneity of the airport infrastructure since it differs in the number of runways for public, private or even public-private property, among others. However, with the PESA-AGB methodology, it was possible to mitigate this factor. The main proposal is to provide a graphical APE-Label that informs all interested parties which infrastructure assessment is analysed across the six key performance areas each year that will help to maximize performance and efficiency standards. For the airport case study, a self-benchmarking analysis was carried out for the airport's study with distinctive characteristics representing the central Portuguese air infrastructure. The airport in study is considered the largest in terms of passengers, movements and cargo and is associated with Lisbon airport. Finally, the results of PESA-AGB and GDA have been presented in two visual analysis panels. The dashboards and the GDA report and recommendation are prepared.Desde o início da aviação que os aeroportos detêm um papel fulcral na Engenharia Aeronáutica. O conceito de aeroporto modificou-se muito durante o último século passando de pequenos aeródromos para “hubs” internacionais. Assim estas infraestruturas aeroportuárias têm vindo a assumir um papel muito importante no que diz respeito ao desenvolvimento económico das regiões em que se inserem. O surgimento do conceito de cidade aeroporto, como um novo modelo organizacional de sucesso, sugere que para qualquer infraestrutura do género ser competitiva o deve adotar. A indústria aeroportuária, com todos os seus “inputs” e “outputs”, tem uma grande influência na economia global e os equilíbrios entre o interesse público em geral, os acionistas em particular, os operadores aeroportuários devem procurar ser conciliados. Esta investigação procurou determinar se um aeroporto teria o impacto esperado na economia em diferentes escalas, nomeadamente à de um continente, um país, uma região ou mesmo uma cidade, para poder estabelecer quais os critérios de decisão para a construção de novas infraestruturas aeroportuárias assim como para efetuar melhorias nas mesmas. Na procura de ferramentas que permitissem uma avaliação apropriada dos processos de gestão de um aeroporto, a aferição da posição do aeroporto comparativamente aos seus congéneres (benchmarking) surgiu como essencial. No entanto, a complexidade dos modelos conhecidos em utilização torna as ferramentas pouco amigáveis para a administração aeroportuária, para além de que, o foco essencial deste tipo de estudos é o lado terra do aeroporto. Existem outros tipos de estudos para a avaliação do desempenho dos processos aeroportuários, mas, também estes são complexos e não envolvem todas as componentes operacionais, financeiras e dos agentes na vizinhança do aeroporto. A construção de uma nova metodologia impõe que se tenha em consideração as infraestruturas aeroportuárias, lado terra e lado ar, os clientes, os acionistas e os operadores aeroportuários. Assim, uma análise bem fundamentada para uma decisão a nível global - o Global Decision Analysis (GDA), incorpora numa só ferramenta todas as interligações entre todos os intervenientes da infraestrutura. O GDA é, pois, mais amigável para os stakeholders tendo em vista a gestão e otimização das decisões baseado em um sistema de análise com base na metodologia multicritério MACBETH - o Performance and Efficiency Support Analysis for Airport Global Benchmarking (PESA-AGB), que foi construído e aplicado a um aeroporto com dimensões idênticas às do aeroporto de Lisboa, demonstrando e comparando a evolução do desempenho e eficiência ao longo de 11 anos pelo período de 2003 a 2013 por 6 áreas chave de desempenho do aeroporto e os respetivos indicadores chave de desempenho. Neste estudo, é apresentada e discutida uma implementação da Etiqueta Airport Performance and Efficiency Label (APE-Label), aplicada a qualquer aeroporto, independentemente de seu tamanho e localização. O principal obstáculo à implementação deste APE-Label é a heterogeneidade da infraestrutura aeroportuária, uma vez que esta difere no número de pistas para a propriedade publica, privada ou mesmo público-privada, entre outros. A principal proposta é fornecer uma APE-Label gráfica que informe a todos as partes interessadas qual é a avaliação da infraestrutura analisada através das seis áreas-chave de desempenho em cada ano que ajudarão a maximizar os padrões de desempenho e eficiência. Para o caso de estudo, foi realizada uma análise de self-benchmarking para o aeroporto 1 com características especificas e um aeroporto internacional com as valências de carga e Low Cost Carriers (LCC), representando a principal infraestrutura aérea portuguesa. O aeroporto 1 é considerado o maior em termos de número de passageiros, movimentos e carga e está associado ao aeroporto de Lisboa. Por fim, são apresentados em dois painéis de análise visual os resultados do PESA-AGB e do GDA

A practical development of multi-attribute decision making using fuzzy set theory

The foundations of multi-attribute utility theory are reviewed and compared with the author's practical experience and other psychological studies of decision-making. The case is presented for a new approach to decision-making, moving away from the strictly numerical techniques. Instead of concentrating on the normative or descriptive aspects of decision-making, themed-problem of decision-making is studied, thereby giving the decision-maker more control over the decision-making process and ensuring a more truly participative approach to design and decision-making. The problem of uncertainty is also tackled by considering it from both the stochastic and fuzzy standpoints. A revised approach to the assessment of uncertainty and its incorporation in the decision-making process is advocated. The theoretical framework behind these ideas is expressed using fuzzy set theory. Previous attempts to apply fuzzy set theory to multi-attribute decision-making are reviewed and criticised for their failure to tackle the basic assumptions of multi-attribute utility theory. A practical methodology for using verbal descriptions is derived, and illustrated with a worked example. A practical description of how to apply the method is included, and the results of some applications are presented