Creative trans-border cooperation in the field of operations research and sustainable development in civil engineering

The paper presents an overview of the history and achievements of trans-border cooperation in the Lithuania-Germany-Poland triangle in planning instruments in Construction Management, decision-making theory, application of Operational Research, and Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods in Civil Engineering and sustainable development. The cooperation and results of the Colloquiums with 35 years of tradition, their multidimensional nature is underlined. The research instruments, methods, studied phenomena are reviewed and characteristic applications in engineering and economics are presented. The knowledge and combined efforts of three academic centers have created a synergy which set in motion many original methods and spectacular implementations. The Colloquium calendar and the evolution of organizational forms are presented along with the inclusion of the informal EURO Working Group on Operations Research in Sustainable Development and Civil Engineering

Symmetric and Asymmetric Data in Solution Models

This book is a Printed Edition of the Special Issue that covers research on symmetric and asymmetric data that occur in real-life problems. We invited authors to submit their theoretical or experimental research to present engineering and economic problem solution models that deal with symmetry or asymmetry of different data types. The Special Issue gained interest in the research community and received many submissions. After rigorous scientific evaluation by editors and reviewers, seventeen papers were accepted and published. The authors proposed different solution models, mainly covering uncertain data in multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) problems as complex tools to balance the symmetry between goals, risks, and constraints to cope with the complicated problems in engineering or management. Therefore, we invite researchers interested in the topics to read the papers provided in the book

A multi-attribute data mining model for rule extraction and service operations benchmarking

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.Purpose Customer differences and similarities play a crucial role in service operations, and service industries need to develop various strategies for different customer types. This study aims to understand the behavioral pattern of customers in the banking industry by proposing a hybrid data mining approach with rule extraction and service operation benchmarking. Design/methodology/approach The authors analyze customer data to identify the best customers using a modified recency, frequency and monetary (RFM) model and K-means clustering. The number of clusters is determined with a two-step K-means quality analysis based on the Silhouette, Davies–Bouldin and Calinski–Harabasz indices and the evaluation based on distance from average solution (EDAS). The best–worst method (BWM) and the total area based on orthogonal vectors (TAOV) are used next to sort the clusters. Finally, the associative rules and the Apriori algorithm are used to derive the customers' behavior patterns. Findings As a result of implementing the proposed approach in the financial service industry, customers were segmented and ranked into six clusters by analyzing 20,000 records. Furthermore, frequent customer financial behavior patterns were recognized based on demographic characteristics and financial transactions of customers. Thus, customer types were classified as highly loyal, loyal, high-interacting, low-interacting and missing customers. Eventually, appropriate strategies for interacting with each customer type were proposed. Originality/value The authors propose a novel hybrid multi-attribute data mining approach for rule extraction and the service operations benchmarking approach by combining data mining tools with a multilayer decision-making approach. The proposed hybrid approach has been implemented in a large-scale problem in the financial services industry

An integrated and comprehensive fuzzy multicriteria model for supplier selection in digital supply chains

Digital supply chains (DSCs) are collaborative digital systems designed to quickly and efficiently move information, products, and services through global supply chains. The physical flow of products in traditional supply chains is replaced by the digital flow of information in DSCs. This digitalization has changed the conventional supplier selection processes. We propose an integrated and comprehensive fuzzy multicriteria model for supplier selection in DSCs. The proposed model integrates the fuzzy best-worst method (BWM) with the fuzzy multi-objective optimization based on ratio analysis plus full multiplicative form (MULTIMOORA), fuzzy complex proportional assessment of alternatives (COPRAS), and fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS). The fuzzy BWM approach is used to measure the importance weights of the digital criteria. The fuzzy MULTIMOORA, fuzzy COPRAS, and fuzzy TOPSIS methods are used as prioritization methods to rank the suppliers. The maximize agreement heuristic (MAH) is used to aggregate the supplier rankings obtained from the prioritization methods into a consensus ranking. We present a real-world case study in a manufacturing company to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed method

Fuzzy Techniques for Decision Making 2018

Zadeh's fuzzy set theory incorporates the impreciseness of data and evaluations, by imputting the degrees by which each object belongs to a set. Its success fostered theories that codify the subjectivity, uncertainty, imprecision, or roughness of the evaluations. Their rationale is to produce new flexible methodologies in order to model a variety of concrete decision problems more realistically. This Special Issue garners contributions addressing novel tools, techniques and methodologies for decision making (inclusive of both individual and group, single- or multi-criteria decision making) in the context of these theories. It contains 38 research articles that contribute to a variety of setups that combine fuzziness, hesitancy, roughness, covering sets, and linguistic approaches. Their ranges vary from fundamental or technical to applied approaches

Multi-Objective and Multi-Attribute Optimisation for Sustainable Development Decision Aiding

Optimization is considered as a decision-making process for getting the most out of available resources for the best attainable results. Many real-world problems are multi-objective or multi-attribute problems that naturally involve several competing objectives that need to be optimized simultaneously, while respecting some constraints or involving selection among feasible discrete alternatives. In this Reprint of the Special Issue, 19 research papers co-authored by 88 researchers from 14 different countries explore aspects of multi-objective or multi-attribute modeling and optimization in crisp or uncertain environments by suggesting multiple-attribute decision-making (MADM) and multi-objective decision-making (MODM) approaches. The papers elaborate upon the approaches of state-of-the-art case studies in selected areas of applications related to sustainable development decision aiding in engineering and management, including construction, transportation, infrastructure development, production, and organization management

An integrated model for supplier evaluation in supply chains

U ovom radu predložen je model za vrednovanje i izbor dobavljača koji je razmatran u više od deset različitih proizvodnih oblasti. Model se sastoji od dvadeset kvantitavnih i kvalitativnih kriterijuma koji su primenom fuzzy AHP (Analitičko Hijerarhijski Proces) metode, a na osnovu ocenjivanja menadžera proizvodnih kompanija smanjeni na ukupno devet. Verifikacija datog modela predstavljena je kroz vrednovanje i izbor dobavljača u tri kompanije koje se bave različitom delatnošću. Pored doprinosa koji se ogleda u primenjivosti razvijenog modela u različitim lancima snabdevanja, veliki doprinos ovog rada je razvoj novih pristupa u oblasti višekriterijumskog odlučivanja koji može biti primenjen u svim lancima snabdevanja, naročito u procesima u kojima vladaju neizvesnosti i nejasnoće što je detaljno objašnjeno kroz rad.In this paper, a model for evaluation and supplier selection has been proposed, which has been considered in more than ten different production areas. The model consists of twenty quantitative and qualitative criteria which are reduced to a total of nine by the application of the fuzzy AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) method and the assessment of managers in production companies. The verification of the given model is presented through the evaluation and supplier selection in three companies that deal with different activities. In addition to the contribution reflected in the applicability of the developed model in various supply chains, the great contribution of this paper is the development of new approaches in the field of multi-criteria decision making that can be applied in all supply chains, especially in processes that are subject to uncertainty and vagueness, which is explained in detail through the work

Uncertain Multi-Criteria Optimization Problems

Most real-world search and optimization problems naturally involve multiple criteria as objectives. Generally, symmetry, asymmetry, and anti-symmetry are basic characteristics of binary relationships used when modeling optimization problems. Moreover, the notion of symmetry has appeared in many articles about uncertainty theories that are employed in multi-criteria problems. Different solutions may produce trade-offs (conflicting scenarios) among different objectives. A better solution with respect to one objective may compromise other objectives. There are various factors that need to be considered to address the problems in multidisciplinary research, which is critical for the overall sustainability of human development and activity. In this regard, in recent decades, decision-making theory has been the subject of intense research activities due to its wide applications in different areas. The decision-making theory approach has become an important means to provide real-time solutions to uncertainty problems. Theories such as probability theory, fuzzy set theory, type-2 fuzzy set theory, rough set, and uncertainty theory, available in the existing literature, deal with such uncertainties. Nevertheless, the uncertain multi-criteria characteristics in such problems have not yet been explored in depth, and there is much left to be achieved in this direction. Hence, different mathematical models of real-life multi-criteria optimization problems can be developed in various uncertain frameworks with special emphasis on optimization problems

Sustainable Construction Engineering and Management

This Book is a Printed Edition of the Special Issue which covers sustainability as an emerging requirement in the fields of construction management, project management and engineering. We invited authors to submit their theoretical or experimental research articles that address the challenges and opportunities for sustainable construction in all its facets, including technical topics and specific operational or procedural solutions, as well as strategic approaches aimed at the project, company or industry level. Central to developments are smart technologies and sophisticated decision-making mechanisms that augment sustainable outcomes. The Special Issue was received with great interest by the research community and attracted a high number of submissions. The selection process sought to balance the inclusion of a broad representative spread of topics against research quality, with editors and reviewers settling on thirty-three articles for publication. The Editors invite all participating researchers and those interested in sustainable construction engineering and management to read the summary of the Special Issue and of course to access the full-text articles provided in the Book for deeper analyses