Safety Grade Evaluation of Aqueduct Structure Based on Fuzzy Cloud Theory Analysis

In view of the limitation of natural conversion between qualitative concept and quantitative value, the fuzzy analysis method cannot be employed to improve the multi-stage fuzzy evaluation method. Improvement of multilevel fuzzy evaluation method based on cloud theory was found, which could comprehensively consider the uncertainty of random combinations and the fuzziness of interaction between influencing factors, and the shortcomings of conventional fuzzy evaluation methods as well eliminated. The structure of 5#U-aqueduct in Jingdian Irrigation District (Gansu, China) was chosen as the research object. Based on the multi-level fuzzy evaluation index system of structural safety, experts were invited to score the importance of factors according to the cloud theory scale criterion to establish a judgment matrix. Therefore, the evaluation set, weight and membership cloud model of evaluation system was constituted by means of bridge safety assessment criterion and cloud generator principle. Furthermore, comprehensive evaluation results of aqueduct service states were obtained by multistage fuzzy composite mapping method, and the actual position of structural safety grade was obtained by comparing the evaluation result with the comment layer cloud drop diagram. The results showed that using cloud model parameters (Ex, En and He) to describe the relative importance of factors can better reflect the randomness and fuzziness of each other than the traditional single number, which was helpful to get the evaluation results accurately and objectively; The comprehensive evaluation results of the aqueduct structure obtained by calculation were WV(75.149, 9.95, 4.16).The simulated cloud droplet diagram was located between II and III classes, and tends to the III standard, which indicated that the overall security of the structure was sufferable. However, attention should be paid to the maintenance and repair of the detailed components. The consequences agreed with the evaluation results of the experts, which indicates that the improved evaluation method has good practicability as well as can be popularized and applied

Ontology-based context-sensitive software security knowledge management modeling

The disconcerting increase in the number of security attacks on software calls for an imminent need for including secure development practices within the software development life cycle. The software security management system has received considerable attention lately and various efforts have been made in this direction. However, security is usually only considered in the early stages of the development of software. Thus, this leads to stating other vulnerabilities from a security perspective. Moreover, despite the abundance of security knowledge available online and in books, the systems that are being developed are seldom sufficiently secure. In this paper, we have highlighted the need for including application context sensitive modeling within a case-based software security management system. Furthermore, we have taken the context-driven and ontology-based frameworks and prioritized their attributes according to their weights which were achieved by using the Fuzzy AHP methodology

AHP Model for Selection of Sustainable Energy: A Focus on Power Generation and Supplying for End-users

AHP is one of important technology management tools for decision making that is used during technology selection process, and applied prior to acquisition of a new technology. In the last decade, AHP was discussed by numerous studies, covering wide-variety of areas, focusing on many criteria and sub-criteria, for the purposes of selecting, allocating, evaluating, or benchmarking different alternatives of technology. The use of AHP for selecting the source of renewable energy as the alternative for the non-renewable source of energy is important, especially to the environmental conscious’ end-users, or those who are living in the rural area. However, in the field of sustainable energy, AHP application for power generation focusing on the end-users is still limited. As a result, this study aims to develop an AHP model, by investigating the suitable group of criteria, sub-criteria, and alternatives that will suit the needs of the end-users. This model will helps the relevant parties to identify the most suitable sources of technology for power generation to solve the end-users’ needs. To do this, secondary data were collected from the relevant empirical studies. Based on the descriptive analysis, it was found that the previous studies have ranked and prioritized each of these criteria, sub-criteria, and alternatives differently, which implies a specific AHP model for the end-users should be developed. With the findings, this study has developed an AHP model comprising of four major criteria, each with three sub-criteria, and five alternatives. This model is being verified by an ongoing research in Malaysia

Evaluation of transport options from KMS shaft to the mill at Obuasi mine, Anglogold Ashanti

The underground mine at AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine in Ghana currently transports about 175,000 tpm from four shafts to the mill. Two major shafts, Kwesi Mensah Shaft (KMS) and Kwesi Renner Shaft (KRS) handle about 85-90% of this total tonnage. Transfer of ore from all the shafts to the mill is largely by means of contractor trucks. The mill is approximately 2.8 km and 1.5 km by road from KMS and KRS shafts respectively. Earlier plans to introduce a surface conveyor to the mill were found not to be economically viable largely due to the lower production level prevailing at that time. The objectives at that time were to decrease cost, improve availability and security, and to limit the numerous problems associated with contractor trucking. The current Business Plan indicates a phased increase in the underground production from 175,000 tpm up to 220,000 tpm. The extra tonnage is to feed the new Tailings Sulphide Plant (TSP), located adjacent to the existing mill. With the plan to increase underground production, and the need to decrease cost and improve efficiency against the current financial downturn, this project serves to review the four ore transfer options that link the shafts to the mill. The options are the continued usage of contractor trucks, purchase mine-owned trucks, use surface or underground conveyors. The factors to be used in the selection process were categorised under economic, environmental and technical parameters. Secondly the options were multiple and consequently the appropriate selection method was the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). This is a Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methodology which is a widely used technique. The AHP is a very simple, structured and easily understandable method in which both non-numerical and numerical data are considered in the selection processes with multiple options, where the need for optimization is paramount. The overall observation by the experts’ favoured surface conveyors. However, the issue of capital in the present regime of the Obuasi mine, makes it quite difficult to obtain management approval in the immediate future. The surface conveyor however, has the potential to make adequate returns. From the financial analysis showing a six to ten year payback period in a mining environment, other forms of finance could be considered. Alternatively, the next highest ranking option, which is contractor trucking could be used but with two contractors. This would introduce competition which could improve cost and availability. This is the first time that a more structured approach has been used for equipment selection at Obuasi

Usage of Structural Equation Modeling and Analytical Hierarchy Process Approach to Select Information Technology

Progressive change is an accurate way to describe the advancement of information technology (IT) throughout the 1990s. As IT continues to evolve, the ways in which companies do business are also changing. The emergence ofthe Internet as a business venue, the growing percentage of consumers accessing the Web, and the increasing number of households equipped with a PC or other Web-access device are speeding IT's rate of change. The industries especially banking and financial services industries (BFSI) are heavily supported by IT and technology vendor for their service oriented business. It indicates that choosing the right vendor remains a critical success factor for every enterprise's business success. Selection of the best possible set of vendors not only allow organisations to downsize and utilise resources more effectively, but also allows themto take advantage of the capabilities andtechnologies of the vendors. The vendor selection process can be a very complicated and emotional undertaking if the approach from the very beginning is not known. The purpose ofthis research is to identify the required criteria for selecting the best vendor for information technology (IT) process and provide a vendor selection model including these criteria by using the structural equation modeling (SEM) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP). To demonstrate the above model and also, to arrive at vendor selection scores, the vendor selection for mobile banking application was considered as an example. The developed model is a generic one considering the global economic turmoil and the amount ofpressure on banking &financial services industries (BFSI), where IT is the backbone of the BFSI; In any future studies the model could be applied in making other strategic decisions like IT outsourcing, ERP (enterprise resource planning) implementation vendor selection etc. V

Sustainable Maintenance Strategy for Wood Windows Defects

Regular maintenance and repair of window systems in the existing building stock provide both resource and energy savings. While planning the maintenance strategy of window systems that offer benefit in terms of two different aspects, first of all, the possible damage types should be known. Then, what is the damage to the scope of this study? The question was investigated, and the causes and types of defects in the wooden windows were listed. The proposed maintenance planning method is based on 5 tools. The tools that can be used for maintenance planning are listed in the literature. First, the defect levels of the wood windows were specified and then the AHP method was used to select among the alternative maintenance according to the severity of the defect. The study was planned according to the 6 Sigma tool. Firstly, the causes of the defects were investigated and then these defects were evaluated by assigning numbers to each defect by experts. Finally, the AHP method was used to select the right alternative among proposed maintenance alternatives according to the level of defects. By using this simple method while choosing the window maintenance strategy according to the demands, wrong decision-making will be prevented

A BRIEF ASSESSMENT OF ROMANIA’S COMPETITIVE LEVEL

The central issue of this papaer is linked to competitiveness, in the context of integration in European Union. Big economic-social changes linket to: GLOBALISATION, FREE-TRADE, BUSINESS’ INTERNATIONALIZATION, TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION makes today cometitiveness problems to become the problem number one, of surviving, for all leaders and economic and political decission factors.competitiveness, fuzzy clustering, economic performance

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