Housing Ranking: a model of equilibrium between buyers and sellers expectations

The equilibrium set of housing units (alternatives) can be characterized from the standpoint of both the demander and the supplier. The current work describes an application of the multicriteria single price model to the ranking of alternatives. By a generalization of the single price model and from both viewpoints an efficiency index can be calculated. We demonstrate how, in equilibrium, the two viewpoints result inevitably in inverse orders of ranking. The model is illustrated by a sample of housing units in the city of Valencia, Spain.

Selection of industrial robots using the Polygons area method

Selection of robots from the several proposed alternatives is a very important and tedious task. Decision makers are not limited to one method and several methods have been proposed for solving this problem. This study presents Polygons Area Method (PAM) as a multi attribute decision making method for robot selection problem. In this method, the maximum polygons area obtained from the attributes of an alternative robot on the radar chart is introduced as a decision-making criterion. The results of this method are compared with other typical multiple attribute decision-making methods (SAW, WPM, TOPSIS, and VIKOR) by giving two examples. To find similarity in ranking given by different methods, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients are obtained for different pairs of MADM methods. It was observed that the introduced method is in good agreement with other well-known MADM methods in the robot selection problem

Supplier evaluation in manufacturing environment using compromise ranking method with grey interval numbers

Evaluation of proper supplier for manufacturing organizations is one of the most challenging problems in real time manufacturing environment due to a wide variety of customer demands. It has become more and more complicated to meet the challenges of international competitiveness and as the decision makers need to assess a wide range of alternative suppliers based on a set of conflicting criteria. Thus, the main objective of supplier selection is to select highly potential supplier through which all the set goals regarding the purchasing and manufacturing activity can be achieved. Because of these reasons, supplier selection has got considerable attention by the academicians and researchers. This paper presents a combined multi-criteria decision making methodology for supplier evaluation for given industrial applications. The proposed methodology is based on a compromise ranking method combined with Grey Interval Numbers considering different cardinal and ordinal criteria and their relative importance. A ‘supplier selection index’ is also proposed to help evaluation and ranking the alternative suppliers. Two examples are illustrated to demonstrate the potentiality and applicability of the proposed method

Environmental Concerns in Water Pricing Policy:Â Â an Application of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

Water management is subject to conflicting economic and environmental objectives, and policymakers require a clear overview of the different outcomes derived from different water management options. The aim of this paper is to assess the efficiency of several irrigation water pricing policies with a special focus on their environmental implications. Irrigation is chosen here as a crucial sector of water use in large parts of southern Europe, where pressure on the resource is expected to increase due to climate change. A novel methodological approach for performing an ex ante analysis of alternative water pricing policies is proposed here, where environmental and technical performance are simultaneously considered. This approach takes place in two steps: the first is a simulation of alternative water policies through a mathematical programming model, and the second is the analysis of results by using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique. A case study is applied in Puglia (southern Italy), where irrigation is the primary factor of strategic relevance for policymakers regarding water management. Our results show that on the one hand alternative pricing policies perform similarly in terms of technical efficiency and environmental efficiency. On the other hand, inefficiency appears to depend mainly on technical rather than environmental concerns. According to the assigned weights, through the DEA technique, the highest improvement for inefficient options may be obtained by better labour use. We conclude that the proposed approach may be a comprehensive and versatile framework for water policy analysis, offering a tool for supporting the decision-making process.Irrigation, Policy assessment, Efficiency, Data Envelopment Analysis, Linear Programming

A Comparative Analysis of TOPSIS & VIKOR Methods in the Selection of Industrial Robots

Now-a-days robots are very essential in manufacturing industries for the optimization of their production. So selection of an industrial robot for a particular application is one of the most vital problems in real time manufacturing environment. The decision maker needs to choose the most suitable and applicable industrial robot in order to get the required output with minimum cost and having the specific abilities. This paper mainly focuses to compare the different multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) methods such as TOPSIS and VIKOR Method for selection of alternative industrial robots. Both the methods are based on an aggregating function that represents closeness to the ideal solution. VIKOR method is based on linear normalization whereas TOPSIS method used vector normalization to eliminate the units of criterion functions. A solution obtained by TOPSIS method has the shortest distance from the ideal one and farthest from the negative ideal solution. VIKOR method helps to determine a compromise solution that gives a maximum group utility for the majority and minimum for opponents

A hybrid multiple attribute decision making method for solving problems of industrial environment

The selection of appropriate alternative in the industrial environment is an important but, at the same time, a complex and difficult problem because of the availability of a wide range of alternatives and similarity among them. Therefore, there is a need for simple, systematic, and logical methods or mathematical tools to guide decision makers in considering a number of selection attributes and their interrelations. In this paper, a hybrid decision making method of graph theory and matrix approach (GTMA) and analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is proposed. Three examples are presented to illustrate the potential of the proposed GTMA-AHP method and the results are compared with the results obtained using other decision making methods

Application of Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) Approached on Teachers' Performance Evaluation and Appraisal

Education quality is the ultimate result of significant contribution by each stake holder in an education system. However, it is believed that faculty quality has direct bearing on improving and sustaining quality in education. Teacher’s performance evaluation is nothing but a Multi Criteria Decision Making Problem (MCDM). There are several quality attributes that influence the efficiency of a potential teacher while guiding his/her students towards a positive and value added academic outcome. However, the extent of significance of quality attributes may vary from individuals’ viewpoint. In other words, different attributes may have different weightage according to their priority of significance while evaluating quality/performance level of a teacher. But there is no clear-cut methodology for assigning this priority weightage for the attributes. Therefore, expert opinion is indeed required to estimate those attribute weightage values. In the present reporting, a methodology adapted from Multi-Criteria-Decision Making (MCDM) has been proposed in order to evaluate performance of a teacher. Grey relational analysis has been explored in order to prioritize quality attributes that are expected to influence performance level of a teacher. Based on COPRAS- method, numerical values (interval scores) on different attributes assigned for a group of teachers (multiplied by individual weightage) have been accumulated to compute an overall quality estimate indicating performance level of individual teachers. Application feasibility as well as efficiency of this method and guidelines in solving such a multi-attribute decision making problem has been described illustratively in this paper

AN INTEGRATED DECISION-MAKING MODEL FOR EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS OF THE FORKLIFTS IN WAREHOUSING SYSTEMS

In the logistics world, special attention should be given to warehousing systems, cost rationalization, and improvement of all the factors that affect efficiency and contribute to smooth functioning of logistics subsystems. In real time industrial practice, the issue of evaluating and selecting the most appropriate forklift involves a complex decision-making problem that should be formulated through an efficient analytical model. The forklifts efficiency plays a very important role in the company. The forklifts are being used on a daily basis and no logistical processes could be done without them. Therefore, it has been decided to determine their efficiency, which will contribute to the optimization of the process in this logistics subsystem. This study puts forward an integrated forklift selection model using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), Full Consistency Method (FUCOM) and Measurement Alternatives and Ranking According to the Compromise Solution (MARCOS) methods. Five input parameters (regular servicing costs, fuel costs, exceptional servicing costs, total number of all minor accidents and damage caused by forklifts) and one output parameter (number of operating hours) were first identified to assess efficiency of eight forklifts in a warehousing system of the Natron-Hayat company using the DEA model. This step allows sorting of efficient forklifts which are subsequently evaluated and ranked using FUCOM and MARCOS methods. A sensitivity analysis is also performed in order to check reliability and accuracy of the results. The findings of this research clearly show that the proposed decision-making model can significantly contribute to all spheres of business applications