Manufacturing strategy incorporated in aggregate production planning through a multi-objective linear programming model

Aggregate Planning activity is a relevant stage of the production planning process and has been regularly discussed in the literature for almost 50 years. It seeks to suggest a production strategy in order to meet demand, given capacity constraints. This paper presents a model based on multi criteria decision analysis to overcome the problem of aggregate planning. This decision model takes into account performance objectives obtained in the manufacturing strategy planning process. To do so, the decision maker chooses the most appropriate combination of resources to meet foreseen demand, in accordance with trade-offs amongst the performance objectives. Therefore the resulting aggregate plan refl ects the competitive factors of the business. That is, the proposed decision model allows the implementation of the manufacturing strategy by the production function

A MULTICRITERIA DECISION MODEL FOR SELECTING A PORTFOLIO OF OIL AND GAS EXPLORATION PROJECTS

ABSTRACT. As well as exploratory activity being at the heart of and guiding the future of the oil industry, it is fundamental that there be a comprehensive analysis covering the various factors and nuances that arise in the selection of exploration projects. Moreover, it is essential that a decision model enables the decisionmaker's preferences to be addressed in a structured (and methodologically correct) way, and one which is easy to understand and to apply in a real-world. Therefore, this paper proposes a multicriteria decision model which underpins using a deterministic procedure for selecting a portfolio of oil and gas exploration projects and thereafter a reality-based application is set out, based on a decision making context within Petrobras

Integrated Model of Problem Structuring and Multicriteria Group Decision Making for Social Sustainable Development

Many social decisions in the real world are characterized by deep complexity, not only in terms of economic aspects, but also dealing with sustainability policy problems. Indeed, the emphasis to find a solution by representing the situation and its relationships in a decision problem only mathematically, focused simply in restricts views, is not enough. Nowadays, to make a social decision is imperative to promote a group discussion to find a sustainable solution and to input more emotional arguments into the problem. However, although there are several methods of problem structuring (soft OR) and methods to evaluate the problem (hard OR), there are still few works dealing with the integration of these two approaches. This paper proposes a group decision model, integrating tools of problem structuring and multicriteria evaluation. The problem structuring approach is used to facilitate and to share information starting from the participative development, as a way to generate alternative ideas of solution and to improve the learning process among all the involved members. The multicriteria evaluation is used to find a global solution for the problem, incorporating the points of view of all members involved in the decision process. The purpose of this model is to generate a richer and more effective way of handling the problem situation.

Electronic Government: a Multi-Criterion Approach to Prioritizing Projects by Integrating Balanced Scorecard Methodology Indicators

Electronic Government is a term that refers to governmental policies and strategies, as well as to concrete initiatives that represent a government’s commitment to Management by means of the intensive use of Information Technology (IT). Since public managers are being increasingly pressed to find ways of reducing costs and improving results, it is important to observe that the potential benefits of Electronic Government are linked to costs and risks that must be balanced and carefully monitored. This study proposes a multi-criterion model so as to prioritize Electronic Government projects, the scope of which is to provide electronic services from Government to Citizen - G2C (initiatives on behalf of citizens and companies). Particularly in the phase of structuring a problem, the model proposed makes use of a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) in the context of Multiple Criteria Decision-aid (MCDA). To illustrate how to apply the model, simulations using the PROMETHEE method were conducted. The study demonstrated that, in the context of the governance model proposed, some conditions should be taken into account in order to integrate the use of BSC and MCDA. The model can be applied to public and private organizations, irrespective of the area of activity, with minimal adaptation

Prioritizing Complex Issues of Hydrographic Basin Committees by Group Decision Approach

In Brazil, the hydrographic basin committees are the centre of decision for water resource management in their respective basins. The committee members, who represent the public sector, water users and civil society, must decide about complex issues, requesting the consideration of multiple aspects: economic, social and environmental. Given the complexity of the decision-making process, it is advantageous to have a decision support system that guarantees transparency, rapidness and, specially, a structured analysis of the problem, incorporating all aspects of the situation. This paper presents a group decision making model based on multicriteria analyses to support the members of a hydrographic basin committee to prioritize complex issues, in special activities to control the environmental degradation The proposed model works through two steps: firstly is used the PROMETHEE II method to achieve the individual rankings of alternatives, and secondly, the individual rankings of alternatives are aggregated to attain the global ranking, applying the ELECTRE IV method, reflecting the preference of the group

PROMETHEE-ROC Model for Assessing the Readiness of Technology for Generating Energy

This paper puts forward a proposal for a multicriteria decision model for prioritizing technologies that are critical for power generation in the energy sector. It deals with the context of imprecise information regarding importance of criteria; then an integration of surrogate weights with the PROMETHEE method is undertaken in order to approach this context. In this type of strategic decision problem, how to deal with imprecise information is always a challenge. The use of surrogate weights presents a significant contribution and it can facilitate the assignment of weights in a decision ranking problem, which requires the decision-maker (DM) to order the criteria by their importance for the decision problem. Thus for this situation of assessing the readiness of technology for generating energy where the DM is able and feels comfortable to order all criteria by their relative importance, the proposed approach of surrogate weights in the PROMETHEE II method, the PROMETHEE-ROC model, is shown to be an adequate approach

Sorting subcontractors’ activities in construction projects with a novel Additive-veto sorting approach

Selection processes in civil engineering infrastructure projects might require more time and effort than the decisionmakers involved in these projects are normally prepared to devote to running them. A novel approach is proposed to sort these activities into classes that represent their impact on the project, namely additive-veto sorting model, which should be considered before any bidding procedure. Therefore, problems regarding the client’s satisfaction caused by subcontractors can be avoided, and the decision-makers involved in the selection problem can devote to each class an effort compatible with the impact that activity might have on the project. The novelty of this method is that it was built to reflect the quasi-compensatory rationality of decision-makers in the construction industry; it provides them with insights on subcontractors’ activities, and it is grounded on and inspired by a real case study. The new parameters proposed within this model introduce the idea of vetoing an activity being assigned to a class when this activity is incompatible with the decision-maker’s preferences. By using this novel method, the authors succeeded in finding results that avoided a complete compensation amongst the factors considered, taking into account ranges that would be of significant importance in the decision process

Multi-criteria model for classifying clients of companies distributing liquefied petroleum gas

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) is a fossil fuel that has been attracting a lot of attention in national and global markets because of its logistical versatility, its calorific power, and because it emits a low level of pollutants. The history of its exploitation in the sharply competitive Brazilian market has been marked by various crises which made the exploitation of LPG an activity that has been subject to a number of uncertainties. The product is in the production chain of different market segments and is an important component in the national energy matrix. As a result of this, the process of classifying consumers by LPG distributors is a strategic task and subject to a set of criteria that need to be observed. In this context, this article concentrates on multi-criteria modeling in order to resolve the problematic of classifying clients in a LPG distribution company. A model is proposed based on the ELECTRE TRI method and the aim is to allocate the portfolio of clients to a set of ranked classes.