Adapting EFQM Excellence Model for Public Transport Operators: A Case of IETT, Istanbul's Public Bus Operator

There are several management approaches being utilized in public transport operators to achieve organizational performance. EFQM excellence model, promoted by the European Foundation for Quality Management, helps organizations achieve sustainable excellence with its holistic management framework. One of the most outstanding features of EFQM model is its balanced and holistic perspective for organizational performance based on continuous improvement approach to exceed the stakeholders' expectations. In this study, we examine the way EFQM excellence model has been adapted and implemented for urban public transport operators through a case study of Istanbul's public bus operator, IETT. The results of the case demonstrate the adaptation processes of the fundamental concepts of the model to a public transport operator's organizational context, thus, providing an applicable management model for other public transport operators as well. EFQM excellence model has been adopted for the first time in a public transport company, therefore the results have significant implications to enhance quality initiatives in public transport operators, in particular, and urban mobility, in general

Interval type-2 fuzzy sets based multi-criteria decision-making model for offshore wind farm development in Ireland.

Offshore wind energy takes up an important place in Ireland’s renewable generation portfolio thanks to its abundant offshore wind resource. Optimal offshore site selection and developing site-specific energy policy instruments are of key importance to the success of offshore wind energy investments. In this respect, this study aims at developing a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model considering technical, economic, environmental and social criteria to assess Ireland’s most promising offshore wind sites in terms of their sustainable development. An interval type-2 fuzzy sets based MCDM model is developed that integrates the score function with positive and negative solutions to achieve better results. Moreover, advanced energy economic metrics such as levelized cost of electricity with higher resolution are integrated into the decision-making process to make more precise decisions. Case studies are conducted for the five of the offshore sites in development pipeline. Results are compared to those of other state-of-the-art MCDM methods. It is found that Arklow Bank-2 is the most favorable site while Sceirde is the least site. The ranking of other sites is found to be Oriel>Dublin Array>Codling Park. It is shown that the proposed approach is superior in terms of stability and implementation as compared to its counterparts

A hybrid power heronian function-based multi-criteria decision-making model for workplace charging scheduling algorithms.

This study proposes a new multi-criteria decision-making model to determine the best smart charging scheduling that meets electric vehicle (EV) user considerations at work-places. An optimal charging station model is incorporated into the decision-making for a quantitative evaluation. The proposed model is based on a hybrid Power Heronian functions in which the linear normalization method is improved by applying the inverse sorting algorithm for rational and objective decision-making. This enables EV users to specify and evaluate multi-criteria for considering their aspects at workplaces. Five different charging scheduling algorithms with AC dual port L2 and DC fast charging electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) are investigated. Based on EV users from the field, the required charging time, EVSE occupancy, the number of EVSE units, and user flexibility are found to have the highest importance degree, while charging cost has the lowest importance degree. The experimental results show that, in terms of meeting EV users' considerations at workplaces, scheduling EVs based on their charging energy needs performs better as compared to scheduling them by their arrival and departure times. While the scheduling alternatives display similar ranking behavior for both EVSE types, the best alternative may differ for the EVSE type. To validate the proposed model, a comparison against three traditional models is performed. It is demonstrated that the proposed model yields the same ranking order as the alternative approaches. Sensitivity analysis validates the best and worst scheduling alternatives

Interval type-2 hesitant fuzzy set method for improving the service quality of domestic airlines in Turkey

This study investigates the level of service quality of domestic airlines in Turkey travelling between Istanbul and London and compares those airline companies according to a set of predetermined criteria. A practical multi-criteria decision making approach combining hesitant and interval type 2 fuzzy sets is adopted and proposed for assessing the service quality of airline companies. The main finding of this study is that passengers care for service prioritization and personalization for a better flight experience and important differences occur in the service quality among the airline companies. Hence, handling of customer complaints, flight problems and individual attention could provide better insights for improving the service quality

A new rough ordinal priority-based decision support system for purchasing electric vehicles.

This study proposes a novel multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model based on a rough extension of the Ordinal Priority Approach (OPA) to determine the order of importance of users' perspectives on Electric Vehicle (EV) purchases. Unlike conventional methods that rely on predefined ranks for criteria weighting coefficients, the proposed rough OPA method employs an aggregated rough linguistic matrix, enabling a more precise and unbiased calculation of interval values. Moreover, the model addresses inherent uncertainties by incorporating nonlinear aggregation functions, accommodating decision makers' risk attitudes for flexible decision-making. To validate the model's efficacy, a large-scale post-EV test drive survey is conducted, enabling the determination of relative criterion importance. Sensitivity analysis confirms the robustness of the model, demonstrating that marginal changes in parameters do not alter the ranking order. The results unveil the significance of the reliability criterion and reveal that vehicle-related characteristics outweigh economic and environmental attributes in the decision-making process. Overall, this innovative MCDM model contributes to a more accurate and objective analysis, enhancing the understanding of users' preferences and supporting informed decision-making in EV purchases

A rough Dombi Bonferroni based approach for public charging station type selection.

As the transition to electric mobility accelerates, charging infrastructure is rapidly expanding. Publicly accessible chargers, also known as electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), are critical not only for further promoting the transition but also for mitigating charger access anxiety among electric vehicle (EV) users. It is essential to install the proper EVSE configuration that meets the EV user's various considerations. This study presents a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework for determining the best performing public EVSE type from multiple EV user perspectives. The proposed approach combines a new MCDM model with an optimal public charging station model. While the optimal model outputs are used to evaluate the quantitative criteria, the MCDM model assesses EV users' evaluations of the qualitative criteria using nonlinear Bonferroni functions extended by rough Dombi norms. The proposed MCDM has standardization parameters with a flexible rough boundary interval, allowing for flexible and rational decision-making. The model is tested using real public EVSE charging data and EV users' evaluations from the field. All public EVSE alternatives are studied. Among the five EVSE options, DCFC EVSE is found to be the best performing, whereas three-phase AC L2 is the least performing option. In terms of EV user preferences, the required charging time is found to have the highest degree of importance, while V2G capability is the least important. The comparative analysis with state-of-the-art MCDM methods validates the proposed model results. Finally, sensitivity analysis verified the ranking order