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The SCOPUS and Wed of Science bibliometric databases were searched for papers related to the use of multi-criteria methods in civil engineering related disciplines. The results were analyzed for information on the reported geographical distribution of usage, the methods used, the application areas with most usage and the software tools used. There was a wide geographical distribution of usage with all northern hemisphere continents well represented. However, of the very many methods available, a small number seemed to dominate usage, with the Analytic Hierarchy Process being the most frequently used. The application areas represented in the documents found was not widely spread and mainly seemed to be focused on issues such as sustainability, environment, risk, safety and to some extent project management, with less usage on other areas. This may be due to individual engineer's choices in relation to if and how to disseminate the results of their work and to their choice of keywords and titles that determine if their publications are selected in bibliographic searches and thus more visible to a wider readership. A comparison with more topic focused searches, relating to Bridge Design, Earthquake Engineering, Cladding, Sewage Treatment, Foundation design, Truss design, Water Supply, Building Energy, Route selection and Transport mode showed very different results. Analysis of the papers in this area indicated that the full range of supporting software available for multi-criteria decision analysis (many listed in this paper) may not be fully appreciated by potential users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to develop a decision support tool to improve planning for the rehabilitation of water distribution networks (WDN) using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method and the urgency level score. Design/methodology/approach: In this paper the AHP method was used to outclass the indicators having a strong influence on the deterioration of the pipes and the score of the level of urgency is calculated to establish the rehabilitation program (short, medium and long term). The proposed model was tested for the case of the city of Souk-Ahras in Algeria. Findings: Based on the judgments of twenty-four experts, the relative weights of the three physical, operational and environmental criteria of the pipeline were calculated and found to be equal to 35.40%, 55.60% and 9.00%, respectively. The two indicators, number of failures and pressure, were found to have the highest overall weights. The results of this article can be used to improve decision-making in WDN rehabilitation planning in Algeria. Research limitations/implications: The main objective of water companies is to provide citizens with good quality drinking water in sufficient quantity. However, over time, WDN age, degrade and deteriorate. This degradation leads to a drop in the performance through the degradation of water quality and an increase in loss rates. WDN rehabilitation is one of the most widely adopted solutions to address these drawbacks. Originality/value: Application of a hybrid method (AHP- Level of Emergency) for the planning of the rehabilitation of WDN in Algeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Wildland Fire Science is the property of Journal of Wildland Fire Science Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The paper proposes a Model of priority ranking of cadastral parcels for planning the implementation of urban consolidation, which is a continuation of the published research on the assessment of fragmentation and assessment bonitet values of cadastral parcels. The research deals with one segment of the Spatial Decision Support System and is one process in the planning of urban consolidation. Comparison criteria were identified for the evaluation and priority ranking of cadastral parcels. The subject of the research is private cadastral parcels in the area of large public project construction. The goal of the research is to find the optimal way to compare conflicting and incomparable criteria for the evaluation of private cadastral parcels and, at the same time, a way of fitting the opinions of stakeholders in the implementation planning process of urban consolidation. Due to the complexity of the task and realizing certain spatial criteria, unique models were developed. Special attention was paid to the participatory approach to problem-solving, in which all groups of stakeholders were identified, and the way of expressing their views was defined. The Complex proportional assessment (COPRAS) method and the Analytic Hierarchy Process method (AHP) methods were used to solve the problem. The defined models were tested in the field of construction of a large public project Campus at the University of Split. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the location and relocation decision problem of temporary shelters under uncertain damage situations in humanitarian relief contexts. The article proposes a multicriteria decision support framework based on fuzzy sets, analytic hierarchy process, technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution, and weighted goal programming to address the issue of temporary shelter planning. The paper formulates a multiobjective location–relocation model that considers multiple objectives of risk, number of sites, unmet demand, qualitative suitability of locations, unmet demand, and nature of land ownership while generating solutions under different scenarios of earthquake damage. The robustness and performance of the proposed model are illustrated using a real case study of 2015 Nepal earthquake. The framework can benefit governments and humanitarian agencies in high‐seismic areas for adequate shelter planning under damage uncertainties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new decision support approach for applying stochastic simulation to the multiplicative analytic hierarchy process (AHP) in order to deal with issues concerning the scale parameter. The paper suggests a new approach that captures the influence from the scale parameter by making use of probability distributions. Herein, the uncertainty both with regard to the scale and the inherent randomness from the parameter is captured by probabilistic input and output distributions. Provided that each alternative and criteria under consideration are independent it is assumed that the embedded uncertainty from the progression factors remains the same. The result is then an interval estimate for each alternative's final scores. This can lead to overlapping intervals of scores which may be interpreted as possible rank reversals. Thus, the decision support approach makes it possible to calculate the probability of overlapping for any given set of pairwise comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Actual situations evidence how adopted decisions can change the decision constraints of the system where the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is being applied. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to provide a dynamic view of the AHP method, considering the criteria and alternatives as temporary variables and finally obtaining not only one good choice for a specific moment but a more comprehensive picture of those alternatives resulting more important for the business, according to strategy and over time. Design/methodology/approach – With this purpose this paper starts with a short literature review and the general characteristics of the AHP method. Afterwards, the paper presents the problem that appears frequently in actual situations which justify the development of this research. Once described, the uncertainty appeared after the AHP implementation, the proposed methodology called dynamic analytic hierarchy process (DAHP) is presented. Findings – Finally, this paper shows a case study and concludes with the main points of the research suggesting applications and further extensions. Originality/value – The value of this paper is the description of a DAHP as a tool that can facilitate decision making related to some of the critical aspects in maintenance or post-sales area, permitting the alignment of actions with the business’ objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable management of wastes has attracted in the last decades an increasing number of industrial actors, policymakers and researchers. Environmental improvements, social responsibilities and economic opportunities led many manufacturers to implement different kinds of end-of-life (EoL) strategies. However, in many cases, these strategies are not supported by a correct commitment of top managers, but are implemented only in response to competitor's actions. This paper aims to improve the understanding of management practices concerning remanufacturing activities. A mixed evaluation model based on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is proposed. Its final aim is the evaluation of top management commitment in driving remanufacturing as an overall sustainable initiative into three different sectors (automotive, aerospace and medical equipments). The survey allowed to define the most critical factors for each sector and, so, to analyse underlying remanufacturing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orientation is increasingly in demand, especially today in the age of digital and recent technologies, with the disappearance of some jobs and the emergence of others, and with the variety of choices in front of the students who have led professionals to seek a new method and digital solution to help them solve these issues and achieve their personal and professional success. There are a lot of institutions and associations that are organized orientation sessions for students and try to fill the gaps in that area, but it is always a poor fit in the face of a lot of students. And to make an effective decision related to guidance, we need to consider several factors such as grades, preferences, interests, and personality characteristics... which gives a sharp vision of the student and helps to know which category he belongs to. The purpose of this paper is to present a review of studies on distinctive approaches used in the orientation field such as the K-Nearest-Neighbor Method (KNN), Naïve Bayes, Fuzzy logic, Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP), and the Internet of things (IoT) in order to discover the best approach which helps students to pick and succeed in their orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework to support decision-makers in selecting information systems (ISs) and knowledge management systems (KMSs), by taking into consideration factors and perspectives which influence the choice. Design/methodology/approach – The framework has been built on a hierarchical structure, where selection criteria and sub-criteria are defined and compared, and where alternatives are established and evaluated according to the software market trends. The application of the framework to an empirical study in two leading organizations in Jordan is provided as a validation of the proposed framework. Findings – The paper presents and applies a methodological framework, based on the analytic hierarchy process approach, to support decision-makers in the choice and in the implementation of an IS. Research limitations/implications – Future research could address the implementation of the framework within a selected industry. Successively, the framework could be utilized to make a comparison among the selected KMSs of more organizations. Originality/value – The framework is innovative in so far it can be practicably implemented in every business context, as criteria and sub-criteria cover most of the needs of any organization. It can therefore be considered as a holistic approach for supporting decision-makers in the selection process of an IS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decision support for concept selection in engineering design ranges from simple pairwise comparison techniques to methods that consider multiple criteria. The Analytic Hierarchy Process, or AHP, is an example of a multicriteria selection tool with wide-spread industry application. It is recognized by responsible practitioners that AHP, like other decision support methods, is best used not as an optimization tool, but as a means of clarifying individual or group attitudes; the numerical rankings that are its output are not definitive. This paper offers a means to quantify how differently two alternatives must be ranked by AHP to instill confidence that one is truly better than the other, a question that is in practice always answered using intuition. The quantification of uncertainty in AHP relies on the extension of concepts from statistical hypothesis testing. The procedure is not stochastic in the same way that physical measurement is, so probability distributions are created over relevant parameters. The quantified uncertainty depends, as in all statistical analysis, upon the assumed distributions. The uncertainty in AHP is quantified from two distinct points of view. The first makes the assumption that AHP is structurally correct but subject to measurement “error” in the pairwise comparisons, while the second quantifies the uncertainties introduced by AHP’s failure to consider different level of compensation in trade-offs among criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large area and fast development of aeolian sandy lands in the Yarlung Zangbo River basin of Tibet, China has caused immense damages to local social and economic development, and thus, it is necessary to carry out a series of ecological engineering to recover vegetation on moving sand dunes. However, revegetation potentiality of moving sandy land has rarely been reported with integrated studies, and under the harsh conditions of habitat stress, revegetation potentiality of different types of moving sandy lands is still unclear, which is one of most important technical bottlenecks and critical basis for policy making as well as for ecological restoration. In this paper, three types of moving sandy lands (on flood plain, on river bank, on mountain slope, respectively) in alpine valley in the middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River basin were first chosen as the study objects, and then evaluation indicators and criterion systems of revegetation potentiality were established on the ground of the division of vegetation succession stages and the analysis of their habitat characteristics on different moving sandy lands. Thereafter, a comprehensive evaluation model for revegetation potentiality (CEMRP) on moving sandy land in the alpine valley was built using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method. The results showed that the potentiality of moving sandy land on mountain slope was the strongest at Level I and with the biggest membership degree value (0.2884), versus little strong to moving sandy land on flood plain at Level II and with the biggest membership degree value (0.2869), little poor to moving sandy land on river bank at Level IV and with the biggest membership degree value (0.3296). The congenital conditions which affected the habitat of vegetation growth, such as climate (precipitation, temperature, sunshine duration), topographic (elevation, slope, aspect) and soil conditions (moisture, pH value, organic matter, total nitrogen, texture, temperature of sand dune), may determine what the status of vegetation recovery would be. However, vegetation recovery measures which could be treated as acquired conditions, could be used to adjust revegetation potentiality. In addition, by adopting suitable countermeasures (suitable species, fencing, sand-protecting barrier) for artificial revegetation on different types of moving sandy lands, vegetation potentiality could be promoted directly, while the status of vegetation recovery also could be improved through altering soil conditions indirectly. There were three experimental plots established in 2008 for the observation of vegetation recovery. We integrated the vegetation recovery status of different types of moving sandy lands in 2014, and the accuracy and applicability of CEMRP was validated and discussed. The result indicated that CEMRP fitted very well with vegetation growth on different types of moving sandy lands, and could be used as a decision support system for policy makers to identify the difficulties and the priority of ecological rehabilitation for different types of moving sandy lands, even for different regions under different climatic zones in the Tibetan Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Negotiation Support Systems often implement multiple criteria decision aiding (MCDA) techniques for building a negotiation scoring system. Those formal models should meet the needs, motivations, expectations, and cognitive abilities of users. In this paper, we try to explore the effects of decision maker's subjective perception of ease of use, time requirements, interface, preference representation, and efficiency of a particular MCDA method on the choice regarding the future use of this method. The multinomial logistic regression model is built and analysed. The analysis is based on data from online decision making experiments, where three MCDA methods were implemented, i.e. AHP, SMART, and TOPSIS. The study provides several interesting findings, concerning the behavioural aspects of multiple criteria decision aiding in software support systems. Most of the users recommended TOPSIS as the best one for supporting decisions in the future. This is a fast technique, for which we used an attractive graphical interface, suggesting that these factors play a crucial role in the users' choices. However, the causative regression model showed that the user's positive experience in using a particular method, i.e. its effectiveness in solving an exemplary numerical case, has the highest impact on the method's choice for future use. The second most important factor is the adequacy in representing the user's preferences by this method. We show, however, that the strengths of effects and their significance may vary across the methods. Understanding the decision maker's evaluations of the MCDA techniques may help build a cognitive negotiation support system that satisfies the user's expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The digitization of the manufacturing industry, 10 years after the introduction of the Industry 4.0 concept, is still one of the most demanding tasks for the companies, especially for SMEs. As one of the biggest barriers in new business model implementation, the lack of strategy and workforce skills is frequently mentioned in the literature. The high level of investments it requires and the perception of high risks with unclear future benefits can be avoided with readiness factor calculation. This paper presents a novel model for readiness factor calculation, oriented to process planning and based on decision support systems. The model enables the definition of the optimal strategic plan for the digitization with the use of decision support systems (analytic hierarchy process) and through the use of statistical methods implemented within the model it minimizes the influence of human subjectivity and quantification of qualitative criteria. This innovative approach enables the understanding of the transition process to new technology-enabled business models, in this case oriented towards process planning. The useability and reliability of the model is proven in a case study of a metal machining company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The application of theories on group decision support is yet to be explored extensively in supplier selection literature, although the literature in both domains is extremely rich, in isolation. The purpose of this paper is to explore the application of group decision support theories for supplier selection. Design/methodology/approach – The row geometric mean method (RGMM) of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) has been used in this study for the prioritization of group preferences under consensus. A case study was conducted to test the theories of consensual group decision making and compare it with other approaches based on AHP. Findings – The study establishes that the application of decision support theories for group decision making can improve the supplier selection process. Findings further imply that RGMM is more effective than eigen value method, for group decision making under consensus. Research limitations/implications – Methodologically, the study highlights the greater regularity in outcome of group decision making, vis-à-vis individual decision making, for the same decision-making context. Also, it highlights how RGMM is more effective since it preserves reciprocal properties and diversity in preferences better. Practical implications – The study establishes that firms can improve supplier selection processes by leveraging on the collective expertise of a group rather than depending on individual decision-making expertise. Originality/value – This study explores the application of different theories based on AHP for consensual group decision making. It compares different approaches based on AHP and establishes that RGMM is a superior approach for supplier selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community groups have a growing desire to use vacant and underutilized land for urban food production purposes; however, there are limited community-based tools available to assess the suitability of sites or location-allocation decisions. The purpose of this research is to provide decision support to community groups via a scientific software product developed in Microsoft Excel ®that will aid users in identifying and inventorying the location and condition of vacant and underutilized land, determining the relative site suitability of the inventoried land, and allocating urban agricultural reuse strategies across the urban landscape. This paper describes an augmented capacity to the prototype community-based decision support tool (C-SAP) developed by Kirnbauer and Baetz (2011). C-SAP includes two existing tools that employ a binary scoring methodology for the vacant and underutilized land inventory process (VULI) and the analytic hierarchy process for the calculation of a set of site suitability indices (SSI). The additional capacity introduced herein, known as LOCAL, employs a multi-objective binary integer program formulation for the location-allocation of reuse strategies at a neighborhood, community or potentially city-wide planning level. The application of the prototype decision support tool to twenty one sites identified as potential future sites for urban agriculture is summarized and discussed. This tool has the potential to assist groups in clarifying both community needs and constraints, while producing outputs that provide a scoped, informed direction to users for the allocation of reuse strategies. This paper describes a methodology for engaging community groups in making well-informed decisions related to effectively and efficiently bringing vacant and underutilized land back into productive reuse in a way that complements city-wide land use planning initiatives related to sustainable growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper demonstrates how image content can be used to realize a location-based shopping recommender system for intuitively supporting mobile users in decision making. Generic Fourier Descriptors (GFD) image content of an item was extracted to exploit knowledge contained in item and user profile databases for learning to rank recommendations. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to automatically select a query item from a user profile. Single Criterion Decision Ranking (SCDR) and Multiple-Criteria Decision-Ranking (MCDR) techniques were compared to study the effect of multidimensional ratings of items on recommendations effectiveness. The SCDR and MCDR techniques are, respectively, based on Image Content Similarity Score (ICSS) and Relative Ratio (RR) aggregating function. Experimental results of a real user study showed that an MCDR system increases user satisfaction and improves recommendations effectiveness better than an SCDR system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Release planning is a crucial step in incremental software development. It addresses the issues involved with assigning features to sequence of releases of a system such that the most important technical, resource, risk and budget constraints are met. These problems are difficult to solve for even mid-sized systems. The issues become even more challenging in evolving systems where we need to consider the characteristics of the existing system, as the existing components of the system have their own history and status in terms of size, complexity, health, criticality, and understandability. In this paper, we present the foundations for handling release planning for evolving systems in a rigorous manner. Based on a formalized problem description, we present a new solution approach for release planning of evolving systems called S-EVOLVE*. From analyzing and comparing different characteristics of the target components, where new features will be implemented, we obtain a more detailed perspective of the potential impact of implementing one feature or another. As part of this analysis, we have applied the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to define weighting factors for component modifiability. The information gained is used for designing release plans based on thresholds for the relative extent of modifiability acceptable for a release. A set of structurally different release plans is generated based on solving a specialized integer linear-programming problem. The plans are proven to be semi-optimal for the stated objectives. A case study is performed to demonstrate the added value of the approach. The evolving system under consideration is the intelligent decision-support tool ReleasePlanner. We compare and discuss results, for planning future releases, for the cases with and without consideration of system constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste production is constantly increasing worldwide and constitutes a problem that is expected to deteriorate in the future. In parallel, ensuring access to affordable and sustainable energy for all is crucial considering current environmental, economic, and social concerns. Waste-to-Energy (WtE) is an effective solution to address both issues, therefore it requires intense scientific attention. WtE management is characterized by different technologies, refers to various waste types, and needs multidisciplinary decision support. Thus, it is critical to include multiple criteria in the decision making process i.e. economic, technological, environmental, social, and political. These reflect different objectives that often come into conflict with each other. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is a tool that can effectively contribute to answer that challenge. The paper reviews the way, the scope, and the multi-criteria techniques that have been applied up-to-now to WtE Management Strategies (WtEMSs) in the globe. A critical review of 153 published papers addresses specific issues and questions. Asian and European countries are producing the most MCDAs studies on WtEMS. An increasing trend of papers commences from the year 2007. Results depict that Analytical Hierarchy Process is the most common approach, adopted in 62 real-life cases. Incineration and anaerobic digestion are mostly studied in MCDA frameworks. Emphasis is given on critical analysis and lessons that can be learnt from the available literature. Policy makers are motivated to: (i) adopt MCDA to holistically make WtEMSs decisions, (ii) adapt to local characteristics, (iii) encounter logistic problems, and (iv) efficiently promote implementation in real-life cases. Image 1 • An increasing trend of published papers commences from the year 2007. • AHP is the most common approach, adopted in 62 real life cases. • Incineration and anaerobic digestion are mostly studied in MCDA frameworks. • Socio-political criteria significantly included in MCDA studies after 2013. • MCDA principles are vital for the success of a WtE management strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progressing urbanisation is one of the key causes of environmental degradation. This problem also applies to stormwater management. For this reason, drainage infrastructures should be designed in harmony with nature and the decision for selecting a specific stormwater management system solution must not be taken on an ad-hoc or single-perspective basis. The purpose of this paper is to identify the criteria for selecting the best solution for a problem involving the selection of a stormwater management system, and to present a method that will enable all relevant criteria to be taken into account in the decision-making process. The developed decision problem structure takes into account all criteria related to the construction and operation of stormwater infrastructure, and its individual elements were identified based on the analysis and synthesis of information regarding the principles of stormwater management in Poland. The presented approach will allow for the taking into account of all, often mutually exclusive, criteria determining the choice of the stormwater management system option. This, in turn, will make it possible to significantly simplify the decision-making process. The indicated criteria can form the basis for choosing the most favorable stormwater management system for both large urban catchments and individual facilities. Thanks to the considerable flexibility of the developed decision problem structure, its widespread application can contribute to improving the efficiency of stormwater management systems. An example of the developed model's application in a decision-making process is presented, concerning the selection of a design variant of a single-family residential building's stormwater management system in Poland. Four design variants were included in the analysis, and the Analytic Hierarchy Process was used as the tool to select the most favorable option. This study shows that nature-based solutions are the most beneficial decision stormwater management options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software requirements engineering is a critical discipline in the software development life cycle. The major problem in software development is the selection and prioritization of the requirements in order to develop a system of high quality. This research analyzes the issues associated with existing software requirement prioritization techniques. One of the major issues in software requirement prioritization is that the existing techniques handle only toy projects or software projects with very few requirements. The current techniques are not suitable for the prioritization of a large number of requirements in projects where requirements may grow to the hundreds or even thousands. The research paper proposes an expert system, called the Priority Handler (PHandler), for requirement prioritization. PHandler is based on the value-based intelligent requirement prioritization technique, neural network and analytical hierarchical process in order to make the requirement prioritization process scalable. The back-propagation neural network is used to predict the value of a requirement in order to reduce the extent of expert biases and make the PHandler efficient. Moreover, the analytical hierarchy process is applied on prioritized groups of requirements in order to enhance the scalability of the requirement prioritization process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to model the multi-criteria decision problem of identifying the most suitable facility locations for biogas plants under an integrated decision support methodology. Here the Geographical Information System (GIS) is used for measuring the attributes of the alternatives according to a given set of criteria. Measurements are taken in interval form, expressing the natural imprecision of common data, and the Fuzzy Weighted Overlap Dominance (FWOD) procedure is applied for aggregating and exploiting this kind of data, obtaining suitability degrees for every alternative. The estimation of criteria weights, which is necessary for applying the FWOD procedure, is done by means of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), used jointly with the LLSM-AHP for the estimation of upper and lower bounds for the weights. Then, a combined AHP-FWOD methodology allows identifying the more suitable sites for building biogas plants. We show that the FWOD relevance-ranking procedure can also be successfully applied over the outcomes of different decision makers, in case a unique social solution is required to exist. The proposed methodology can be used under an integrated decision support frame for identifying the most suitable locations for biogas facilities, taking into account the most relevant criteria for the social, economic and political dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Currently, around 90% of Malaysia's electricity generation depends on fossil fuels. This reliance, in a long run, is not a secure option. However, renewable energy sources can contribute to a sustainable electricity generation system; but diversifying fuel supply chain is a complex process. Therefore, the aim of this paper is two folds. Firstly, various renewable resources potential are reviewed, and secondly an assessment model is developed for prioritizing renewable options. Four major resources, hydropower, solar, wind, biomass (including biogas and municipal solid waste) are considered. Their electricity generation potential, along with any likely shortcoming is also discussed. Moreover, using a multi-perspective approach based on analytic hierarchy process (AHP), an assessment model is developed. AHP model employs four main criteria, technical, economical, social and environmental aspects, and twelve sub-criteria. From the review it was found that renewable resources seem to have a sufficient potential to develop a sustainable electricity system. Furthermore, AHP model prioritize those resources, revealing that solar is the most favorable resource followed by biomass. Hydropower and wind however, are ranked third and fourth, respectively. The model also shows that each resource is inclined towards a particular criterion; solar towards economical, biomass towards social, hydropower towards technical, and wind towards environmental aspect. Besides reporting AHP model for the first time in Malaysian context, the assessment performed in this study, can serve decision makers to formulate long-term energy policy aiming for sustainability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a study on the structured and systematic method for database designs' evaluation and selection. The study uses the multi-criteria decision support method which helps the developers of database for the improvement of database's quality, and in making more informed decisions at the time of database development. Furthermore, the study discusses the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) in making decision by using complex problem model as a hierarchical structure.

This paper proposes a new approach for tackling the uncertainty and imprecision of the service evaluation process. Identifying suitable service offers, evaluating the offers and choosing the best alternatives are activities that set the scene for the consequent stages in negotiations and influence in a unique manner the following deliberations. The pre-negotiation problem in negotiations over services is regarded as decision-making under uncertainty, based on multiple criteria of quantitative and qualitative nature, where the imprecise decision-maker’s judgements are represented as fuzzy numbers. A new fuzzy modification of the analytic hierarchy process is applied as an evaluation technique. The proposed fuzzy prioritisation method uses fuzzy pairwise comparison judgements rather than exact numerical values of the comparison ratios and transforms the initial fuzzy prioritisation problem into a non-linear program. Unlike the known fuzzy prioritisation techniques, the proposed method derives crisp weights from consistent and inconsistent fuzzy comparison matrices, which eliminates the need of additional aggregation and ranking procedures. A detailed numerical example, illustrating the application of our approach to service evaluation is given. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of Revista de Economia e Administração is the property of INSPER Instituto de Ensino e Pesquisa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

To mitigate the acute water shortage problems, water utilities are combating to find potential solutions. Water losses management in Water Supply Networks (WSNs) is amongst the prominent solutions. This work intends to develop a decision support framework to diagnose the criticality of WSNs according to an associated Water Loss Risk Index (WLRI) at pipe and zone levels. It utilized the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) to evaluate the influential factors that contribute to water losses. The Fuzzy Synthetic Evaluation Technique (FSET) has been utilized to assess WLRI at pipe level and Ordered Weighted Averaging (OWA) operator has been used to aggregate the individual WLRI values for each zone. The framework is extended by incorporating Monte Carlo simulation model to generate the final ranking of zones. The outcomes of this simulation showed fair stability in terms of ranking the scrutinized zones. The integration of this framework in water losses management practices and planning policies of water utilities has a large potential in improving water supply services and the performance of WSNs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: In recent years, many studies regarding the issues of improving the management and effectiveness of the maintenance department of manufacturing companies, in the context Industry 4.0, have been published. This makes it necessary to establish a research gap in the approach to obtaining support in realising management tasks in the maintenance area in the selection of appropriate employees to perform the given activities. (2) Methods: This article uses literature studies and empirical research results from manufacturing companies, in order to determine the approach in supporting the selection of maintenance experts. In the approach, the method used—which is based on rules should there be future any formalisation of the data—is also the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP), which analyses the importance of a given competence, within a manufacturing resource, to undertake repairs. (3) Results: The innovative approach towards the selection of expert workers in a maintenance department is created, in part, in the form of an implemented web-application. The novelty of the "maintenance expert selection map", so-called, is the provision of formal procedures for describing the competence of each maintenance worker and defining the best "state of nature". (4) Conclusions: In the research that is presented here, the practicality for maintenance managers in the "maintenance expert selection map" was established. This map describes the competence of workers for selecting them for repair work within a given manufacturing resource; the scope of employee training was also determined in this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progressing urbanisation is one of the key causes of environmental degradation. This problem also applies to stormwater management. For this reason, drainage infrastructures should be designed in harmony with nature and the decision for selecting a specific stormwater management system solution must not be taken on an ad-hoc or single-perspective basis. The purpose of this paper is to identify the criteria for selecting the best solution for a problem involving the selection of a stormwater management system, and to present a method that will enable all relevant criteria to be taken into account in the decision-making process. The developed decision problem structure takes into account all criteria related to the construction and operation of stormwater infrastructure, and its individual elements were identified based on the analysis and synthesis of information regarding the principles of stormwater management in Poland. The presented approach will allow for the taking into account of all, often mutually exclusive, criteria determining the choice of the stormwater management system option. This, in turn, will make it possible to significantly simplify the decision-making process. The indicated criteria can form the basis for choosing the most favorable stormwater management system for both large urban catchments and individual facilities. Thanks to the considerable flexibility of the developed decision problem structure, its widespread application can contribute to improving the efficiency of stormwater management systems. An example of the developed model’s application in a decision-making process is presented, concerning the selection of a design variant of a single-family residential building’s stormwater management system in Poland. Four design variants were included in the analysis, and the Analytic Hierarchy Process was used as the tool to select the most favorable option. This study shows that nature-based solutions are the most beneficial decision stormwater management options.

Efficient inventory classification is a vital activity for electronics firms that work with a large amount of inventory items. Although one of the most widely used techniques in inventory classification is ABC analysis, this technique considers only a single criterion as the annual sales volume of each item. In practice, inhomogeneity and the differences among the inventory items necessitate considering multiple criteria to obtain a reliable classification. In this study, an integrated process of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP)-The technique for order preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS)-ABC approach is proposed and performed to solve the multiple criteria inventory classification problem in an electronics firm. The steps of the interactive approach are programmed using MATLAB. The results of the integrated interactive approach and of the traditional ABC analysis are presented. The proposed approach gives effective and implementable results for the firm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a decision support concept for management of rehabilitation projects. The focus of the research is on the application of multicriteria methods of decision-making in planning a historic bridge rehabilitation project. The problem addressed in this research is a major one from many different perspectives, such as civil engineering, economics, etc., which indicates a need for the evaluation of different rehabilitation methods using several different criteria. Therefore, a decision support concept for a historic bridge rehabilitation method based on the PROMETHEE method has been designed. Three groups of stakeholders have been included (civil engineering experts, economic experts, and government experts) to define appropriate criteria, their weights, and preference functions. For determination of criteria weights, the AHP method has been used. The model has been tested on the problem of choosing the rehabilitation method for the Pavića Bridge in Croatia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residential real estate assumes crucial importance in a country's socioeconomic development. It is an important field of study, and much work has gone into better understanding the sector and the factors determining sales within it, such as time-on-the-market (TOM). TOM can be influenced by a variety of elements; a fact that in effect raises a lot of issues, because these determinants are often interpreted in an ambiguous or unstructured way. This study aims to bring greater accuracy and structure to our understanding of these factors, by showing that the integrated use of cognitive mapping with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) can give rise to a conceptually coherent and empirically valid framework to calculate TOM indices in the residential real estate market. Because it takes into account both tangible and intangible characteristics of a house, this measurement framework also boosts strategic planning support and allows for more informed business planning, which we believe can be a real contribution to the development of the real estate market. The practical implications and limitations of this evaluation system are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to alleviate the risks of urban flooding and diversify Singapore's sources of water supply, an innovative idea of underground reservoirs was proposed. This infrastructure could have significant long-term impacts on the water resources system in Singapore. In addition, among various alternatives to augment water supply, decision makers need to know which ones are the more sustainable plans to pursue. This research proposes a novel integrated decision support tool that synergizes System Dynamics (SD) and a multi-criteria decision-making method called Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). First, a SD model takes in real-world data and simulates the consequences of different alternative plans under various scenarios of future population growth. Second, AHP is applied to compare different alternatives based on their performance as revealed by the SD simulation and the judgment of decision makers. Through the SD modeling we found that the proposed underground water storage system is not going to have a profound impact on Singapore's adequacy and self-sufficiency in water, mainly because of its limited capacity and long construction time. Decision analysis through AHP reveals that if the population increases rapidly or mildly, then the order of priorities are: 1) seawater desalination; 2) NEWater (brand name for reclaimed water); 3) local water catchments; 4) underground water storage; 5) status quo. This novel integrated decision support tool, together with real-world data, could be applied to many other similar situations around the world in which policy makers need to make critical decisions with significant long-term implications, both in water systems and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial statements are very vital to the organization and all stake holders, including government, creditors, investors, auditors and the general public. Over the years, there has been emphasis placed on evaluating the quantitative aspects of financial statements and accounting information. Less emphasis has been placed on the qualitative components. Often times the use of common sense, rule of thumb, intuition and experience apply in assessing the qualitative value of financial information. This study attempts to identify a comprehensive set of variables for the comparative evaluation of the qualitative aspects of firms' financial statements. The Analytical Hierarchy Process [AHP] is applied in the modeling of the financial statement evaluation process. The results of the study show that the AHP provides a stepwise refinement of the results of the initial evaluation process to attain some level of optimality in the decision process regarding the evaluation of financial information of corporate organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]