Special Issue "Optimization for Decision Making III"

A special issue of Mathematics (ISSN 2227-7390). This special issue belongs to the section "Mathematics and Computer Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Víctor Yepes
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Concrete Science and Technology (ICITECH), Universitat Politècnica de València, 46022 València, Spain
Interests: multiobjective optimization; structures optimization; lifecycle assessment; social sustainability of infrastructures; reliability-based maintenance optimization; optimization and decision-making under uncertainty
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. José Moreno-Jiménez
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Grupo Decisión Multicriterio Zaragoza (GDMZ), Facultad de Economía y Empresa, Universidad de Zaragoza, Gran Vía 2, 50005 Zaragoza, Spain
Interests: multicriteria decision making; environmental selection; strategic planning; knowledge management; evaluation of systems; logistics and public decision making (e-government, e-participation, e-democracy, and e-cognocracy)
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the current context of the electronic governance of society, both administrations and citizens are demanding greater participation of all the actors involved in the decision-making process relative to the governance of society. In addition, the design, planning, and operations management rely on mathematical models, the complexity of which depends on the detail of models and complexity/characteristics of the problem they represent. Unfortunately, decision-making by humans is often suboptimal in ways that can be reliably predicted. Furthermore, the process industry seeks not only to minimize cost, but also to minimize adverse environmental and social impacts. On the other hand, in order to give an appropriate response to the new challenges raised, the decision-making process can be done by applying different methods and tools, as well as using different objectives. In real-life problems, the formulation of decision-making problems and application of optimization techniques to support decisions is particularly complex, and a wide range of optimization techniques and methodologies are used to minimize risks or improve quality in making concomitant decisions. In addition, a sensitivity analysis should be done to validate/analyze the influence of uncertainty regarding decision-making.

Prof. Dr. Víctor Yepes
Prof. Dr. José Moreno-Jiménez
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Mathematics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Multicriteria decision making
  • Optimization techniques
  • Multiobjective optimization

Published Papers (5 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Article
Novel Methods in Multiple Criteria Decision-Making Process (MCRAT and RAPS)—Application in the Mining Industry
Mathematics 2021, 9(16), 1980; https://doi.org/10.3390/math9161980 - 19 Aug 2021
Viewed by 187
Abstract
Multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) is a supporting tool which is widely spread in different areas of science and industry. Many researchers have confirmed that MCDM methods can be useful for selecting the best solution in many different problems. In this paper, two [...] Read more.
Multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) is a supporting tool which is widely spread in different areas of science and industry. Many researchers have confirmed that MCDM methods can be useful for selecting the best solution in many different problems. In this paper, two novel methods are presented and applied on existing decision-making processes in the mining industry. The first method is multiple criteria ranking by alternative trace (MCRAT) and the second is ranking alternatives by perimeter similarity (RAPS). These two novel methods are demonstrated in decision-making problems and compared with the ranking of the same alternatives by other MCDM methods. The mining process often includes drilling and blasting operations as the most common activities for exploitation of raw materials. For optimal blasting design it is important to select the most suitable parameters for the blasting pattern and respect characteristics of the working environment and production conditions. By applying novel methods, how to successfully select the most proper blasting pattern respecting all conditions that must be satisfied for economic aspects and the safety of employees and the environment is presented. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization for Decision Making III)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Optimized Application of Sustainable Development Strategy in International Engineering Project Management
Mathematics 2021, 9(14), 1633; https://doi.org/10.3390/math9141633 - 10 Jul 2021
Viewed by 621
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to establish an international framework for sustainable project management in engineering, to make up the lack of research in this field, and to propose a scientific theoretical basis for the establishment of a new project management system. [...] Read more.
The aim of this paper is to establish an international framework for sustainable project management in engineering, to make up the lack of research in this field, and to propose a scientific theoretical basis for the establishment of a new project management system. The article adopts literature review, mathematical programming algorithm and case study as the research method. The literature review applied the visual clustering research method and analyzed the results of 21-year research in this field. As a result, the project management system was found to have defects and deficiencies. A mathematical model was established to analyze the composition and elements of the optimized international project management system. The case study research selected large bridges for analysis and verified the superiority and practicability of the theoretical system. Thus, the goal of sustainable development of bridges was achieved. The value of this re-search lies in establishing a comprehensive international project management system model; truly integrating sustainable development with project management; providing new research frames and management models to promote the sustainable development of the construction industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization for Decision Making III)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Neutrosophic Completion Technique for Incomplete Higher-Order AHP Comparison Matrices
Mathematics 2021, 9(5), 496; https://doi.org/10.3390/math9050496 - 28 Feb 2021
Viewed by 787
Abstract
After the recent establishment of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Agenda 2030, the sustainable design of products in general and infrastructures in particular emerge as a challenging field for the development and application of multicriteria decision-making tools. Sustainability-related decision problems usually involve, [...] Read more.
After the recent establishment of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Agenda 2030, the sustainable design of products in general and infrastructures in particular emerge as a challenging field for the development and application of multicriteria decision-making tools. Sustainability-related decision problems usually involve, by definition, a wide variety in number and nature of conflicting criteria, thus pushing the limits of conventional multicriteria decision-making tools practices. The greater the number of criteria and the more complex the relations existing between them in a decisional problem, the less accurate and certain are the judgments required by usual methods, such as the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The present paper proposes a neutrosophic AHP completion methodology to reduce the number of judgments required to be emitted by the decision maker. This increases the consistency of their responses, while accounting for uncertainties associated to the fuzziness of human thinking. The method is applied to a sustainable-design problem, resulting in weight estimations that allow for a reduction of up to 22% of the conventionally required comparisons, with an average accuracy below 10% between estimates and the weights resulting from a conventionally completed AHP matrix, and a root mean standard error below 15%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization for Decision Making III)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Fuzzy Optimization Model for Decision-Making in Supply Chain Management
Mathematics 2021, 9(4), 312; https://doi.org/10.3390/math9040312 - 04 Feb 2021
Viewed by 639
Abstract
Choosing a supplier is a complex decision-making process that can reduce the total cost of production inputs and increase profits without increasing the price or sacrificing product quality. However, supplier selection processes usually involve multiple quantitative and qualitative criteria which increase the complexity [...] Read more.
Choosing a supplier is a complex decision-making process that can reduce the total cost of production inputs and increase profits without increasing the price or sacrificing product quality. However, supplier selection processes usually involve multiple quantitative and qualitative criteria which increase the complexity of the problem and may decrease the accuracy and effectiveness of the process. Such complex decision-making problems can be supported by using multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) models. While there have been multiple MCDM models to support supplier selection processes in different industries and sectors, only a few are developed to support the supplier selection processes in the garment industry, especially under uncertain decision-making environment. This paper presents an integrated mathematical model under a fuzzy environment and applies it to the supplier selection process in the garment industry. In this research, the authors utilize the Buckley extension based fuzzy Analytical Hierarchical Process (FAHP) method in combination with linear normalization based fuzzy Grey Relational Analysis (F-GRA) method to develop a MCDM approach to the supplier selection process under a fuzzy environment. As a result, supplier 08 (SA08) is the optimal supplier. The contribution of this work is to propose an MCDM model for ranking potential suppliers in the garment industry under a fuzzy environment. The proposed approach can also be applied to support complex decision-making processes under a fuzzy environment in different industries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization for Decision Making III)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Analyzing Operational Efficiency in Real Estate Companies: An Application of GM (1,1) and DEA Malmquist Model
Mathematics 2021, 9(3), 202; https://doi.org/10.3390/math9030202 - 20 Jan 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1106
Abstract
Real estate management and its operation play a crucial role in supporting company operation. Going hand-in-hand with the rapid growth of companies, the real estate portfolio has expanded dramatically, attracting large numbers of domestic and foreign investors. This paper studied the top 12 [...] Read more.
Real estate management and its operation play a crucial role in supporting company operation. Going hand-in-hand with the rapid growth of companies, the real estate portfolio has expanded dramatically, attracting large numbers of domestic and foreign investors. This paper studied the top 12 real estate companies listed on Vietnam’s stock market to develop a method that combines the Grey methodology and the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Malmquist model, intending to predict and evaluate their performances in two periods: 2015–2018 and 2019–2022. The proposed model considered three input factors, namely total assets, cost of sales, and cost of goods sold, and two output factors, namely total revenue and gross profit. Findings revealed that drastic efficiency changes in some companies should be observed at the beginning of the process, even if the technological efficiency in the period is stable. In the future period, most companies achieved relatively stable productivity. This study serves as a reference for policymakers and strategy makers by analyzing insights for the operational status of real estate businesses and providing an overview in the future toward sustainable development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optimization for Decision Making III)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop