Search Results (22)

Background: Nowadays, traditional supply chain management (SCM) processes are undergoing a profound transformation enabled by advanced technologies derived from Industry 4.0. The rapid adoption of these technologies has led to the emergence of smart SCM, which integrates modern technologies in sourcing, production, distribution, and sales. Supplier evaluation and selection (SES) in smart SCM is a strategic decision impacting the entire supply chain. Organizations must also incorporate sustainability principles into their strategic decisions alongside smart production and efficiency. Methods: The main objective of this study is to develop a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach under uncertainty to address sustainable–smart supplier evaluation and selection problems. The approach integrates polygonal fuzzy numbers (POFNs), Z-numbers, expected interval (EI), and expected value (EV) to develop methods such as the logarithmic methodology of additive weights (LMAW) and the weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS), which are used to prioritize criteria and rank suppliers. Furthermore, novel approaches are introduced for calculating membership functions, $\mathcal{a}$-cut formulations, and the crispification process in POFNs. Results: A real case study in the home appliance industry revealed that cost reduction through smart technologies, green and smart logistics and manufacturing, and smart working environments are the most critical evaluation criteria. Suppliers three and four, excelling in these areas, were identified as top suppliers. Conclusions: The proposed approaches effectively addressed hybrid uncertainty in SES problems within smart SCM. Finally, sensitivity and comparative analysis confirmed their robustness and reliability. Full article

Supplier selection in the shipbuilding industry is a typical multicriteria group decision-making (MCGDM) problem, often characterized by significant uncertainty and fuzziness. To address this issue effectively, this paper proposes a novel integrated approach for supplier selection in shipbuilding enterprises by combining intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFSs) with the weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) method. The proposed method utilizes IFS operators alongside an innovative process for evaluating indicator weights. Initially, an intuitionistic fuzzy number approach is employed to obtain indicator data, which effectively captures the uncertainty of linguistic variables and ensures accurate reflection of real-world conditions. Subsequently, the indicator weights are evaluated by integrating subjective weights, derived through the best–worst method, with objective weights, calculated using an entropy-based approach, resulting in more balanced and realistic weight assignments. Subsequently, the WASPAS method is used to prioritize alternative suppliers, and a shipbuilding enterprise in Shanghai is taken as an example to verify the effectiveness of the model. In addition, to evaluate the stability of the proposed method, sensitivity analyses were performed for varying attribute values. The results demonstrate that the combination of subjective and objective weights enhances the stability of the method under varying attribute weights. Finally, a comparison with various existing methods based on intuitionistic fuzzy information proves that the proposed method exhibits certain advantages in solving the MCGDM problem under uncertain environments. Full article

With rapid urbanization and industrialization, Vietnam is facing many challenges in solid waste management and increasing energy demand. In this context, the development of renewable energy from solid waste not only solves the problem of environmental pollution but also makes an important contribution to energy security and sustainable economic development. Solid waste to energy is a system of solid waste reatment by thermal methods, in which the heat generated from this treatment process is recovered and utilized to produce energy. Site selection is one of the biggest challenges for renewable energy projects. In addition to technical factors, this decision must also consider environmental impacts, including protecting ecosystems, minimizing noise, and limiting impacts on public health. To solve this problem, multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods combined with fuzzy numbers are often used. These methods allow planners to evaluate and balance competing factors, thereby determining the most optimal location for the project. In this study, the authors proposed a Spherical Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision-making Model (SFMCDM) for site selection in solid waste-to-energy projects. In the first stage, all criteria affecting the decision-making process are defined based on literature review, experts and triple bottom line model (social, environmental, and economic), and analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and fuzzy theory is applied for calculating the weights in the second stage. The weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) method is utilized for ranking four potential locations in the final stage. The contribution of the proposed process is its structured, systematic, and innovative approach to solving the location selection problem for renewable energy projects. Choosing the right location not only ensures the success of the project but also contributes to the sustainable development of renewable energy. Full article

The green supplier selection presents numerous challenges, from initial assessment to final selection, which specialists in this field of supplier management often encounter. Among the techniques that aim to meet these challenges that are continually progressing is the creation and development of high-quality decision-making tools. In this study, the assessment of suppliers hinges on both traditional and environmental factors. A framework of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) is announced in order to appraise green supplier selection. This framework integrates Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) combined with two additional methods: WASPAS (“Weighted Aggregated Sum-Product Assessment”) and TOPSIS (“Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution”). At the outset, there were five environmental criteria for green supplier selection: “Health and Safety”, “Sustainable Product Design”, “ISO 14001 Certification”, “Investment Recovery”, and “Green Packaging”, along with three conventional criteria including quality, price, and delivery, were pinpointed through a review of literature and expert input to facilitate the MCDM approach. As part of demonstrating the pertinency of the recommended framework, a practical case study of the automotive industry in Morocco is discussed. The results demonstrate that the utilized Fuzzy hybrid methods yield consistent rankings for green suppliers. Additionally, among the four green suppliers, number three obtained the best ranking, which indicates the robustness and performance of the chosen models. Furthermore, this study offers a unified platform for selecting green suppliers under a Fuzzy environment. Therefore, the chosen strategy and its analysis provide relevant data and information to decision-makers for the choice and selection of suppliers. It can also provide and help procurement departments and decision-makers to choose and select the efficient ecological supplier in the global market supply chain. Full article

This study presents an in-depth analysis of the selection process for primary sectors impacting the economic activity in Romania, employing an interval-valued fuzzy (IVF) approach combined with multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methodologies. This research aims to identify eight key criteria influencing the selection of Romanian primary sectors, including technology adaptation, infrastructure development and investment, gross domestic product (GDP), sustainability, employment generation, market demand, risk management and government policies. The current analysis evaluates eight primary sector performances against these eight criteria through the application of three MCDM methods, namely, Simple Additive Weighting (SAW), Weighted Product Model (WPM), and Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS). Ten economic experts comprising a committee have been invited to provide their views on the criteria’s importance and the alternatives’ performance. Based on the decision-maker’s qualitative judgement, GDP acquires the highest weightage, followed by environmental impact and sustainability, thus indicating the most critical factors among the group. The IVF-MCDM hybrid model indicates the energy sector as Romanian primary sector with the most potential, followed by the agriculture and forestry sector among the list of eight alternatives. It also explores the robustness of results by considering sensitivity analysis and the potential impacts of political and international factors, such as pandemics or armed conflicts, on sector selection. The findings indicate consistency in sector rankings across the different methodologies employed, underscoring the importance of methodological choice and criteria weighting. Additionally, this study sheds light on the potential influence of political and international dynamics on sector prioritization, emphasizing the need for comprehensive decision-making frameworks in economic planning processes. Full article

The combination of the lightweight nature and mechanical properties of AZ91 makes it a suitable material for defense, aerospace, and automotive components. The study of the friction and wear properties of AZ91 contributes to the understanding of interactions of surfaces in relative motion. Hybrid ceramic reinforced composites can be tailored to offer enhanced mechanical and tribological properties. The present study highlights the development of AZ91-based hybrid composites reinforced with nano hBN and micron-sized TiB₂ ceramic particles. The hBN is used as a hybridizing agent in the perspective of improving the friction and wear behavior of the composites. The Taguchi L16 orthogonal array was used to prepare the experimental plan. The normal load, sliding speed, and sliding distance were considered as influencing factors in the experiments against the responses, wear rate, and coefficient of friction. Multi-Criteria Decision-Making methods such as Additive Ratio Assessment System (ARAS) and Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS) were employed to optimize the experiments. The presence of hBN decreased the wear rate and coefficient of friction of the hybrid composites. The adhesive mode of wear mechanism was found to be operative in the composites. Full article

The cost of constructing foundations, on average, ranges from 10% to 15% of a project’s total cost. Therefore, selecting the appropriate type of foundation may result in a significant reduction in project costs. In this study, a value engineering (VE) approach was applied to select the best foundation type from seven alternatives that covered shallow and deep foundations. Selection was dependent on ten important criteria, which were classified into safety, buildability, flexibility of architectural design, and environmental impact. Foundation construction experts used the stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) method to determine the weights of these ten properties for six identified cases based on structure type and soil type. In addition, the weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) method was used to determine the quality weight for each foundation option. The results show that adaptable architectural design requirements were more critical in selecting the foundation than the safety criteria for a bridge project. Additionally, the criteria for environmental impacts in the case of high-rise buildings have a more significant impact on foundation choice than low-rise buildings. The outcomes of this study may improve the adaptability of architectural design and the environmental impact of future structures and building codes in the construction industry. Full article

With the high impetus in global digitization, online shopping (OS) is anticipated to increase further in the near future. Contrary to this anticipation, however, recent studies have emphasized a certain amount of drop in a considerable number of online purchasing transactions in 2022. One of the reasons might be customer dissatisfaction. To analyze online customer reviews, manual sentiment analysis was conducted to detect which quality criteria cause the dissatisfaction of online shoppers. The quality parameters are categorized into product, delivery service, and aftersales service quality (SQ). These main quality criteria are then divided into sub-factors. Eight health category products, including personal care products, wellness products, and household cleaners, were ranked to the importance of the sub-quality parameters using the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method. In this study, a new hybrid MCDM method was also proposed, which combines the triangular fuzzy logarithm methodology of additive weights (F-LMAW) and the Fermatean fuzzy weighted aggregated sum product assessment method (FF-WASPAS). The study reveals that the most important criteria were products’ performance, as well as their side effects, pay-back, and change possibility, while the products’ reasonable price was the least important criterion. Aftersales service was more significant than delivery service. Furthermore, moisturizing creams and medical pillows were the most popular products bought in OS compared with hair conditioners and washing liquids. The study’s multifold contributions and managerial implications were elaborately discussed. Full article

This study deals with the selection of a sustainable supplier on the example of the agribusiness company Mamex from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main problem of this research is the selection of a sustainable supplier as a part of the sustainable strategy of the Mamex company. One of the prerequisites is that suppliers must present sustainability principles in business by having an appropriate certificate. The results of the selection of sustainable suppliers are completed using a new hybrid fuzzy approach with the methods IMF SWARA (Improved Fuzzy Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis) and fuzzy TRUST (multi-normalization multi-distance assessment) CRADIS (compromise ranking of alternatives from distance to ideal solution) methods. The innovative approach is reflected in the use of a combination of these methods, especially by combining the TRUST and CRADIS methods into one method. The IMF SWARA method shows that the most important main criterion is the economic criterion, while the least important is the social criterion. By applying the fuzzy TRUST CRADIS method, it is found that out of the observed six suppliers, the second supplier has the best indicators. These results are confirmed by other fuzzy methods: MABAC (multi-attributive border approximation area comparison), WASPAS (weighted aggregated sum product assessment), fuzzy SAW (simple additive weighting), MARCOS (measurement of alternatives and ranking according to compromise solution), ARAS (a new additive ratio assessment), and TOPSIS (technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution). This research shows that applying more normalization when ranking alternatives reduces the influence of individual normalizations, and this approach should be used in future research. Full article

Iran is one of the most energy-consuming countries, especially in the construction sector, and more than 40% of its energy consumption is in the construction sector. Therefore, considering the very high potential of Iran in the field of solar energy, the need to pay attention to providing part of the energy required by buildings by solar energy seems necessary. The study of the effect of climate on the performance of a BIPV has not been done in Iran so far. Also, the use of ranking methods using the weighting of parameters affecting the performance of BIPV has not been done so far. The purpose of this study is to investigate the power supply of BIPV connected to the grid in the eight climates of Iran. Technical–economic–environmental energy analyses were performed by HOMER 2.81 software. In order to study different types of BIPV, four angles of 0°, 30°, 60°, and 90° were considered for the installation of solar cells. The effective output parameters of HOMER software were weighted by the Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) method based on the opinion of experts, and it was observed that payback time (year) has the highest weight among the studied criteria. Then, different cities were ranked using the evaluation based on distance from the average solution (EDAS) method. The results showed that Jask is the most suitable and Ramsar is the most unsuitable city. Also, the results of the EDAS method were confirmed by Additive Ratio Assessment (ARAS), Weighted Aggregates Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS), and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) methods. Full article

Fused deposition modeling (FDM) is the most economical additive manufacturing (AM) technology available for fabricating complex part geometries. However, the involvement of numerous control process parameters and dimensional instabilities are challenges of FDM. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of 3D printing parameters on dimensional deviations, including the length, width, height, and angle of polylactic acid (PLA) printed parts. The selected printing parameters include layer height, number of perimeters, infill density, infill angle, print speed, nozzle temperature, bed temperature, and print orientation. Three-level definitive screening design (DSD) was used to plan experimental runs. The results revealed that infill density is the most consequential parameter for length and width deviation, while layer height is significant for angle and height deviation. The regression models developed for the four responses are non-linear quadratic. The optimal results are obtained considering the integrated approach of desirability and weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS). The optimal results include a layer height of 0.1 mm, a total of six perimeters, an infill density of 20%, a fill angle of 90°, a print speed of 70 mm/s, a nozzle temperature of 220 °C, a bed temperature of 70 °C, and a print orientation of 90°. The current study provides a guideline to fabricate assistive devices, such as hand and foot orthoses, that require high dimensional accuracies. Full article

Porous asphalt (PA) mixtures are more environmentally friendly but have lower durability than dense-graded mixtures. Additives can be incorporated into PA mixtures to enhance their mechanical strength; however, they may compromise the hydraulic characteristics, increase the total cost of pavement, and negatively affect the environment. In this paper, PA mixtures were produced with 5 different types of additives including 4 fibers and 1 filler. Their performances were compared with the reference mixtures containing virgin bitumen and polymer-modified bitumen. The performance of all mixes was assessed using: mechanical, hydraulic, economic, and environmental indicators. Then, the Delphi method was applied to compute the relative weights for the parameters in multi-criteria decision-making methods. Evaluation based on distance from average solution (EDAS), technique for order of the preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), and weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) were employed to rank the additives. According to the results obtained, aramid pulp displayed comparable and, for some parameters such as abrasion resistance, even better performance than polymer-modified bitumen, whereas cellulose fiber demonstrated the best performance regarding sustainability, due to economic and environmental benefits. Full article

Reducing the potential risks in the manufacturing process to improve the reliability of the switched-mode power supply (SMPS) is a critical issue for the users’ safety. This paper proposes a novel failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) model based on hybrid multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM), which adopts neutrosophic set theory into the proposed model. A developed neutrosophic Best Worst method (NBWM) is used to evaluate the weights of risk factors and determine their importance. Secondly, the neutrosophic Weight Aggregated Sum Product Assessments (NWASPAS) method is utilized to calculate the Risk Priority Number (RPN) of the failure modes. The proposed model improves the shortcomings of traditional FMEA and improves the practical applicability and effectiveness of the Best Worst method (BWM) and Weight Aggregated Sum Product Assessments (WASPAS) methods. In addition, this study uses neutrosophic logic to reflect the true judgments of experts in the assessment, which considers authenticity, deviation, and uncertainty to obtain more reliable information. Finally, an empirical case study from an SMPS company headquartered in Taiwan demonstrates the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed model. In addition, by comparing with two other FMEA models, the results show that the proposed model can more clearly reflect the true and effective risks in the assessment. The results can effectively help power supply manufacturers to assess risk factors and determine key failure modes. Full article

In recent decades, many countries have shown a growing interest in the use of renewable energies for power generation. Geothermal energy is a clean and environmentally friendly source of renewable energy that can be used to produce electricity and heat for industrial and domestic applications. While Afghanistan has undeniably good geothermal potential that can be utilised to alleviate the country’s current energy limitations, so far this potential has remained completely untapped. In this study, the suitability of 21 provinces for geothermal project implementation in Afghanistan was evaluated using multiple multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods. The stepwise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) method was used to weigh each criterion while the additive ratio assessment (ARAS) method was used to rank potential geothermal sites. The technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS), the vlse kriterijumsk optimizacija kompromisno resenje (VIKOR), and the weighted aggregated sum product assessment (WASPAS) methods were also used in this study. These rankings were then examined via sensitivity analysis which indicated that a 5% change in criteria weights altered the rankings in all methods except the VIKOR method. Volcanic dome density was ranked the most important criteria. All the methods identified Ghazni province as the most suitable location for geothermal project implementation in Afghanistan. Full article

Recent technological developments affect daily life as much as they affect the industries. As part of these developments, automation and smart systems are important part of everyday life. Smart card systems are one of the well-known types of smart automation technology being used by the majority of the population in public transportation in most developed countries. Even though automated fare payment systems have been widely integrated into public transportation in developed countries, integration of smart card systems is still under consideration in most developing countries. The aim of this study is to propose a framework to evaluate different smart card systems to determine the best one and additionally validate their benefits when compared with the traditional fare payment system. For this purpose, an integrated multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) framework is used that combines two recent and popular methodologies together. The proposed methodology employs Stepwise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) method for determination of criteria weights in the decision model and the Weighted Additive Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS) method for comparison of alternatives. Research results revealed that all smart card systems show improvements under performance, reliability, and user satisfaction related criteria. However, traditional fare payment systems are found to be safer under consideration of personal data protection. Findings of this study can be used to select the best smart card system and as a guide for deciding on areas of improvement during the implementation phase to ensure higher user satisfaction. Full article