A multi-criteria decision-making approach to minimising fire risk in detached house designs

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 1146-1160
Author(s):  
Salaheddine Bendak ◽  
Ahlam A. Alhammadi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Fire Safety ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Multi Criteria Decision Making ◽  
Evaluation Tool ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Detached House ◽  
Development And Validation

Purpose House fire risk would be minimised if fire safety principles were incorporated at the design stage. This issue is rarely addressed in the literature. The purpose of this study is to propose a multi-criteria decision-making framework to evaluate fire risk of detached house designs in the United Arab Emirates and countries of similar cultural background. Design/methodology/approach The framework was developed based on function areas where (detached) house fires start, expert opinion and recommendations derived from the published literature on residential fire safety. This framework was applied to a sample of ten public detached house designs to check the applicability of the framework and to determine how safe these designs are from a fire safety perspective. Findings The proposed framework is proven to be an effective preliminary fire risk evaluation tool of detached house designs, and more research is needed in this area. Research limitations/implications The proposed framework is an encouraging first step in incorporating fire risk minimisation at the design stage of detached houses based on determining the preferred location of function areas but requires further development and validation, especially in other design settings. Practical implications The proposed framework is an initial endeavour in helping designers of detached houses to minimise fire risk and its potential effects on residents. Originality/value This research proposes a way to minimise fire risk at the design stage of detached houses.

Competitive priorities and knowledge management

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 791-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matloub Hussain ◽  
Mian M. Ajmal ◽  
Mehmood Khan ◽  
Hussein Saber
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Customer Focus ◽  
Multi Criteria Decision Making ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Global Knowledge ◽  
Competitive Priorities ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify attributes of knowledge management (KM) for large and small manufacturing companies in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and to propose a process to evaluate the competitive priorities of these companies. Design/methodology/approach – This research is designed by composing multi criteria decision making of KM attributes in order to identify competitive priorities of large and small manufacturing companies to achieve better customer focus. To deal with this complexity of multi criteria decision-making process, Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) method has been used in this research. Findings – Results show that large manufacturing companies are putting more emphasis on “Know-Why” knowledge attribute in all four competitive priorities for achieving customer focus. While, small size manufacturing companies put higher weight on “Know-What” knowledge attribute by focussing on two competitive priorities (flexibility and quality). Research limitations/implications – Results are derived from a limited number of empirical data only in one country, therefore these cannot be generalized. Future research with larger samples of small and large manufacturing firms from other countries is needed. Practical implications – To be competitive, manufacturing companies must reshuffle their production strategies to allow them to play a role in global knowledge-intensive market. Therefore, they must incorporate knowledge attributes as a way to achieve higher levels of performance. Originality/value – This study is among the first and most exhaustive ones carried out in the small and large size firms operating in the manufacturing sector of UAE. It provides a systematic approach to identify the operational competencies and knowledge attributes being followed by large and small manufacturing companies.

scholarly journals Fire Risk Assessment in Healthcare Settings: Application of FMEA Combined with Multi‐Criteria Decision Making Methods

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Fateme Omidvari ◽  
Mehdi Jahangiri ◽  
Reza Mehryar ◽  
Moslem Alimohammadlou ◽  
Mojtaba Kamalinia
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Fire Detection ◽  
Healthcare Setting ◽  
Multi Criteria Decision Making ◽  
Intuitionistic Fuzzy ◽  
Healthcare Settings ◽  
Fire Risk Assessment ◽  
Risk Parameters

Fire is one of the most dangerous phenomena causing major casualties and financial losses in hospitals and healthcare settings. In order to prevent and control the fire sources, first risk assessment should be conducted. Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) is one of the techniques widely used for risk assessment. However, Risk Priority Number (RPN) in this technique does not take into account the weight of the risk parameters. In addition, indirect relationships between risk parameters and expert opinions are not considered in decision making in this method. The aim is to conduct fire risk assessment of healthcare setting using the application of FMEA combined with Multi‐Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods. First, a review of previous studies on fire risk assessment was conducted and existing rules were identified. Then, the factors influencing fire risk were classified according to FMEA criteria. In the next step, weights of fire risk criteria and subcriteria were determined using Intuitionistic Fuzzy Multiplicative Best-Worst Method (IFMBWM) and different wards of the hospital were ranked using Interval-Valued Intuitionistic Fuzzy Combinative Distance-based Assessment (IVIFCODAS) method. Finally, a case study was performed in one of the hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. In this study, fire alarm system (0.4995), electrical equipment and installations (0.277), and flammable materials (0.1065) had the highest weight, respectively. The hospital powerhouse also had the highest fire risk, due to the lack of fire extinguishers, alarms and fire detection, facilities located in the basement floor, boilers and explosive sensitivity, insufficient access, and housekeeping. The use of MCDM methods in combination with the FMEA method assesses the risk of fire in hospitals and health centers with great accuracy.

The framework of data-driven and multi-criteria decision-making for detecting unbalanced bidding

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Huimin Li ◽  
Limin Su ◽  
Jian Zuo ◽  
Xiaowei An ◽  
Guanghua Dong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Distance Measure ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
Unit Price ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Relative Distance ◽  
Multi Criteria Decision Making ◽  
Ideal Solution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Government

PurposeUnbalanced bidding can seriously imposed the government from obtaining the best value for the taxpayers' money in public procurement since it increases the owner's cost and decreases the fairness of the competitive bidding process. How to detect an unbalanced bid is a challenging task faced by theoretical researchers and practical actors. This study aims to develop an identification method of unbalanced bidding in the construction industry.Design/methodology/approachThe identification of unbalanced bidding is considered as a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) problem. A data-driven unit price database from the historical bidding document is built to present the reference unit prices as benchmarks. According to the proposed extended TOPSIS method, the data-driven unit price is chosen as the positive ideal solution, and the unit price that has the furthest absolute distance measure as the negative ideal solution. The concept of relative distance is introduced to measure the distances between positive and negative ideal solutions and each bidding unit price. The unbalanced bidding degree is ranked by means of relative distance.FindingsThe proposed model can be used for the quantitative evaluation of unbalanced bidding from a decision-making perspective. The identification process is developed according to the decision-making process. The finding shows that the model will support owners to efficiently and effectively identify unbalanced bidding in the bid evaluation stage.Originality/valueThe data-driven reference unit prices improve the accuracy of the benchmark to evaluate the unbalanced bidding. The extended TOPSIS model is applied to identify unbalanced bidding; the owners can undertake objective decision-making to identify and prevent unbalanced bidding at the stage of procurement.

Drawing ethical mentation in Islamic banks; addressing operational lines heterogeneity with special reference to Al-Ghazali’s ethical philosophy

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinaj Valangattil Shamsudheen ◽  
Saiful Azhar Rosly ◽  
Syed Abdul Hamid Aljunid
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Special Reference ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Islamic Finance ◽  
Islamic Banking ◽  
Islamic Banks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Ethical Philosophy ◽  
Divine Knowledge

Purpose This study aims to examine the decision-making behaviour of Islamic banking practitioners of the United Arab Emirates with special reference to the operational line heterogeneity by employing factors that are religious in nature such as intellect, satanic force and divine knowledge as encapsulated in al-Ghazali’s ethical philosophy. Design/methodology/approach A total of 337 samples were collected from the Islamic banking practitioners in the United Arab Emirates using a purposive sampling technique, and the empirical analysis was conducted with the measures of model fit and bootstrapping technique using Partial least square Structural equation modelling and multi-group analysis. Findings The empirical findings reveal that the dedicated use of intellect in making decisions related to ethical issues where desires and emotions tend to overwhelm reason and human choices. While divine knowledge is found ineffective guidance of the intellect, the element of satanic force is found significantly impacting decision-making. As the lack of religious consciousness is evident among respondents, higher exposure to operational risk is expected. These findings were found identical across the Islamic banking practitioners in different lines of operations. Research limitations/implications The span of the study is limited to a single country. Future studies are recommended to replicate the study to more markets where the share of Islamic finance is significant. Practical implications Findings of the study highly suggest respective authorities of Islamic financial institutions to intensify the capacity-building programs on the foundation of faith which includes Islamic thought and worldview, to enhance the corporate ethical decision-making. Moreover, equal importance should be given to all the banking practitioners regardless of line of business operations. Originality/value With undue emphasis is given to the juristic (fiqh) aspects of Shariah compliance in the Islamic banking and finance industry, less has been attempted to explore its ethical dimension (akhlaq) in the compliance parameters that leave a relatively large gap to address prevailing unethical practices in Islamic finance institutions. Findings from this study can be useful as a warning to the Islamic banking firms to enhance the sense of God-fearing and improve existing measures in the organisation in mitigating operational risks that may arise from people or system and consequently ensure the smooth governance of the Islamic banks.

Appreciative inquiry's potential in program evaluation and research

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana M. Griggs ◽  
Mindy Crain-Dorough
Keyword(s):  
Program Evaluation ◽  
Public Education ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Design Stage ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Evaluation Tool ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Educational Partnership ◽  
Data Saturation ◽  
Applications Of Ai

PurposeThe purposes of this paper are to provide a description of AI and to document and compare two applications of AI, one in program evaluation and another in an applied research study.Design/methodology/approachFocus groups, interviews and observations were used to gather rich qualitative data which was used to detail Appreciative Inquiry's value in evaluation and research.FindingsAI aided the researcher in connecting with the participants and valuing what they shared. In both studies, the use of AI amassed information that answered the research questions, provided a rich description of the context and findings, and led to data saturation. The authors describe and compare experiences with two applications of AI: program evaluation and a research study. This paper contributes further understanding of the use of AI in public education institutions. The researchers also explore the efficacy of using AI in qualitative research and recommend its use for multiple purposes.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations occurred in the AI-Design Stage by using a positive viewpoint and because both program and partnership studied were new with limited data to use for designing a better future. So, the authors recommend a revisit of both studies through the same 4D Model.Practical implicationsThis manuscript shows that AI is useful for evaluation and research. It amplifies the participants' voices through favorite stories and successes. AI has many undiscovered uses.Social implicationsThrough the use of AI the authors can: improve theoretical perspectives; conduct research that yields more authentic data; enable participants to deeply reflect on their practice and feel empowered; and ultimately impact and improve the world.Originality/valueAI is presented as an evaluation tool for a high-school program and as a research approach identifying strengths and perceptions of an educational partnership. In both studies, AI crumbled the walls that are often erected by interviewees when expecting to justify or defend decisions and actions. This paper contributes further understanding of the use of AI in public education institutions.

scholarly journals Revisiting the relationship between formal planning process and planning effectiveness

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 1016-1034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Said Elbanna ◽  
Tamer H. Elsharnouby
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Price Volatility ◽  
Organizational Capabilities ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study is to address a timely research question by clarifying whether formal planning is a worthy approach for hotels. In so doing, the authors developed a theoretical model that extends prior research by exploring how the formal planning process influences organizational capabilities and decision-making style. The model also examines the impact of the three identified factors on planning effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 175 hotels located in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar and hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). Findings The study concludes that the practice of formal planning in the tourism sector does matter and both organizational capabilities and decision-making style are important factors in predicting planning effectiveness. Research limitations/implications Generalizations to organizations operating in other sectors, such as manufacturing or government sectors, should be drawn cautiously. Practical implications Taking into account oil price volatility and serious political crises in the region, this study provides several insights to hotel managers into how the formal planning process can influence planning effectiveness. Originality/value The findings enrich the debate on the role of formal planning in the tourism sector, which has been relatively devoid of similar studies.

Fire risk of apparel manufacturing buildings in Sri Lanka

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
R.M.D.I.M. Rathnayake ◽  
P. Sridarran ◽  
M.D.T.E. Abeynayake
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Fire Safety ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Safety Management ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Apparel Manufacturing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Importance Index ◽  
Indirect Impacts

Purpose The total essence of apparel manufacturing buildings (AMBs) is highly influenced by fire incidents which are caused direct or indirect impacts to the present building structure or even in old age. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the fire risk of AMBs in Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach A literature review was conducted to explore the local and international fire incidents in AMBs and identify 24 factors that contribute to fire risk of AMBs. A questionnaire survey with professionals who have the knowledge and experience related to past fire incidents and 18 interviews with professionals of fire safety management were carried out. Content analysis was involved to evaluate interviewees’ opinions and relative importance index was involved to rank identified factors that contribute to the fire risk of AMBs. Findings The results revealed that due to the business nature of AMBs hold a high risk for fire incidents. The study discovered 83.4% of high fire risk prevailing in AMBs in Sri Lanka. Faulty wiring, welding work with electrical sparks and accumulation of waste fabric, paper and other garbage recognized as the top three factors that contribute to the fire risk of AMBs in Sri Lanka. Finally, the strategies proposed to eliminate identified all 41 factors that contribute to the fire risk of AMBs in Sri Lanka. Originality/value The paper helps to guide facility owners regarding the fire safety of AMBs in Sri Lanka.

Happiness at work: a multi-criteria decision-making approach

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rinki Dahiya ◽  
Juhi Raghuvanshi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Technology ◽  
Transformational Leadership ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Causal Relation ◽  
Multi Criteria Decision Making ◽  
Human Resource Managers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
Causal Framework

Purpose Researchers have strived to identify the factors enhancing happiness at work (HAW), and the causal relations among the enablers of happiness remained underexplored. Therefore, this study aims to map and prioritize the causal relation structures of enablers of HAW. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from key representatives of information technology (IT) firms located in India. A framework based on the cause and effect relationship among enablers of HAW is proposed, and to establish this causality, the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) technique was applied. Findings The findings indicate five out of 12 enablers as causal, namely, transformational leadership, authentizotic work climate, person–organization work fit, organizational virtuousness and meaningfulness in work. Originality/value Human resource managers, organizational policymakers and scholars will gain greater understanding through this causal framework of enablers of HAW. Knowledge and facilitation of these enablers will aid in nurturing a happy workplace.

Prioritizing Green HRM practices from policymaker’s perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehrajunnisa Mehrajunnisa ◽  
Fauzia Jabeen ◽  
Mohd Nishat Faisal ◽  
Khalid Mehmood
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Past Research ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Corporate Environmentalism ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Orientation ◽  
Green Human Resource Management

Purpose This study aims to identify and prioritize Green human resource management (GHRM) practices from the policymaker’s perspective in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based manufacturing and service sectors to facilitate sustainable environmental performance. Design/methodology/approach Drawing upon the ability–motivation–opportunity (AMO) and corporate environmentalism theory, this study uses the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a multi-criteria decision-making model, to rank the most influential enablers of GHRM practices. Data were collected from 24 C-suite executives of UAE-based manufacturing and service units. Findings Top management orientation for Green, Green organizational culture and Green corporate strategic planning were the most critical enablers that promote GHRM practices in the UAE’s manufacturing and service firms. Past research has mostly overlooked the strategic variables and focused only on organizational level antecedents based on HR bundles of practices. Research limitations/implications Data were collected only from UAE firms, hence limiting its generalizability. The study shall help organizations operating in emerging countries adopt the best GHRM practices toward Green goal agendas. Originality/value This research provides an AHP framework that can be used to conceptualize and prioritize GHRM practices, which aids in a firm’s Green decision-making and transition toward sustainable Green growth. This study furthers understanding of GHRM practices play out at the various levels-of-analysis within organizations to present a comprehensive paucity of integrative and multi-level studies over recent years. The study may be relevant for other organizations in other national contexts with similar governance homogeneity.

Risk quantification in cold chain management: a federated learning-enabled multi-criteria decision-making methodology

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry Lau ◽  
Yung Po Tsang ◽  
Dilupa Nakandala ◽  
Carman K.M. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Evaluation System ◽  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Handling Time ◽  
Cold Chain ◽  
Pairwise Comparisons ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Multi Criteria Decision Making ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Content Type

PurposeIn the cold supply chain (SC), effective risk management is regarded as an essential component to address the risky and uncertain SC environment in handling time- and temperature-sensitive products. However, existing multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approaches greatly rely on expert opinions for pairwise comparisons. Despite the fact that machine learning models can be customised to conduct pairwise comparisons, it is difficult for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to intelligently measure the ratings between risk criteria without sufficiently large datasets. Therefore, this paper aims at developing an enterprise-wide solution to identify and assess cold chain risks.Design/methodology/approachA novel federated learning (FL)-enabled multi-criteria risk evaluation system (FMRES) is proposed, which integrates FL and the best–worst method (BWM) to measure firm-level cold chain risks under the suggested risk hierarchical structure. The factors of technologies and equipment, operations, external environment, and personnel and organisation are considered. Furthermore, a case analysis of an e-grocery SC in Australia is conducted to examine the feasibility of the proposed approach.FindingsThroughout this study, it is found that embedding the FL mechanism into the MCDM process is effective in acquiring knowledge of pairwise comparisons from experts. A trusted federation in a cold chain network is therefore formulated to identify and assess cold SC risks in a systematic manner.Originality/valueA novel hybridisation between horizontal FL and MCDM process is explored, which enhances the autonomy of the MCDM approaches to evaluate cold chain risks under the structured hierarchy.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document