scholarly journals Prioritizing Construction Labor Productivity Improvement Strategies Using Fuzzy Multi-Criteria Decision Making and Fuzzy Cognitive Maps

Algorithms ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 254
Author(s):  
Matin Kazerooni ◽  
Phuong Nguyen ◽  
Aminah Robinson Fayek

Construction labor productivity (CLP) is affected by various interconnected factors, such as crew motivation and working conditions. Improved CLP can benefit a construction project in many ways, such as a shortened project life cycle and lowering project cost. However, budget, time, and resource restrictions force companies to select and implement only a limited number of CLP improvement strategies. Therefore, a research gap exists regarding methods for supporting the selection of CLP improvement strategies for a given project by quantifying the impact of strategies on CLP with respect to interrelationships among CLP factors. This paper proposes a decision support model that integrates fuzzy multi-criteria decision making with fuzzy cognitive maps to prioritize CLP improvement strategies based on their impact on CLP, causal relationships among CLP factors, and project characteristics. The proposed model was applied to determine CLP improvement strategies for concrete-pouring activities in building projects as an illustrative example. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by providing a systematic approach for selecting appropriate CLP improvement strategies based on interrelationships among the factors affecting CLP and the impact of such strategies on CLP. The results are expected to support construction practitioners with identifying effective improvement strategies to enhance CLP in their projects.

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 ◽  
pp. 1305-1310
Author(s):  
Maria K. Ketipi ◽  
Evangelos G. Karakasis ◽  
Dimitrios E. Koulouriotis ◽  
Dimitrios M. Emiris

Symmetry ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajeev Kumar ◽  
Abhishek Kumar Pandey ◽  
Abdullah Baz ◽  
Hosam Alhakami ◽  
Wajdi Alhakami ◽  
...  

Growing concern about healthcare information security in the wake of alarmingly rising cyber-attacks is being given symmetrical priority by current researchers and cyber security experts. Intruders are penetrating symmetrical mechanisms of healthcare information security continuously. In the same league, the paper presents an overview on the current situation of healthcare information and presents a layered model of healthcare information management in organizations. The paper also evaluates the various factors that have a key contribution in healthcare information security breaches through a hybrid fuzzy-based symmetrical methodology of AHP-TOPSIS. Furthermore, for assessing the effect of the calculated results, the authors have tested the results on local hospital software of Varanasi. Tested results of the factors are validated through the comparison and sensitivity analysis in this study. Tabulated results of the proposed study propose a symmetrical mechanism as the most conversant technique which can be employed by the experts and researchers for preparing security guidelines and strategies.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Animesh DEBNATH ◽  
Abhirup BANDYOPADHYAY ◽  
Jagannath ROY ◽  
Samarjit KAR

The long-term evolution of multi agent multi criteria decision making (MCDM) and to obtain sustainable decision a novel methodology is proposed based on evolutionary game theory. In this paper multi agent MCDM is represented as an evolutionary game and the evolutionary strategies are defined as sustainable decisions. Here we consider the problem of decision making in Indian Tea Industry. The agents in this game are essentially Indian Tea Estate owner and Indian Tea board. The replicator dynamics of the evolutionary game are studied to obtain evolutionary strategies which could be defined as sustainable strategies. The multi agent MCDM in Indian Tea Industry is considered under different socio-political and Corporate Social Responsibility scenario and groups of Indian Tea Industry. Again, the impacts of imprecision and market volatility on the outcome of some strategies (decisions) are studied. In this paper the imprecision on the impact of the strategies are modelled as fuzzy numbers whereas the market volatility is taken into account as white noise. Hence the MCDM problem for Indian Tea Industry is modelled as a hybrid evolutionary game. The probabilities of strategies are obtained by solving hybrid evolutionary game and could be represented as a Dempster-Shafer belief structure. The simulation results facilitate the Decision Makers to choose the strategies (decisions) under different type of uncertainty.


2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Kerber ◽  
◽  
Daniel Madrzykowski ◽  
James Dalton ◽  
Bob Backstrom

This research project was a collaboration of several research organizations, product manufacturers and fire service representatives to examine hazards associated with residential flooring systems to improve firefighter safety. Funding for this project was provided through the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Grant Program. The main objective of this study was to improve firefighter safety by increasing the level of knowledge on the response of residential flooring systems to fire. Several types (or series) of experiments were conducted and analyzed to expand the body of knowledge on the impact of fire on residential flooring systems. The results of the study have been prepared to provide tactical considerations for the fire service to enable improved decision making on the fire scene. Experiments were conducted to examine several types of floor joists including, dimensional lumber, engineered I-joists, metal plate connected wood trusses, steel C-joists, castellated I-joists and hybrid trusses. Experiments were performed at multiple scales to examine single floor system joists in a laboratory up through a full floor system in an acquired structure. Applied load, ventilation, fuel load, span and protection methods were altered to provide important information about the impact of these variables to structural stability and firefighter safety. There are several tactical considerations that result from this research that firefighters can use immediately to improve their understanding, safety and decision making when sizing up a fire in a one or two family home. 
 This report summarizes the results from each of the experimental series and provides discussion and conclusions of the results. 



1970 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-12
Author(s):  
MMA Khan ◽  
MA Islam ◽  
AFM Salahuddin ◽  
M Iqbal

A case study research was conducted with a view to assess the impact of five factors such as man, machine, material, money, and safety on productivity. The scope of this study was limited only to small metal workshops, which produces customized independent products. 18 case studies were performed based on selected workshops of different categories (welding shops, repair shops, sheet metal shops). Total Productivity Model (TPM) has been used as the theoretical base of the research model. It has been identified that insufficiency of skilled workers, improper utilization of materials, inefficient inventory control, ineffective safety package etc., are the most critical obstacles to productivity improvement in terms of product and material and hence to the overall productivity improvement of the organization as a whole. Some productivity improvement strategies made on the basis of the observations and analysis are also included in this paper. Keywords: Assessment, Productivity, Total Productivity Model (TPM), and Small Metal Workshops. doi:10.3329/jme.v39i1.1827 Journal of Mechanical Engineering, vol. ME39, No. 1, June 2008 8-12


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 43-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sérgio Guerreiro

Decision-making processes are the utmost important to steer the organizational change whenever business process workarounds are attempted during operational times. However, to decide the non-compliant situations, e.g., bypasses, social resistance, or collusion; the business manager demands contextualized and correct interpretations of the existing business process redesign options to cope with workarounds. This article explores the need to aid the decision-making process with a full constructional perspective to optimize the business processes redesign. So, the Markov decision process is combined with the body of knowledge of business processes, in specific, the concepts of designing enterprise-wide business transactions. This methodology supports the management initiatives with more knowledge about the value of business processes redesign. A classical chain of Order-to-Cash business processes (the order, the production, the distribution and the selling of goods) illustrate the benefits of this quantitative approach. Results obtained for business processes redesign in reaction to workarounds are reported. The analysis results show that this approach can anticipate the sub-optimal solutions before taking actions and highlights the impact of discount factors in the final obtained value. The contribution of this novel conceptual integration to the business processes community is the forecast of value function of business transaction redesign options when facing non-compliant workarounds. From related literature, business processes compliance usually comprises offline computation and the redesign is only considered in the forthcoming business processes instances. This article is innovative in the sense that it anticipates the value impact of a redesign, allowing more effective decisions to be taken.


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