Healthcare’s Sustainable Resource Planning Using Neutrosophic Goal Programming

We develop neutrosophic goal programming models for sustainable resource planning in a healthcare organization. The neutrosophic approach can help examine the imprecise aspiration levels of resources. For deneutrosophication, the neutrosophic value is transformed into three intervals based on the truth, falsity, and indeterminacy-membership functions. Then, a crisp value is derived. Moreover, multi-choice goal programming is also used to get a crisp value. The proposed models seek to draw a strategic plan and long-term vision for a healthcare organization. Accordingly, the specific aims of the proposed flexible models are meant to evaluate hospital service performance and to establish an optimal plan to meet the growing patient needs. As a result, sustainability’s economic and social goals will be achieved so that the total cost would be optimized, patients’ waiting time would be reduced, high-quality services would be offered, and appropriate medical drugs would be provided. The simplicity and feasibility of the proposed models are validated using real data collected from the Al-Amal Center for Oncology, Aden, Yemen. The results obtained indicate the robustness of the proposed models, which would be valuable for planners who could guide healthcare staff in providing the necessary resources for optimal annual planning.

Managing Uncertainties in Design Alternatives of EOL Products with Fractional Disassembly Yields

This paper proposes a model of an advanced remanufacturing to order and disassembly to order (ARTODTO) system which evaluates various design alternatives of products to satisfy the demands of retrieved products, components and materials by disassembling these products at the end of their lives. The quality, quantity and variety of end-of-life (EOL) products are uncertain which lead to fractional disassembly yields. Goal programming is used to determine the quantities of EOL products to be acquired in order to meet all the demands of retrieved products, components and materials. A case-example of EOL dryers is presented to demonstrate the steps and implementation of the proposed model.

From Goal Programming for Continuous Multi-Criteria Optimization to the Target Decision Rule for Mixed Uncertain Problems

Goal programming (GP) is applied to the discrete and continuous version of multi-criteria optimization. Recently, some essential analogies between multi-criteria decision making under certainty (M-DMC) and scenario-based one-criterion decision making under uncertainty (1-DMU) have been revealed in the literature. The aforementioned similarities allow the adjustment of GP to an entirely new domain. The aim of the paper is to create a new decision rule for mixed uncertain problems on the basis of the GP methodology. The procedure can be used by pessimists, optimists and moderate decision makers. It is designed for one-shot decisions. One of the significant advantages of the novel approach is related to the possibility to analyze neutral criteria, which are not directly taken into account in existing classical procedures developed for 1-DMU.

The Evaluation of Synergy between University Entrepreneurship Education Ecosystem and University Students’ Entrepreneurship Performance

The interactive mechanism between college and university entrepreneurship education ecosystem and their students’ entrepreneurial performance needs to be further discussed, as college and university students are an important force in entrepreneurship. Since there is a lack of symbiotic mechanism analysis and interactive optimization research using ecological methods, this paper constructs the evaluation index system of entrepreneurship education ecosystem and entrepreneurship performance evaluation index system and uses the entropy weight method to determine the weight of various indicators in the index system more objectively. In this paper, Lotka–Volterra model in ecology is used to deeply study the mechanism between college and university entrepreneurship education ecosystem and entrepreneurship performance. Lotka–Volterra multichoice goal programming (MCGP) model is used to optimize the collaborative relationship between college and university entrepreneurship education ecosystem and entrepreneurship performance. Finally, a numerical example is given to illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the research method. The results show that Lotka–Volterra multichoice goal programming (MCGP) method is effective in evaluating the synergy between college and university entrepreneurship education ecosystem and the students’ entrepreneurship performance.

Multi-Criteria Inventory Optimisation of University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria’s Bakery Using Goal Programming Approach and Flour as the Major Raw-Material

Asides inventory cost, which is being used as the only inventory performance measure at the University of Ibadan bakery, a number of other criteria, such as inventory cost, service level, inventory turnover and delivery lead time which influence the performance of an inventory system have surfaced over the years. Hence, there is the need to examine all these criteria-objectives altogether. Therefore, this research was centred towards optimising the inventory system of University of Ibadan bakery, putting multiple criteria into consideration. Data on 17 raw materials: their costs, suppliers, usage rate, lead time, storage space and available capital were collected by means of interviews, past records and observations. The weighted goal program algorithm was adopted to find the best compromise between fulfilling the four objectives by minimising the sum of the deviation from the target values of the goals. Subsequently, Lingo 17.0 and Tora 1.0 optimisation software packages were used to solve and compare the model generated, while putting into consideration storage space constraint and budgeted capital. The developed model from the goal programming algorithm exhibited four goals (combined into one objective function). Same solutions were obtained from Lingo 17.0 and Tora 1.0. While Lingo 17.0 gave a uniform service level of 100% , a turnover ratio greater than 1(>1) for all the materials at a negligible increase (of < 0.0001%) in total inventory cost of the raw materials and available lead time duration of zero days (< 24 hours) for each material, Tora 1.0 gave a uniform service level of 100% , a turnover ratio greater than 1 (> 1) for all the materials at a negligible increase (of < 0.0001%) in total inventory cost of the raw materials and available lead time duration of zero days (< 24 hours) for each material. Implementation of the developed model will eliminate unnecessary waiting time between production, thereby ensuring effective and efficient utilisation of raw materials in production which will lead to reduced cost of holding inventory, elimination of unnecessary overall cost and wastages, and also improvement of the productivity and profit on the long run.

Design optimization of multi energy systems for domestic hot water uses on the building sector

The burden that has come upon the environment, combined with the ever-declining fossil fuel reserves, has led to the need of reducing the conventional energy consumption in building sector and to the promotion of systems based on Renewable Energy Sources (RES). This paper deals with the optimization of multi energy systems in order to cover the needs of hot water in domestic use. In particular, integer linear programming models are formulated and the optimal solutions regarding the degree of participation of the multi energy systems are explored; economic, energy, and environmental criteria are assumed. The respective mathematical programming approaches include linear objective functions, multiple objective functions that either do or do not use weights, as well as goal programming-based ones. The modeling and solution of the problems is done with the General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS). The case study refers to residential use; both conventional and RES systems are selected for the respective energy demand coverage. The time step of the analysis is 1 hour, in the context of annual operation. According to the results, in the case of the energy criterion, biomass predominates, or heat pumps, when biomass is not included, with an increase in participation of solar thermal collectors when the environmental criterion is introduced. The participation of solar thermal factor is also reinforced in the case of goal programming, because of the relaxation of the initial targets. The analysis demonstrated that the existing integer linear programming methodological tools can be used for investigating problems of multiple energy systems or comparing subsystems.