Assessment of Risk and Uncertainty Factors Inherent in Nigerian Highway Project Using Analytical Hierarchical Process

The study presents a framework through which risk and uncertainties in Nigeria highway projects can be appraised using the analytical hierarchical process model. Pairwise comparison matrix was performed on eleven (11) risk and uncertainty factors that affect highway project performance through a questionnaire survey conducted among two hundred and four (204) respondents, which involved various stakeholders in the highway construction industry using Saaty’s AHP rating scale. The relative weights (significance/impact level) of each of the highway risk factors were estimated during the AHP model development. The results in descending order of risk factors priorities are Standard & Regulations (S&R), Construction (C), Project Staff (PS), Project Sponsor (PSp), Design (D), Project Finance (PF), Economic (E), Equipment (EQ), Environmental & Geotechnical (En&G), Site Location (SL) and Subcontractor (S) with impact levels of 16.6%, 14.2%, 13.9%, 13%, 12.7%, 12.2%, 10.8%, 9.8%, 6.2%, 4.2%, and 3.8% respectively. The model was validated using the statistical consistency test, with the model showing a consistency ratio equal to 0.1. The model was then applied to five (5) highway construction projects which had been constructed to predict the ones with the most and least risks. The result was in tandem with that which was given by the project managers from experiences on the project. This study showed that the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) decision support model can effectively be used for risk assessment and prioritization of highway construction projects for efficient resource utilization in Nigeria.

Applying Total Costs of Ownership (TCO) to Examine the Best Logistics Providers

Further scientifically finding of total logistics costs model during execution the cement projects in Indonesia, the consecutive further tasks are how to examine the best logistics' provider to perform the logistics' works. This is the ultimate goal of this chapter. The methodology developed is by case study, elaborate techniques of focus group discussion (FGD), expert judgment (EJ), and enriched by the analytical hierarchical process (AHP) to obtain the best decision. The finding is the total costs of ownership (TCO) as the best tool to examine several considerations to select the best provider's candidates can be applied. Data as sources of this chapter are consolidated from the cement projects in Indonesia from 2010 to 2018. During the period, cement projects in Indonesia were rampant, and certainly, it demanded logistics providers. The TCO in practical fits during procurement-processes, it is also valuable during the selection of the logistics' providers. The TCO is fair enough as the best tool to build governance during procurement to avoid miss-discrimination-treated.

Usability Barriers for Elderly Users in Smartphone App Usage: An Analytical Hierarchical Process-Based Prioritization

With the latest technology, smartphone's profound impact may be valuable for the users in different age groups, but the elders always face difficulties while adopting the technology. The usability of a smartphone application is essential when the target audience is elderly users, as the designer did not satisfy the specific requirements. The importance of smartphone application and the issues that the elders are facing in using smartphones have motivated us to provide a list of barriers that could negatively impact the usability of smartphone applications in elderly people. This research focused on identifying the barriers that affect the usability of smartphones, especially among elders. A systematic literature review (SLR) was used to identify and validate the barriers. After that, we apply the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) on identified barriers of all barriers’ groups to find out their relative importance. A total of fifteen barriers were identified through the SLR approach, and the barriers were then classified and assigned to one of the five categories. It is expected that the barriers that have been recognized will help the designers of smartphone applications in the early stages of designing applications. The result of the study will help in dealing with the issues related to the elder community and will make the designers develop smartphone applications accordingly.

Barriers Prioritization of the Indian Steel Industry Supply Chain: Applying AHP and Fuzzy AHP Method

This study seeks to identify possible key barriers in the supply chain of the Indian steel industry. Each of these hindrances has a significance in serving the store network and refining the economy of India. The study is a mix of theoretical and useful structures, which would zero in on those critical barriers in the steel supply chain. It includes a theoretical examination of the barriers in the Indian steel industry and ranking of these barriers using multicriteria methods, that is, analytical hierarchical process (AHP) and fuzzy analytical hierarchical process (FAHP) approaches. The main finding is the identification of key barriers in the Indian steel industry supply chain and prioritizing them according to the severity of their impact. Eleven potential key barriers have been considered in the study for analysis. There can be more barriers in the Indian steel industry. This study exposes the application of both methods, that is, AHP and FAHP, for ranking identified barriers.

Assessment of flood hazard in Owerri West, Imo State, Nigeria using Analytical Hierarchical Process and Index Based Approach

This study aimed at an assessment of flood hazard areas in Owerri Imo State, Nigeria using analytical hierarchical process and index-based approach. The study objectives were to: establish the geophysical factors that contribute to flooding in the study area; classify the established geophysical factors according to the level of flood risk; calculate the reliability index of the classified geophysical factors; determine the flood vulnerable areas using analytical hierarchical process and flood hazard index; and to produce a vulnerability index map defining the extent of flooding vulnerability in the study area. The methodology incorporated in this study involved acquisition of remotely sensed imageries of the study area, pre-processing, Image classification, modelling slope, watershed, Drainage Network, flow accumulation, Soil Classification, classification and standardization, pairwise comparism matrix, normalized weighted Matrix, consistency index check and flood hazard index modelling. The study results revealed that In Owerri West, high flood vulnerability occupied 1.54% with an area coverage of 817.78 hectares, moderate flood vulnerability occupied 28.37% with an area coverage of 15031.98 hectares, low flood vulnerability occupied 24.97% with an area coverage of 13228.25 hectares and no flood vulnerability occupied 1.67% with an area coverage of 882.17 hectares. From the results achieved and the experiences gathered, analytical hierarchy process and flood hazard index-based modelling approach is recommended as it is a robust and efficient tool for mapping flood vulnerability while incorporating robust factors that contribute to flood and having a consistency judgement which judges the reliability of the weights of the factors used during modelling.

Identification of Potential Groundwater Recharge Sites in a Semi-arid Region of Pakistan Using Saaty’s Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP)

Groundwater is a precious source of fresh water and a major component of the entire water supply. Both water quality and quantity could be satisfied by evaluating the groundwater potential sites (GWPS). This paper analyzes the ground-water potentials in a semi-arid region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It describes a standard methodology to identify and map GWPS using integrated Geographical Information System (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) methods. Eight parameters including elevation, slope, drainage density, lineaments density, soil, geology, land use/land cover and rainfall were integrated to explore areas with groundwater holding capability. GWPS were delineated through subjective weights assigned after coupling various thematic layers using Saaty’s Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP). The modelled GWPS were cross-checked with tube wells data. The result indicates that the central part of the study area has good potential for groundwater reserves/exploitation, where the factors i.e. moderate to high drainage density, sedimentary sequence of alluvial plain, low elevation etc. discern the central portion of the study area as a suitable site for groundwater. This study suggests that the applied method proves to be very significant and reliable tool for timely assessment of quality assured evaluation of groundwater resources. This study could be a systematic guide for future investigations for water related explorations, especially in semi-arid environments.

Prioritizing motivators influencing intentions to visit spiritual destinations in India: an application of analytical hierarchical process (AHP) approach

PurposeSpiritual tourism is becoming a significant growth area of the Indian travel market, with more Indians opting to go on pilgrimage to popular religious cities. There are many spiritual destinations where some of this life's essences can be sought to enjoy harmony and peace. The study aims to prioritize motivators driving the intentions of the tourists to visit the spiritual destination.Design/methodology/approachThe current study applied the analytical hierarchical process, a multi-criteria decision-making technique, on the sample of visitors from all the six spiritual destinations to rank the motivational factors that drive the intentions of the tourist to visit a spiritual destination.FindingsThe study's results postulated that spiritual fulfillment motives and destination atmosphere are the top prioritized motivations, while destination attributes and secular motives emerged as the least prioritized.Practical implicationsThe research study provides valuable insights to the spiritual tourism industry stakeholders to target the tourists' highly prioritized motivations to augment the visits to a particular spiritual destination.Originality/valuePrevious research has explored the motivations and modeled their relationships with tourists' satisfaction and intentions. But, the present study has applied a multi-criteria decision-making technique to add value to the existing knowledge base.