An adaptive forecast combination approach based on meta intuitionistic fuzzy functions

Intuitionistic meta fuzzy forecast combination functions are introduced in the paper. There are two challenges in the forecast combination literature, determining the optimum weights and the methods to combine. Although there are a few studies on determining the methods, there are numerous studies on determining the optimum weights of the forecasting methods. In this sense, the questions like “What methods should we choose in the combination?” and “What combination function or the weights should we choose for the methods” are handled in the proposed method. Thus, the first two contributions that the paper aims to propose are to obtain the optimum weights and the proper forecasting methods in combination functions by employing meta fuzzy functions (MFFs). MFFs are recently introduced for aggregating different methods on a specific topic. Although meta-analysis aims to combine the findings of different primary studies, MFFs aim to aggregate different methods based on their performances on a specific topic. Thus, forecasting is selected as the specific topic to propose a novel forecast combination approach inspired by MFFs in this study. Another contribution of the paper is to improve the performance of MFFs by employing intuitionistic fuzzy c-means. 14 meteorological datasets are used to evaluate the performance of the proposed method. Results showed that the proposed method can be a handy tool for dealing with forecasting problems. The outstanding performance of the proposed method is verified in terms of RMSE and MAPE.

Construction duration predictive model based on factorial analysis and fuzzy logic

Setting the building construction duration for vertical residential works is made still in the study phase of economic and financial feasibility of the project and, in most cases, in an empirical way, increasing the uncertainties and the risks to fulfill the set deadline. However, there are computational intelligence tools that can contribute to reduce the degree of uncertainty. This study aimed to investigate the use of a hybrid system to estimate the deadline for vertical residential building works from design and production characteristics using factorial analysis and Fuzzy Systems. To this end, we used information of a database from the SEURB and in some buildings construction companies in Belém, a city located in the State of Pará, northern of Brazil. For the training and construction of the Fuzzy Forecast Model, data from 71 projects were used and 16 others residential buildings were used for its validation. The results showed a significant level of assertiveness, with 75% accuracy considering a range, whose upper and lower limits were calculated from MAPE and MASE. The model presented a prediction performance superior to other models already consecrated in the literature.

Fuzzy Time Series Forecasting Model based on Frequency Density and Similarity Measure Approach

This paper proposes an enhanced fuzzy time series (FTS) prediction model that can keep some information under a various level of confidence throughout the forecasting procedure. The forecasting accuracy is developed based on the similarity between the fuzzified historical data and the fuzzy forecast values. No defuzzification process involves in the proposed method. The frequency density method is used to partition the interval, and the area and height type of similarity measure is utilized to get the forecasting accuracy. The proposed model is applied in a numerical example of the unemployment rate in Malaysia. The results show that on average 96.9% of the forecast values are similar to the historical data. The forecasting error based on the distance of the similarity measure is 0.031. The forecasting accuracy can be obtained directly from the forecast values of trapezoidal fuzzy numbers form without experiencing the defuzzification procedure.