Urban rail transit in heritage – rich cities: exploring the unique project risks

This paper aims at developing a fuzzy multiobjective decision support model for urban rail transit projects in China under the background that China is presently experiencing an unprecedented construction of urban rail transit. In this study, an appropriate model using multilevel fuzzy comprehensive evaluation is developed. To do so, detailed description and definition of multilevel fuzzy comprehensive evaluation is displayed. In the decision process, the followings are considered as the influential objectives: traveller attraction, environment protection, project feasibility and operation. In addition, consistent matrix analysis method is used to determine the weights between objectives and the factor weights between factors, which reduce the work caused by repeated establishment of the decision matrix on the basis of ensuring the consistency of decision matrix. An application study is provided as an example to demonstrate the feasibility of this model. The results show that this model is reliable and applicable for decisionmaking in urban rail transit projects. Finally, a decision support system is developed to benefit decisionmakers in optimizing the process of identifying superior urban rail transit projects. First Published Online: 11 Oct 2013

Decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) is considered as an effective method for the identification of cause-effect chain components of a complex system. It deals with evaluating interdependent relationships among factors and finding the critical ones through a visual structural model. Over the recent decade, a large number of studies have been done on the application of DEMATEL and many different variants have been put forward in the literature. The objective of this study is to review systematically the methodologies and applications of the DEMATEL technique. We reviewed a total of 346 papers published from 2006 to 2016 in the international journals. According to the approaches used, these publications are grouped into five categories: classical DEMATEL, fuzzy DEMATEL, grey DEMATEL, analytical network process- (ANP-) DEMATEL, and other DEMATEL. All papers with respect to each category are summarized and analyzed, pointing out their implementing procedures, real applications, and crucial findings. This systematic and comprehensive review holds valuable insights for researchers and practitioners into using the DEMATEL in terms of indicating current research trends and potential directions for further research.

Research on Risk Evaluation in Urban Rail Transit Project

This paper presents an ANP technique applied to identify and prioritize Six Sigma projects for healthcare providers whose results allow selecting the project that ensures the maximum financial benefits for the healthcare company. First, the Six Sigma evaluation model is determined, then the criteria weights are established by ANP (Analytic Network Process) and finally, results from ANP and ANP- DEMATEL (Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) are compared. The results show a better decision making performance for ANP-DEMATEL. An empirical case from healthcare sector is presented, showing the effectiveness of the proposed technique.KeywordsSix SigmaEvaluation modelANPHealthcare provider

Increased competition in the industrial world forces companies to increase their competitiveness through Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM). The key to the success of GSCM is the selection of suppliers and the allocation of the proper order by taking into account environmental aspects. This decision involves several criteria and must also pay attention to the relationship between criteria. This study proposes a hybrid procedure to solve Green Supplier Selection and Order Allocation (GSSOA). The integration of Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), Analytic Network Process (ANP), and Multi-Criteria Goal Programming (MCGP) are proposed to solve this problem. The DEMATEL is used to calculate the relationship between criteria. Furthermore, the ANP is proposed to determine the weight of the criteria and supplier ranking. Finally, the MCGP method is offered for allocating orders based on priority suppliers. A case study on the food industry in Malang, Indonesia, was conducted to apply this procedure. The results showed that the low defects rate criterion is the most important compared to other criteria. The best supplier was successfully selected, and the order allocation was completed. Order allocation priority is to suppliers D, C, A, and B. This study also presents a sensitivity analysis for order allocation.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology has been widely used in the construction industry, especially in the field of civil construction. BIM standards, basic software and management platforms are relatively mature. The urban rail transit projects are linear projects, they not only span long lines, multiple regions, involve multiple disciplines, and are difficult to coordinate, but also have complex surrounding environments and high safety requirements. Therefore, their needs for integrated construction and operation applications are more concentrated. In order to solve the problems of data isolation, single display form, abnormal situation notification and delayed processing in urban rail transit construction monitoring, combined with GIS+BIM technology, a complete set of construction monitoring information management process and data organization plan is proposed, and the development is oriented. The construction monitoring system of project construction management focuses on solving the problems of the integration, display, early warning and secondary early warning of construction monitoring data. The system realizes the functions of input, storage, processing, three-dimensional display and early warning of measuring point information and daily measurement information. It is integrated with the GIS+BIM management and control platform, and the project is carried out in the construction project of Qingdao Rail Transit Line 8. Application, interact with functions such as model browsing, schedule control, engineering quantity management, video monitoring, etc., to improve the management efficiency and safety quality level of on-site construction.The mainstream GIS and BIM data based research on construction monitoring data standards promote the in-depth integration of construction monitoring data and improve the data entry and association efficiency.

the selection of project trade mode is usually considered as factors on the level of project management.And ignore the influence of the factors associated with the project management level. So the result in Build-Transfer (BT) mode project transaction efficiency is low. This paper introduce project management theory, and puts forward control strength shall be according to the project in the BT project contract and matching the effectiveness of the risk sharing divided into strong BT, standard BT and weak BT trading modes. It’s according to the project control and risk sharing the BT mode matching the selection process, and through the case study analysis of the effect, of the three operating modes of the BT mode innovation and optimization for urban rail transit project to provide the basis.

With the transition of globalization, competition among corporations has intensified due to the advancement of information technology (IT) and logistics. Taiwan has lost its competitive advantage of low cost owing to the rise of Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRICs), the low production costs in these countries and the lack of natural resources in Taiwan itself. Therefore, Taiwan’s industrial structure should reform towards the higher added-value intellectual industry. In this research, we intend to find the key success factors for corporations to carry out brand innovation and hence act as a reference for future management strategy. We combine decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATAL) with analytic network process (DANP) to identify the important factors for brand innovation, sorted according to their relative importance. The result shows that the frequency of new product introductions, management skill, and the rate of the introduction of new products are the most important factors. The production process, production skill and equipment function, meanwhile, have less effect on brand innovation. Key words: Brand, innovation, key success factors (KSF), decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATAL), analytic network process (DANP).

In a rapidly changing world, most operational processes of enterprises are conducted in the form of development projects. The development of new products is an important organizational strategy to meet consumer needs. During this process, enterprises often encounter many bottlenecks and risks that can cause delays in, and even the failure of, development projects. In this study, we developed a research framework based on relevant literature and expert interviews and then used the decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and the analytic network process (ANP) to determine the relationships among and the importance of risks in the development of new products. The results of a case study show that the six key risks of product development projects include project completion time, mastery of key technical capabilities, controlling the progress of the project, uniqueness and complexity of the project, ability to control the market, and functional integrity of the product. According to the results of importance performance analysis, six key factors were classified in the concentrate quadrant. The optoelectronic manufacturing industry should focus on reducing risks to the project. A cause-and-effect diagram shows that if an enterprise wants to improve performance in terms of these key factors, it should first improve the project completion time or the mastery of key technical capabilities. Therefore, it is appropriate to start by improving the project completion time. In this study, we developed a practical and simple decision support system that allows managers of research and development to examine the risk of projects and assess the relevant risks. A case study was also conducted to test the accuracy of the proposed risk-management method.

Organizational decision to adopt hospital information system: An empirical investigation in the case of Malaysian public hospitals

The essential goal of corporate finance is to maximize corporate value while reducing a firm’s financial risks. Corporate financing decision is a kind of multi-criteria based group decision making that embodies major approaches to handle qualitative criteria and quantitative limitations. However, in literature related to financing decision making, very little research uses decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and analytic network process (ANP) methods to consider the impact and dependency of its factors, or uses Goal programming (GP) to find the satisfactory financing decision under the related financial constraints. This study proposes an integrated group decision making support (GDMS) model to assist corporate financing group decision makers (DMs) in obtaining a satisfactory group solution. ANP, DEMATEL and GP are combined in this GDMS model. By using this model, the group DMs can systemically structure a multi-criteria network framework and derive priority weights of those criteria, and then deal with the quantitative financial constraints for a satisfactory group solution. An illustrative case is demonstrated for the effectiveness and practicability of this GDMS model.

Problem structuring is one of the most critical phases of decision making process. A well-posed problem has direct impact on effective decision making, especially when we use the multi-criteria decision making methods. There are different decision making methods that have been used for decision making on e-learning issues in higher education, but the most suitable method for this kind of problems is the Analytic Network Process (ANP). ANP meets all the theoretical requirements of decision making in higher education, but policy makers use it very rarely in practice because of its implementation weaknesses. One of the weaknesses is a lack of support in structuring problem in the form of a network. This paper brings an overview of several problem structuring methods and approaches, such as simple top-down and bottom-up approaches, the PrOACT approach, ISM (Interpretative Structural Modelling), DEMATEL (Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) and the PAPRIKA structuring method. It also brings analysis of how those structuring methods and approaches help overcome some of the ANP weaknesses. Finally, we provide some recommendations of how to design a new problem structuring method that fits the ANP needs.

Boilers are vital components in the manufacturing industry because they give the heat energy required for industrial processes. The main boiler unit at PT. XYZ has been in use for over 42 years and is exhibiting decreased efficiency as well as increased safety risks. To address these issues, the company plans to upgrade the existing system with a new boiler with a larger capacity. The selection of boiler units has traditionally been guided solely by the lowest price, without consideration for energy efficiency, safety, environmental concerns, or technological needs all of which can significantly increase operating costs and production interruption risks. This study uses a Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) approach to develop an objective and data driven decision making framework using the Delphi technique, Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL), and the Analytic Network Process (ANP). The most significant sub criteria in boiler selection are Boiler Efficiency at 100% Load Specific Energy, which has a weight of 11,83%, followed by Initial Investment Cost (10,84%) and Boiler Safety Control System (10, 13%). The Yuanda Boiler was given the greatest priority weight of 0,349374 among the four evaluated options and is therefore recommended as the best choice, followed by the Miura Boiler (0,319063), the Erensen Boiler (0,196042), and the Omnical Boiler (0,13552). The model established in this work offers a clear and comprehensive decisionmaking framework that can help management choose the best boiler investment that is both energy efficient and sustainable.

Telecommunications development is rapid in the world. Telecommunications service markets in Taiwan have been diversified with competitiveness. Even though the 4G, ADSL and Wi-Fi are operated, cable access still could not satisfy the public's increasing broadband access. For enhancing the competitions of services, in 2007, Taiwan’s supervisory authority has decided to open wireless broadband access business that is the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX). However, the development of WiMAX in Taiwan had been delayed. The research would find and analyze those impact factors. The study took the methods of Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) -- a hybrid MADM model combining the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL). The DEMATEL is based on the Analytic Network Process (DANP) with VIKOR. This systematic assessment would obtain the factors’ rank, and then analyze those impact factors. The government supervision should be the first one of the most important factors. And then, the factors would be considering for business management and profit. Through the VIKOR, the largest gap from aspired level would be business management. However, the item would be pushed by government supervision level. So, the government supervision level should be the first one to improve.

Querying large graphs in biomedicine with colored graphs and decomposition.