An Interval-Valued Intuitionistic Fuzzy Model Based on Extended VIKOR and MARCOS for Sustainable Supplier Selection in Organ Transplantation Networks for Healthcare Devices

A decision-making framework for evaluating medical equipment suppliers under uncertainty

The procurement of medical equipment is a critical concern for healthcare organizations striving to deliver comprehensive patient care. Thus, the procurement process, including performance evaluation and selection of medical equipment suppliers, poses a significant challenge for healthcare organizations. The decision-making process also involves multiple decision-makers making subjective judgments about various quantitative and qualitative criteria for several alternative suppliers. This paper presents a framework for medical equipment supplier evaluation under uncertain assessment information by integrating rank order centroid (ROC) and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (fuzzy AHP) techniques. The first stage involves identifying the key criteria influencing the performance evaluation of medical equipment suppliers for healthcare organizations. The ROC technique is used to assign weights to the important criteria, reducing uncertainty of weight assignment and subjective judgment information of the decision-makers. The fuzzy AHP method is then applied to evaluate and rank potential suppliers based on their overall performance. The approach is validated through a case study in a hospital setting, demonstrating the practical applicability of the proposed approach in a real-world scenario. Results indicate that the proposed hybrid method effectively supports group decision-making under uncertainty, providing healthcare organizations with a systematic and logical approach for selecting the most suitable medical equipment supplier. This framework enhances procurement efficiency and supports better resource allocation in healthcare.

Risk assessment of organ transplant operation: A fuzzy hybrid MCDM approach based on fuzzy FMEA

Nowadays, most fatal diseases are attributed to the malfunction of bodily. Sometimes organ transplantation is the only possible therapy, for instance for patients with end-stage liver diseases, and the preferred treatment, for instance for patients with end-stage renal diseases. However, this surgical procedure comes with inherent risks and effectively managing these risks to minimize the likelihood of complications arising from organ transplantation (maximizing life years from transplant and quality-adjusted life years) is crucial. To facilitate this process, risk ranking is used to identify and promptly address potential risks. Over recent years, considerable efforts have been made, and various approaches have been proposed to enhance Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA). In this study, taking into account the uncertainty in linguistic variables (F-FMEA), we introduce an approach based on Fuzzy Multi Criteria Decision Making (F-MCDM) for effectively evaluating scenarios and initial failure hazards. Nevertheless, the results of ranking failure modes generated by different MCDM methods may vary. This study is a retrospective study that suggests a comprehensive unified risk assessment model, integrating multiple techniques to produce a more inclusive ranking of failure modes. Exploring a broad spectrum of risks associated with organ transplant operations, we identified 20 principal hazards with the assistance of literature and experts. We developed a questionnaire to examine the impact of various critical factors on the survival of transplanted organs, such as irregularities in immunosuppressive drug consumption, inappropriate dietary habits, psychological disorders, engaging in strenuous activities post-transplant, neglecting quarantine regulations, and other design-related factors. Subsequently, we analyzed the severity of their effects on the durability of transplanted organs. Utilizing the Mamdani algorithm as a fuzzy inference engine and the Center of Gravity algorithm for tooling, we expressed the probability and severity of each risk. Finally, the failure mode ranking obtained from the F-FMEA method, three fuzzy MCDM methods, and the proposed combined method were identified. Additionally, the results obtained from various methods were evaluated by an expert team, demonstrating that the highest consistency and effectiveness among different methods are attributed to the proposed method, as it achieved a 91.67% agreement with expert opinions.

A multi-stage group decision making approach for sustainable supplier selection based on probabilistic linguistic time-ordered incentive operator

This study proposes a novel multi-stage multi-attribute group decision making method under a probabilistic linguistic environment considering the development state and trend of alternatives. First, the probabilistic linguistic term set (PLTS) is used by decision makers (DMs) to describe qualitative evaluation information. Subsequently, the weights of DMs for different attributes in different periods are determined by the credibility degree, which is combined with the hesitancy degree and the similarity degree. The evaluations of different DMs for alternatives and the evaluations of DMs' intentions to reward or punish are then aggregated. Later, the trend change level and the trend change stability of alternatives are measured through the means of reward and punishment incentives. Additionally, the probabilistic linguistic time-ordered incentive operator is proposed to aggregate the development state evaluation information and development trend evaluation information in different periods, and alternatives are prioritized by the extended TOPSIS method in the probabilistic linguistic environment. Finally, the practical use of the proposed decision framework is validated by using a sustainable supplier selection problem, and the effectiveness and the applicability of the framework are discussed through comparative analysis. The results show that the proposed approach can select suitable sustainable suppliers by considering their development state and trend in multiple stages.

An integrated decision-making methodology for green supplier selection based on the improved IVIF-CPT-MABAC method

Green supply chain management attaches great importance to the coordinated development of social economy and ecological environment, and requires enterprises to consider environmental protection factors in product design, packaging, procurement, production, sales, logistics, waste and recycling. Suppliers are the “source” of the entire supply chain, and the choice of green suppliers is the basis of green supply chain management, and their quality will directly affect the environmental performance of enterprises. The green supplier selection is a classical multiple attribute group decision making (MAGDM) problems. Interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IVIFSs) are the extension of intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFSs), and are utilized to depict the complex and changeable circumstance. To better adapt to complex environment, the purpose of this paper is to construct a new method to solve the MAGDM problems for green supplier selection. Taking the fuzzy and uncertain character of the IVIFSs and the psychological preference into consideration, the original MABAC method based on the cumulative prospect theory (CPT) is extended into IVIFSs (IVIF-CPT-MABAC) method for MAGDM issues. Meanwhile, the method to evaluate the attribute weighting vector is calculated by CRITIC method. Finally, a numerical example for green supplier selection has been given and some comparisons is used to illustrate advantages of IVIF-CPT-MABAC method and some comparison analysis and sensitivity analysis are applied to prove this new method’s effectiveness and stability.

A novel MADM algorithm for physical education teaching quality evaluation based on 2-tuple linguistic neutrosophic numbers power heronian mean operators

Classroom teaching quality evaluation is an important link in the curriculum quality assurance system. It has important guiding significance for the timely feedback of classroom teaching effects, the achievement of teachers' teaching goals, and the implementation of teaching plans. The evaluation system is scientific, objective and accurate. The classroom teaching quality evaluation is an important way to improve the level of teacher education and teaching and then determine the quality of talent training in various majors. At present, although the evaluation work has played a positive role, the backwardness of the evaluation system has seriously restricted the effectiveness of teaching feedback. The classroom teaching quality evaluation of college basketball training is viewed as the multi-attribute decision-making (MADM). In this article, we combine the generalized Heronian mean (GHM) operator and power average (PA) with 2-tuple linguistic neutrosophic sets (2TLNSs) to propose the generalized 2-tuple linguistic neutrosophic power HM (G2TLNPHM) operator. The G2TLNPHM operator is built for MADM. Finally, an example for classroom teaching quality evaluation of college basketball training is used to show the proposed methods.

An integrated fuzzy MCDM model for prioritizing strategies for successful implementation and operation of the bus rapid transit system

The selection and prioritization of suitable strategies to address the challenges to the successful operation and implementation of the bus rapid transit (BRT) system is a common problem faced by practitioners and decision-makers. Recent research has widely discussed the issue, but such assessments have remained limited in the city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania context, where there are mobility difficulties. The present study addresses this research gap and identifies the most critical challenges to BRT implementation and operation, and recommends the most appropriate strategy for overcoming them. Seven strategies are defined. To prioritize these strategies, five criteria are determined. An integrated multi-criteria decision-making model is introduced. Improved Fuzzy Step-Wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis based on the Bonferroni operator was used to determine the importance of the criteria. Measurement of alternatives and ranking according to compromise solution was applied to assess and rank the strategies. The results indicate that "frequent flooding at the Jangwani bridge bus terminal" and "long waiting time at bus stops" are the most critical challenges while the fourth alternative "strengthening the operation and management" is the appropriate strategy to be implemented for successful operation and implementation of the BRT system. After that, a five-phase sensitivity analysis is performed to observe the robustness of the proposed approach. The results indicate the flexibility and applicability of the proposed approach can address real-life problems. The proposed methodology in this work can be instrumental in assisting mass transit operators with the successful implementation and operation of the BRT system.

Sustainable competitiveness evaluation of regional financial centers with fuzzy number intuitionistic fuzzy TODIM algorithms

The competitiveness evaluation of regional financial centers is frequently looked as the multiple attribute group decision-making (MAGDM) problem. Based on the TODIM method and fuzzy number intuitionistic fuzzy sets (FNIFS), this paper proposes a new FNIF-TODIM method to evaluate the competitiveness of regional financial centers. First, some basic theories related to FNIFS are briefly introduced. In addition, the weights of the attributes are obtained objectively using the CRITIC weighting method. Then, the traditional TODIM method is extended to FNIFS to obtain the final order of alternatives. As a result, all alternatives can be ranked and the best one for the competitiveness assessment of regional financial centers can be identified. Finally, an example for competitiveness evaluation of regional financial centers and some decision comparative analysis is listed. The results show that the established algorithmic approach is useful. The main works of this work are: (1) the paper constructs the FNIF-TODIM method for the evaluation of the competitiveness of regional financial centers; (2) the established method is illustrated by a case study for competitiveness evaluation of regional financial centers; and (3) some comparisons prove the rationality and advantages.

Leagile and sustainable supplier selection problem in the Industry 4.0 era: a case study of the medical devices using hybrid multi-criteria decision making tool

Given the crucial role of the supplier selection problem (SSP) in today's competitive business environment, the present study investigates the SSP by considering the leagile, sustainability, and Industry 4.0 (I4.0) indicators for the medical devices industry (MDI). In this regard, at the outset, the list of criteria and sub-criteria is provided based on the literature and experts' opinions. Then, the importance of the indicators is measured utilizing the rough best-worst method (RBWM). In the next step, the potential suppliers are ranked employing the multi-attributive border approximation area comparison (IR-MABAC) method. Due to the crucial role of medical devices during the COVID-19 outbreak, the present work selects a project-based organization in this industry as a case study. The obtained results show that agility and sustainability are the most important criteria, and manufacturing flexibility, cost, reliability, smart factory, and quality are the most important sub-criteria. The main theoretical contributions of this study are considering the leagile, sustainability, and I4.0 criteria in the SSP and employing the hybrid RBWM-IR-MABAC method in this area for the first time. On the other side, The results of this research can help supply chain managers to become more familiar with the sustainability, agility, leanness, and I4.0 criteria in the business environment.

An integrated method for evaluating the energy-saving and economic operation of power systems with interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy numbers

Chinese population is numerous. Energy resources are limited. The ownership of per capita resource is far lower than the world average level. China is in the process of industrialization and urbanization, but energy resources are consumed and environmental pollution is serious. The energy crisis and environmental protection has restricted our country economy development and social harmony. As a source of energy consumption and environmental pollution, power industry is one of the important fields of energy saving and emission reduction. The reasonable power dispatch is the breakthrough to reduce the energy consumption and environmental pollution. In this paper, we first introduce some operations on interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets, such as Heronian mean (HM) operator and Dombi operations, etc., and further develop the induced interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy Dombi weighted Heronian mean (I-IVIFDWHM) operator. We also establish some desirable properties of this operator, such as commutativity, idempotency and monotonicity. Then, we apply the I-IVIFDWHM operator to deal with the interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy multiple attribute decision making (MADM) problems. Finally, an illustrative example for evaluating the energy-saving and economic operation of power systems is given to verify the developed approach.

Identifying and Predicting Healthcare Waste Management Costs for an Optimal Sustainable Management System: Evidence from the Greek Public Sector

The healthcare sector is an ever-growing industry which produces a vast amount of waste each year, and it is crucial for healthcare systems to have an effective and sustainable medical waste management system in order to protect public health. Greek public hospitals in 2018 produced 9500 tons of hazardous healthcare wastes, and it is expected to reach 18,200 tons in 2025 and exceed 18,800 tons in 2030. In this paper, we investigated the factors that affect healthcare wastes. We obtained data from all Greek public hospitals and conducted a regression analysis, with the management cost of waste and the kilos of waste as the dependent variables, and a number of variables reflecting the characteristics of each hospital and its output as the independent variables. We applied and compared several models. Our study shows that healthcare wastes are affected by several individual-hospital characteristics, such as the number of beds, the type of the hospital, the services the hospital provides, the number of annual inpatients, the days of stay, the total number of surgeries, the existence of special units, and the total number of employees. Finally, our study presents two prediction models concerning the management costs and quantities of infectious waste for Greece's public hospitals and proposes specific actions to reduce healthcare wastes and the respective costs, as well as to implement and adopt certain tools, in terms of sustainability.

The Suitability-Feasibility-Acceptability Strategy Integrated with Bayesian BWM-MARCOS Methods to Determine the Optimal Lithium Battery Plant Located in South America

This study aims to help managers develop a proper strategy and policy for their company’s future. After the global COVID-19 pandemic, developed countries decided to change their production and relocate and re-industrialize. The U.S.’s big electronics and automobile companies are not an exception to this rule. The lithium batteries are the main instrument of mobile phone and electric vehicles. The leading lithium battery supplier for the U.S mobile phone companies is China. Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile (in South America) have some of the largest lithium mines in the world; these countries are known as the lithium triangle. Among the 86 million tonnes of lithium resources worldwide, 49.9 million tonnes exist in this area. The researchers in this study surveyed the best country for constructing a battery for companies in the U.S. Because of the growth of electric vehicles and their use of the lithium battery, the world is facing astronomical prices for lithium. To emphasize this issue and help managers create good policy, this study combined multiple methods. The improved suitability-feasibility-acceptability (SFA) strategy is integrated with the Bayesian best-worst method (BBWM) and measurement of alternatives and rankings according to compromise solution (MARCOS) multicriteria methods to determine the best destination. For comparison, based on the SFA strategy, seven criteria are introduced: commercially viable reserves, national minimum wage, corporate income tax, accessibility to mining companies, accessibility to the waterway, population, and political stability index. The Bayesian BWM analysis reveals that the foremost factor is corporate income tax, whereas MARCOS’s findings indicate that Chile is the best country to construct the lithium battery industry. To verify the proposed approach, a comparison analysis also is performed.

A Behavior-Simulated Spherical Fuzzy Extension of the Integrated Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Approach

Since its inception in 1965, fuzzy sets have been developed for many years and are widely used in multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problems. Recently, spherical fuzzy sets (SFS), one of the most recent fuzzy sets, have been applied to extend and reinforce MCDM methods. To contribute to this development, the aim of this study is to propose a novel SFS extension of the integrated MCDM method that takes into account the psychological behavior of decision makers. In the proposed approach, the evaluation criteria are first weighted by the spherical fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (SF DEMATEL) method based on symmetrical linguistic comparison matrices. Another notable advantage of this process is determining the interrelationship between the evaluation criteria. In the next stage, the spherical fuzzy Interactive Multi-Criteria Decision-Making method in the Monte Carlo simulation environment (SF TODIM’MC) was applied to evaluate the alternatives. This method allows the process of evaluating alternatives to be performed continuously with different psychological behavioral parameters, which are considered as asymmetric information. As a result, the influence of the decision maker’s psychological behavior on the evaluation results is analyzed comprehensively. The robustness of the proposed approaches is verified through their application to prioritizing post-COVID-19 operational strategies in the Vietnam logistics sector. Numerical results have provided a cause-and-effect relationship between the negative effects of the pandemic and their weights. Furthermore, the results of prioritizing the operational strategies in the simulated environment provide rankings corresponding to different levels of risk aversion. Based on the results, the proposed spherical fuzzy approach is promising for expert-based decision-making problems under psycho-behavioral influence.

A Two-Stage Multi-Criteria Supplier Selection Model for Sustainable Automotive Supply Chain under Uncertainty

Sustainable supplier selection (SSS) is gaining popularity as a practical method to supply chain sustainability among academics and practitioners. However, in addition to balancing economic, social, and environmental factors, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the selection of long-term suppliers to ensure sustainable supply chains, recover better from the pandemic and effectively respond to any future unprecedented crises. The purpose of this study is to assess and choose a possible supplier based on their capability to adapt to the COVID-19 epidemic in a sustainable manner. For this assessment, a framework based on multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) is provided that integrates spherical fuzzy Analytical Hierarchical Process (SF-AHP) and grey Complex Proportional Assessment (G-COPRAS), in which spherical fuzzy sets and grey numbers are used to express the ambiguous linguistic evaluation statements of experts. In the first stage, the evaluation criteria system is identified through a literature review and experts’ opinions. The SF-AHP is then used to determine the criteria weights. Finally, the G-COPRAS method is utilized to select sustainable suppliers. A case study in the automotive industry in Vietnam is presented to demonstrate the proposed approach’s effectiveness. From the SF-AHP findings, “quality”, “use of personal protective equipment”, “cost/price”, “safety and health practices and wellbeing of suppliers”, and “economic recovery programs” have been ranked as the five most important criteria. From G-COPRAS analysis, THACO Parts (Supplier 02) is the best supplier. A sensitivity study was also conducted to verify the robustness of the proposed model, in which the priority rankings of the best suppliers are very similar. For long-term development and increased competitiveness, industrial businesses must stress the integration of response mechanisms during SSS implementation in the COVID-19 epidemic, according to the findings. This will result in significant cost and resource savings, as well as reduced environmental consequences and a long-term supply chain, independent of the crisis.