Browsing by Author "Fontes, Dalila B. M. M."
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- Evaluating Suppliers in the Olive Oil Sector Using AHPPublication . Fontes, Dalila B. M. M.; Pereira, Maria Teresa; Dias, ElisabeteThis work proposes a multi-criteria decision making approach to help assessing and selecting suppliers in the olive oil sector. Olive oil is a protected agricultural product, by region and origin certificate. Therefore to select a supplier, it is of utter importance to inspect and test (taste, colour, smell, density, among others) the olive oil in addition to the supplying company. The identification of possible suppliers was done in two stages: firstly, the region of origin from which to choose possible suppliers was identified and then potential suppliers were evaluated on a set of characteristics for which minimum threshold values were set. From this study, which is not part of the research reported here, we were able to identify the suppliers of interest. Due to the several characteristics and characteristic dimensions used to choose a supplier we resort to the Analytic Hierarchy Process to rank them, this way allowing for a better choice. The rank obtained is robust as the top ranked supplier remains the same for any reasonable change in the criteria weighs and in the evaluation of the suppliers on each criterion. The involved company found the results of value, as well as the lessons learned by addressing the supplier evaluation problem using a more systematic approach.
- Evaluating vehicle painting plans in an automobile assembly plant using an integrated AHP-PROMETHEE approachPublication . Oliveira, Márcia; Fontes, Dalila B. M. M.; Pereira, Maria Teresa RibeiroThe painting activity is one of the most complex and important activities in automobile manufacturing. The inherent complexity of the painting activity and the frequent need for repainting usually turn the painting process into a bottleneck in automobile assembly plants, which is reflected in higher operating costs and longer overall cycle times. One possible approach for optimizing the performance of the paint shop is to improve the efficiency of the color planning. This can be accomplished by evaluating the relative merits of a set of vehicle painting plans. Since this problem has a multicriteria nature, we resort to the multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) methodology to tackle it. A recent trend in the MCDA field is the development of hybrid approaches that are used to achieve operational synergies between different methods. Here we apply, for the first time, an integrated approach that combines the strengths of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE), aided by Geometrical Analysis for Interactive Aid (GAIA), to the problem of assessing alternative vehicle painting plans. The management of the assembly plant found the results of value and is currently using them in order to schedule the painting activities such that an enhancement of the operational efficiency of the paint shop is obtained. This efficiency gain has allowed the management to bid for a new automobile model to be assembled at this specific plant.
- Evaluating vehicle painting plans in an automobile assembly plant using an integrated AHP-PROMETHEE approachPublication . Oliveira, Márcia; Fontes, Dalila B. M. M.; Pereira, Maria TeresaThe painting activity is one of the most complex and important activities in automobile manufacturing. The inherent complexity of the painting activity and the frequent need for repainting usually turn the painting process into a bottleneck in automobile assembly plants, which is reflected in higher operating costs and longer overall cycle times. One possible approach for optimizing the performance of the paint shop is to improve the efficiency of the color planning. This can be accomplished by evaluating the relative merits of a set of vehicle painting plans. Since this problem has a multicriteria nature, we resort to the multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) methodology to tackle it. A recent trend in the MCDA field is the development of hybrid approaches that are used to achieve operational synergies between different methods. Here we apply, for the first time, an integrated approach that combines the strengths of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and the Preference Ranking Organization METHod for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE), aided by Geometrical Analysis for Interactive Aid (GAIA), to the problem of assessing alternative vehicle painting plans. The management of the assembly plant found the results of value and is currently using them in order to schedule the painting activities such that an enhancement of the operational efficiency of the paint shop is obtained. This efficiency gain has allowed the management to bid for a new automobile model to be assembled at this specific plant.
- Group decision making for selection of an information system in a business contextPublication . Pereira, Maria Teresa Ribeiro; Fontes, Dalila B. M. M.The main objective of this work is to report on the development of a multi-criteria methodology to support the assessment and selection of an Information System (IS) framework in a business context. The objective is to select a technological partner that provides the engine to be the basis for the development of a customized application for shrinkage reduction on the supply chains management. Furthermore, the proposed methodology di ers from most of the ones previously proposed in the sense that 1) it provides the decision makers with a set of pre-defined criteria along with their description and suggestions on how to measure them and 2)it uses a continuous scale with two reference levels and thus no normalization of the valuations is required. The methodology here proposed is has been designed to be easy to understand and use, without a specific support of a decision making analyst.
- MCDA applied to performance appraisal of short-haul truck drivers: a case study in a portuguese trucking companyPublication . Morte, Raquel; Pereira, Maria Teresa Ribeiro; Fontes, Dalila B. M. M.Performance appraisal increasingly assumes a more important role in any organizational environment. In the trucking industry, drivers are the company's image and for this reason it is important to develop and increase their performance and commitment to the company's goals. This paper aims to create a performance appraisal model for trucking drivers, based on a multi-criteria decision aid methodology. The PROMETHEE and MMASSI methodologies were adapted using the criteria used for performance appraisal by the trucking company studied. The appraisal involved all the truck drivers, their supervisors and the company's Managing Director. The final output is a ranking of the drivers, based on their performance, for each one of the scenarios used. The results are to be used as a decision-making tool to allocate drivers to the domestic haul service.
- A MCDA model for olive oil supplier selection using MacbethPublication . Pereira, Maria Teresa; Dias, Elisabete; Fontes, Dalila B. M. M.This work proposes a multi-criteria decision-making approach to select suppliers in the olive oil sector. Besides several performance criteria required to the supplier, olive oil characteristics such as colour, smell, and density, as well as organoleptic tests are used. Hence, the assessment and selection of suppliers assumes a major importance and needs to be done yearly. The process of finding a set of suppliers to choose from involves two sequential stages, namely identification and elimination. The identification stage consists of finding a set of potential suppliers. Then, in the elimination stage, suppliers that are not able to meet the thresholds associated with some technical indicators are disregarded. Thus, only a small set of very promising suppliers need to be assessed. The assessment was performed by resorting to the Macbeth approach, resulting in a ranking. The results obtained were validated through sensitivity and robustness analyses.
- Multicriteria decision making: a case study in the automobile industryPublication . Oliveira, Márcia; Fontes, Dalila B. M. M.; Pereira, Maria Teresa RibeiroMulti-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) has been one of the fastest-growing areas of operations research during the last decades. The academic attention devoted to MCDA motivated the development of a great variety of approaches and methods within the field. These methods distinguish themselves in terms of procedures, theoretical assumptions and type of decision addressed. This diversity poses challenges to the process of selecting the most suited method for a specific real-world decision problem. In this paper we present a case study in a real-world decision problem arising in the painting sector of an automobile plant. We tackle the problem by resorting to the well-known AHP method and to the MCDA method proposed by Pereira and Fontes (2012) (MMASSI). By relying on two, rather than one, MCDA methods we expect to improve the confidence and robustness of the obtained results. The contributions of this paper are twofold: first, we intend to investigate the contrasts and similarities of the results obtained by distinct MCDA approaches (AHP and MMASSI); secondly, we expect to enrich the literature of the field with a real-world MCDA case study on a complex decision making problem since there is a paucity of applied research work addressing real decision problems faced by organizations.
- Multicriteria decision making: a case study in the automobile industryPublication . Oliveira, Márcia; Fontes, Dalila B. M. M.; Pereira, Maria Teresa RibeiroMulti-criteria decision analysis(MCDA) has been one of the fastest-growing areas of operations research during the last decades. The academic attention devoted to MCDA motivated the development of a great variety of approaches and methods within the field. These methods distinguish themselves in terms of procedures, theoretical assumptions and type of decision addressed. This diversity poses challenges to the process of selecting the most suited method for a specific real-world decision problem. In this paper we present a case study in a real-world decision problem arising in the painting sector of an automobile plant. We tackle the problem by resorting to the well-known AHP method and to the MCDA method proposed by Pereira and Fontes (2012) (MMASSI). By relying on two, rather than one, MCDA methods we expect to improve the confidence and robustness of the obtained results. The contributions of this paper are twofold: first, we intend to investigate the contrasts and similarities of the results obtained by distinct MCDA approaches (AHP and MMASSI); secondly, we expect to enrich the literature of the field with a real-world MCDA case study on a complex decision making problem since there is a paucity of applied research work addressing real decision problems faced by organizations.
- Road drivers performance appraisal using a MCDA method: a case study in the road transport companyPublication . Morte, Raquel; Pereira, Maria Teresa Ribeiro; Fontes, Dalila B. M. M.Performance evaluation increasingly assumes a more important role in any organizational environment. In the transport area, the drivers are the company’s image and for this reason it is important to develop and increase their performance and commitment to the company goals. This evaluation can be used to motivate driver to improve their performance and to discover training needs. This work aims to create a performance appraisal evaluation model of the drivers based on the multi-criteria decision aid methodology. The MMASSI (Multicriteria Methodology to Support Selection of Information Systems) methodology was adapted by using a template supporting the evaluation according to the freight transportation company in study. The evaluation process involved all drivers (collaborators being evaluated), their supervisors and the company management. The final output is a ranking of the drivers, based on their performance, for each one of the scenarios used.
- Selection of a Strategic Plan Using an Integrated AHP-Goal Programming ApproachPublication . Fontes, Dalila B. M. M.; Pereira, Maria Teresa; Oliveira, MárciaThis work proposes a multi-criteria decision making model to assist in the choice of a strategic plan for a world-class company. The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a support tool of Beyond Budgeting that translates a company’s vision and strategy into a coherent set of performance measures. However, it does not provide help in choosing a strategic plan. The selection of a strategic plan involves multiple goals and objectives that are often conflicting and incommensurable. This paper proposes an integrated Analytic Hierarchy Process-Goal Programming (AHP-GP) approach to select such a plan. This approach comprises two stages. In the first stage, the AHP is used to evaluate the relative importance of the initiatives with respect to financial indicators/KPIs; while in the second stage a GP model incorporating the AHP priority scores is developed. The GP model selects a set of initiatives that maximizes the earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and minimizes the Capital Employed (CE). The proposed method was evaluated through a case study.