In this paper, a new multi-criteria problem solving method—the Full Consistency Method (FUCOM)—is proposed. The model implies the definition of two groups of constraints that need to satisfy the optimal values of weight coefficients. The first group of constraints is the condition that the relations of the weight coefficients of criteria should be equal to the comparative priorities of the criteria. The second group of constraints is defined on the basis of the conditions of mathematical transitivity. After defining the constraints and solving the model, in addition to optimal weight values, a deviation from full consistency (DFC) is obtained. The degree of DFC is the deviation value of the obtained weight coefficients from the estimated comparative priorities of the criteria. In addition, DFC is also the reliability confirmation of the obtained weights of criteria. In order to illustrate the proposed model and evaluate its performance, FUCOM was tested on several numerical examples from the literature. The model validation was performed by comparing it with the other subjective models (the Best Worst Method (BWM) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)), based on the pairwise comparisons of the criteria and the validation of the results by using DFC. The results show that FUCOM provides better results than the BWM and AHP methods, when the relation between consistency and the required number of the comparisons of the criteria are taken into consideration. The main advantages of FUCOM in relation to the existing multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods are as follows: (1) a significantly smaller number of pairwise comparisons (only n − 1), (2) a consistent pairwise comparison of criteria, and (3) the calculation of the reliable values of criteria weight coefficients, which contribute to rational judgment.

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-8994/10/9/393/pdf

A New Model for Determining Weight Coefficients of Criteria in MCDM Models: Full Consistency Method (FUCOM)

A third party reverse logistic provider (3PRLP) selection and evaluation process is developed.A multiple attribute decision making (MADM) model to evaluate and select 3PRLPs in the presence of risk factors is proposed.A fuzzy step-wise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) approach to weight the evaluation criteria is applied.A fuzzy (COPRAS) is proposed to rank and select the sustainable third-party reverse logistics providers in the presence of risk factors.A real world case study is used from automotive industry to validate the quality of our model. Reverse logistics is the backward process of collecting and redistributing products at the end-of-life from customers to producers and manufacturers for reuse, remanufacturing and disposal purposes. While reverse logistics brings several economic benefits, it seems to become a necessity for businesses to remain competitive in a world that environmental and social aspects of business activities are key to sustainable development. The operations and management of reverse logistics systems is a complex task that requires substantial level of infrastructure, technology, expertise and experience. Therefore, increasingly many business organizations tend to outsource their reverse logistics activities to third-party reverse logistics providers (3PRLPs). In this paper, we propose a multiple attribute decision making (MADM) model to rank and select 3PRLPs, using fuzzy step-wise weight assessment ratio analysis (SWARA) to weight the evaluation criteria. Accordingly, a developed fuzzy complex proportional assessment of alternatives (COPRAS) was proposed to rank and select the sustainable 3PRLPs in the presence risk factors. The suggested model was applied to a case study from automotive industry. Eventually, COPRAS and COPRAS-G methods were considered for the purpose of comparison and validation. As a result, the most sustainable 3PRLP was selected. While incorporating risk factors into our analysis, our study shows that environmental and social drivers are increasingly becoming dominant when selecting 3PRLPs.

Sustainable third-party reverse logistics provider evaluation and selection using fuzzy SWARA and developed fuzzy COPRAS in the presence of risk criteria

Critical success factors of sustainable project management in construction: A fuzzy DEMATEL-ANP approach

The Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) utility determining approaches and fuzzy sets are considered to be new development approaches, which have been recently presented, extended, and used by some scholars in area of decision making. There is a lack of research regarding to systematic literature review and classification of study about these approaches. Therefore; in the present study, the attempt is made to present a systematic review of methodologies and applications with recent fuzzy developments of two new MCDM utility determining approaches including Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis (SWARA) and the Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment (WASPAS) and fuzzy extensions which discussed in recent years. Regarding this, some major databases including Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar have been nominated and systematic and meta-analysis method which called “PRISMA” has been proposed. In addition, the selected articles were classified based on authors, the year of publication, journals and conferences names, the technique and method used, research objectives, research gap and problem, solution and modeling, and finally results and findings. The results of this study can assist decision-makers in handling information such as stakeholders’ preferences, interconnected or contradictory criteria and uncertain environments. In addition, findings of this study help to practitioners and academic for adopting the new MCDM utility techniques such as WASPAS and SWARA in different application areas and presenting insight into literature.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Swara and Waspas Methods: Theory and Applications with Recent Fuzzy Developments

Sustainability is one of the main challenges of the recent decades. In this regard, several prior studies have used different techniques and approaches for solving this problem in the field of sustainability engineering. Multiple criteria decision making (MCDM) is an important technique that presents a systematic approach for helping decisionmakers in this field. The main goal of this paper is to review the literature concerning the application of MCDM methods in the field of sustainable engineering. The Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection Database was chosen to identify 108 papers in the period of 2008–2018. The selected papers were classified into five categories, including construction and infrastructure, supply chains, transport and logistics, energy, and other. In addition, the articles were classified based on author, year, application area, study objective and problem, applied methods, number of published papers, and name of the journal. The results of this paper show that sustainable engineering is an area that is quite suitable for the use of MCDM. It can be concluded that most of the methods used in sustainable engineering are based on traditional approaches with a noticeable trend towards applying the theory of uncertainty, such as fuzzy, grey, rough, and neutrosophic theory.

Application of MCDM Methods in Sustainability Engineering: A Literature Review 2008–2018

Third-party logistic provider (3PLP) companies play a major role in supply chain management (SCM) by carrying out specialized functions—namely, integrated operation, warehousing, and transportation services. Taking sustainability issues into consideration makes reverse logistics even more significant. In this paper, a combination of sustainability and risk factors was considered for third-party reverse logistic provider (3PRLP) evaluation. Initially, fuzzy step-wise weight assessment ratio analysis (Fuzzy SWARA) was applied for weighing the evaluation criteria; then, Fuzzy multi-objective optimization on the basis of ratio analysis (Fuzzy MOORA) was utilized for ranking the sustainable third-party reverse logistic providers in the plastic industry in the second step. Findings highlight that quality, recycling, health, and safety were the most important criteria in economic, environmental, and social dimensions of sustainability, respectively. Also, operational risk was found to have the highest weight among risk factors.

Navid Zarbakhshnia

Papers

Sustainable third-party reverse logistics provider evaluation and selection using fuzzy SWARA and developed fuzzy COPRAS in the presence of risk criteria

Sustainable third-party reverse logistic provider selection with fuzzy SWARA and fuzzy MOORA in plastic industry

A novel multi-objective model for green forward and reverse logistics network design

A novel hybrid multiple attribute decision-making approach for outsourcing sustainable reverse logistics

Bus rapid transit (BRT): A simulation and multi criteria decision making (MCDM) approach