Search results for "Operations"
showing 10 items of 1692 documents
Some recent contributions to routing and location problems
2003
CORAL 2003, a Conference on Routing and Location, washeld in Puerto de la Cruz (Tenerife, Spain) from February24–26, 2003. A wonderful place, close to the black sand ofthe beach, and a nice temperature welcomed a group ofsenior and young researchers from Canada, England,France, Germany, and Spain. Social activities were alsoprovided and sponsored by the Cabildo Insular de Tenerife(the local government) and TITSA (the public bus transpor-tation company on the island). The conference corre-sponded to the third annual meeting of a research project,funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology,developing a Decision Support System for Vehicle Routingand Facility Location Problems (SAD…
Stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis using the data envelopment model
2006
Abstract Data envelopment analysis (DEA) and stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis (SMAA-2) are methods for evaluating alternatives based on multiple criteria. While DEA is mainly an ex-post tool used for classifying alternatives into efficient and inefficient ones, SMAA-2 is an ex-ante tool for supporting multiple criteria decision-making. Both methods use a kind of value function where the importance of criteria is modeled using weights. Unlike many other methods, neither DEA nor SMAA-2 requires decision-makers’ weights as input. Instead, these so-called non-parametric methods explore the weight space in order to identify weights favorable for each alternative. This paper introd…
Decision-making in energy planning. Application of the Electre method at regional level for the diffusion of renewable energy technology
2003
The authors show an application of the multicriteria decision-making methodology used to assess an action plan for the diffusion of renewable energy technologies at regional scale. This methodological tool gives the decision-maker considerable help in the selection of the most suitable innovative technologies in the energy sector, according to preliminary fixed objectives. In this paper, a case study is carried out for the island of Sardinia. This region presents, on one hand, a high potential for energy resources exploitation, but on the other hand, it represents a specific case among other Italian regions, because of its socio-economic status and history. Three decision scenarios have bee…
Prediction of arrival times and human resources allocation for container terminal
2011
Increasing competition in the container shipping sector has meant that terminals are having to equip themselves with increasingly accurate analytical and governance tools. A transhipment terminal is an extremely complex system in terms of both organisation and management. Added to the uncertainty surrounding ships’ arrival time in port and the costs resulting from over-underestimation of resources is the large number of constraints and variables involved in port activities. Predicting ships delays in advance means that the relative demand for each shift can be determined with greater accuracy, and the basic resources then allocated to satisfy that demand. To this end, in this article we pro…
Decision support for centralizing cargo at a Moroccan airport hub using stochastic multicriteria acceptability analysis
2010
The geographical location of Morocco places it at the heart of important sea, air, rail and motorway transport routes between four continents. In this study we evaluate different alternatives to centralize multimodal cargo at a Moroccan airport hub. The choice depends on different socio-economical criteria, the geographical location, and the environmental impacts. Some of the criteria can be measured quantitatively, while for others only qualitative assessment is feasible. Furthermore, significant uncertainty is present in both the criteria measurements and the preferences. We aided this decision process using Stochastic Multicriteria Acceptability Analysis (SMAA). SMAA is a method that all…
Bayesian Game Model: Demand Side Management for Residential Consumers with Electric Vehicles
2019
This paper proposes the game theory enabled approach for the integration of electric vehicles for demand side management (DSM). Demand side management is very complex with conventional approaches. In order to the efficient mechanism of a game theory enabled approach may resolve the complexity. With the increased penetration level of electric vehicles it will be difficult to control grid-to-vehicle integration. The Bayesian game theory provides the solution of such problems in an organized manner. In the presence of distributed energy resources, Electric vehicles will play an important role to stabilize the grid integration. Electric Vehicles consume power during off-peak load period and inj…
Ontological supports of knowledge: knowledge creation and analytical knowledge
2011
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine, from the perspective of different theoretical approaches, the relationship that exists between different ontological supports of knowledge and knowledge itself (the way it is created and its characteristics).Design/methodology/approachThe paper proposes two different types of knowledge (knowledge of concrete situations and abstract knowledge) and two approaches (the constructivist view and the cognitive view) and provides a general classification of the different knowledge types. Second, it examines the underlying ontological support‐knowledge creation, characteristics or types of knowledge relationship in different approaches. Finally, conclu…
Untangling knowledge fields and knowledge dynamics within the decision-making process
2020
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the influences of different types of knowledge and their inherent dynamics on the effectiveness of the decision-making (DM) process. Knowledge dynamics (KD) is envisioned through the lens of the knowledge fields theory while effective DM process is objectivised via organisational appreciation and reward, higher business performance, sustainable partnerships and managerial satisfaction with previous achievements.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire-based survey was conducted with 275 middle managers from companies operating in the business consulting field. The conceptual and structural model was tested using the partial least squares stru…
Information needs and uses: An analysis of the literature published in Spain, 1990–2004
2007
This article presents a descriptive analysis of works published in Spanish journals and of the papers of conferences held in Spain in the field of information needs and uses in the period 1990–2004 in order to determine if the change in approach described by Dervin and Nilan, among others, also occurred outside the English speaking world. An analysis of the characteristics of relevant publications in this field (by year, authorship, type of document, type of work, and means of publication) shows that although activity is increasing, information needs and uses have not yet become a well-established area. In addition, a study of the content characteristics (by type of user, methodology used, …
Design management capability and product innovation in SMEs
2013
[Purpose]: The aim of this paper is to present design management as a dynamic capability and to analyze its mediating role between organizational learning capability and product innovation performance in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). [Design/methodology/approach]: Structural equation modeling is used to test the research hypotheses based on data from the Italian and Spanish ceramic tile industries. The data are derived from the responses of 182 companies (50 percent of the target population) to a questionnaire addressed to Product Development Managers and Human Resource Managers. [Findings]: The results suggest that organizational learning capability enhances product innovation throu…