Métodos heurísticos para un problema multicriterio de distribución de ayuda humanitaria

Large scale disasters, such as the one caused by the Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated portions of the Philippines in 2013, or the catastrophic 2010 Haiti earthquake, which caused major damage in Port-au-Prince and other settlements in the region, have massive and lasting effects on populations. Nowadays, disasters can be considered as a consequence of inappropriately managed risk. These risks are the product of hazards and vulnerability, which refers to the extent to which a community can be affected by the impact of a hazard. In this way, developing countries, due to their greater vulnerability, suffer the highest costs when a disaster occurs. Disaster relief is a challenge for politics, economies, and societies worldwide. Humanitarian organizations face multiple decision problems when responding to disasters. In particular, once a disaster strikes, the distribution of humanitarian aid to the population affected is one of the most fundamental operations in what is called humanitarian logistics. This term is defined as the process of planning, implementing and controlling the effcient, cost-effective ow and storage of goods and materials as well as related information, from the point of origin to the point of consumption, for the purpose of meeting the end bene- ciaries' requirements and alleviate the suffering of vulnerable people, [the Humanitarian Logistics Conference, 2004 (Fritz Institute)]. During the last decade there has been an increasing interest in the OR/MS community in studying this topic, pointing out the similarities and differences between humanitarian and business logistics, and developing models suited to handle the special characteristics of these problems. Several authors have pointed out that traditional logistic objectives, such as minimizing operation cost, are not the most relevant goals in humanitarian operations. Other factors, such as the time of operation, or the design of safe and equitable distribution plans, come to the front, and new models and algorithms are needed to cope with these special features. Up to six attributes related to the distribution plan are considered in our multi-criteria approach. Even though there are usually simple ways to measure the cost of an operation, the evaluation of some other attributes such as security or equity is not easy. As a result, several attribute measures are proposed and developed, focusing on different aspects of the solutions. Furthermore, when metaheuristic solution methods are used, considering non linear objective functions does not increase the complexity of the algorithms significantly, and thus more accurate measures can be utilized...

Parallel Problem Solving from Nature – PPSN XIV:14th International Conference, Edinburgh, UK, September 17-21, 2016, Proceedings

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Parallel Problem Solving from Nature, PPSN 2016, held in Edinburgh, UK, in September 2016. The total of 93 revised full papers were carefully reviewed and selected from 224 submissions. The meeting began with four workshops which offered an ideal opportunity to explore specific topics in intelligent transportation Workshop, landscape-aware heuristic search, natural computing in scheduling and timetabling, and advances in multi-modal optimization. PPSN XIV also included sixteen free tutorials to give us all the opportunity to learn about new aspects: gray box optimization in theory; theory of evolutionary computation; graph-based and cartesian genetic programming; theory of parallel evolutionary algorithms; promoting diversity in evolutionary optimization: why and how; evolutionary multi-objective optimization; intelligent systems for smart cities; advances on multi-modal optimization; evolutionary computation in cryptography; evolutionary robotics - a practical guide to experiment with real hardware; evolutionary algorithms and hyper-heuristics; a bridge between optimization over manifolds and evolutionary computation; implementing evolutionary algorithms in the cloud; the attainment function approach to performance evaluation in EMO; runtime analysis of evolutionary algorithms: basic introduction; meta-model assisted (evolutionary) optimization. The papers are organized in topical sections on adaption, self-adaption and parameter tuning; differential evolution and swarm intelligence; dynamic, uncertain and constrained environments; genetic programming; multi-objective, many-objective and multi-level optimization; parallel algorithms and hardware issues; real-word applications and modeling; theory; diversity and landscape analysis.

UTILIZATION OF GIS AND SPATIAL ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES IN ARTISANAL AND SMALL SCALE MINING TO LOCATE A CENTRALIZED PROCESSING CENTRE

One of the global phenomena with threats to environmental health and safety is artisanal mining. There are ambiguities in the manner in which an ore-processing facility operates which hinders the mining capacity of these miners in Ghana. These problems are reviewed on the basis of current socio-economic, health and safety, environmental, and use of rudimentary technologies which limits fair-trade deals to miners. This research sought to use an established data-driven, geographic information (GIS)-based system employing the spatial analysis approach for locating a centralized processing facility within the Wassa Amenfi-Prestea Mining Area (WAPMA) in the Western region of Ghana. A spatial analysis technique that utilizes ModelBuilder within the ArcGIS geoprocessing environment through suitability modeling will systematically and simultaneously analyze a geographical dataset of selected criteria. The spatial overlay analysis methodology and the multi-criteria decision analysis approach were selected to identify the most preferred locations to site a processing facility. For an optimal site selection, seven major criteria including proximity to settlements, water resources, artisanal mining sites, roads, railways, tectonic zones, and slopes were considered to establish a suitable location for a processing facility. Site characterizations and environmental considerations, incorporating identified constraints such as proximity to large scale mines, forest reserves and state lands to site an appropriate position were selected. The analysis was limited to criteria that were selected and relevant to the area under investigation. Saaty’s analytical hierarchy process was utilized to derive relative importance weights of the criteria and then a weighted linear combination technique was applied to combine the factors for determination of the degree of potential site suitability. The final map output indicates estimated potential sites identified for the establishment of a facility centre. The results obtained provide intuitive areas suitable for consideration

Financial sustainability of cooperatives: a case of portuguese olive oil cooperatives

En Portugal, como en otros países, las cooperativas agrícolas tienen un papel económico importante en el sistema alimentario. Similar a otras organizaciones económicas, las cooperativas agrícolas han sido testigos de cambios estructurales en las últimas décadas en términos de modelos de gobernación y gestión. Las cooperativas agrícolas portuguesas se han visto constreñidas por su contexto a adoptar un modelo tradicional de propiedad y control. El objetivo principal de este estudio era analizar cuestiones relacionadas con la estructura de gestión y desempeño financiero de las cooperativas, basada en los datos recogidos de cooperativas de aceite de oliva situadas en la región interior norte de Portugal. La combinación de un análisis cualitativo de la estructura y toma de decisiones, una evaluación financiera y la aplicación de un enfoque en varios criterios (PROMETHEE II), los resultados están en línea con expectativas (por ejemplo, bajos niveles de participación de los miembros, gestión no profesional, ratios de rentabilidad bajos, bajo apalancamiento y una capacidad para cumplir compromisos financieros), excepto la relación entre la gestión profesional y el desempeño financiero. La existencia de gestión profesional no conduce a mejores resultados financieros. Este resultado refuerza la creencia de que las cooperativas que están estructuradas de diferente manera tienen intereses diferentes y contradictorios a las partes interesadas.

Effective end wall profiling rules for a highly loaded compressor cascade

This paper presents a numerical study of a linear compressor cascade to investigate the effective end wall profiling rules for highly-loaded axial compressors. The first step in the research applies a correlation analysis for the different flow field parameters by a data mining over 600 profiling samples to quantify how variations of loss, secondary flow and passage vortex interact with each other under the influence of a profiled end wall. The result identifies the dominant role of corner separation for control of total pressure loss, providing a principle that only in the flow field with serious corner separation does the does the profiled end wall change total pressure loss, secondary flow and passage vortex in the same direction. Then in the second step, a multi-objective optimization of a profiled end wall is performed to reduce loss at design point and near stall point. The development of effective end wall profiling rules is based on the manner of secondary flow control rather than the geometry features of the end wall. Using the optimum end wall cases from the Pareto front, a quantitative tool for analyzing secondary flow control is employed. The driving force induced by a profiled end wall on different regions of end wall flow are subjected to a detailed analysis and identified for their positive/negative influences in relieving corner separation, from which the effective profiling rules are further confirmed. It is found that the profiling rules on a cascade show distinct differences at design point and near stall point, thus loss control of different operating points is generally independent.

Avvägning mellan arbetsmiljö och effektivitet med hjälp av multikriterieanalys : Hur komplettering av kundtjänst påverkar kundnöjdhet och effektivitet

A public organization has a section for customer service which is responsible of order entry from customers concerning errands within real estate and business equipment, cleaning, transport operations and handicap appliance. According to the co-ordinators in hospitals within the organisation the customers are requesting for staff to talk to physically, meaning a person to speak with face to face. The customers experiencing that it’s sometimes difficult to call customer service or use the web form, which is the only communication paths in the current situation. Proposed changes presented claim that a complement to customer service with local service centers in every hospital. The purpose of this study is to evaluate a change proposition by weigh between efficiency and working environment, this by using multi-criteria analysis. To achieve the goal a decision model is designed in the decision tool DecideIT. The aim of the study is to recommend decision makers to choose one of the options based on as rational grounds as possible. The result of the study showed that the preferred alternative is not to supplement customer service with local service centers. For the most part, the result depending on the survey (represented result from working environment criteria) which showed that the majority of customers do not request a person to speak with face to face at all.

Lageroptimering med hjälp av multikriterieanalys : En fallstudie hos KUBALs centrallager

This thesis deals with control of stock in an inventory, focusing on inventory placement. The purpose of this thesis is to reduce the transport distance within the main stock house while gathering inventory. This will be achieved by reconstructing the inventory placement in consideration with how frequently the inventories get picked and mass of the inventory. In particular, the literature and the data that is collected from the company´s business system have laid the foundation for the thesis. In general, interviews and observations also contributed to the data collection. To fulfill the aim and to produce arbitrary results, two issues have been developed regarding which attributes that should determine the position of the inventory in the stock house and how to obtain a more effective inventory structure? The authors have jointly produced a result of suggestions for future inventory placement in terms of picking frequency and weight. Initially a situation analysis was conducted to identify known problems with the inventory´s placement and storage systems. The problems that were identified were that the inventory placement has no consideration regarding picking frequency. To determine the most frequent picked inventory an ABC analysis was conducted. All of the inventories were spread out throughout the whole stock house. To take in account, the additional criterion, which was weight, a multi-criteria analysis was performed in combination with the ABC analysis. The results of the combined analysis provided that the basis for drawing up concepts for future inventory placement. The proposal includes optimized inventory placements in different zones of the most frequently picked inventory with weight as an additional criterion.

Using AHP and the IPMA Competence Baseline in the project managers selection process

This paper proposes the joint use of the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) and the ICB (IPMA Competence Baseline), as a tool for the decision-making process of selecting the most suitable managers for projects. A hierarchical structure, comprising the IPMA’s ICB 3.0 contextual, behavioural and technical competence elements, is constructed for the selection of project managers. It also describes the AHP implementation, illustrating the whole process with an example using all the 46 ICB competence elements as model criteria. This tool can be of high interest to decision-makers because it allows comparing the candidates for managing a project using a systematic and rigorous process with a rich set of proven criteria.

Predictive Analytics and Decision Support for Heart Failure patients

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Développement d’un indice du potentiel TOD pour l’agglomération de Montréal

Résumé : Les aménagements axés sur le transport en commun (transit-oriented development ou TOD) reposent sur la création de développements résidentiels à proximité d’un nœud de transport existant. Dans le cadre de cet essai, on cherche plutôt à identifier les quartiers existants de Montréal possédant déjà les caractéristiques propices à l’aménagement d’un TOD, mais mal desservis par les transports en commun. En s’inspirant d’une étude menée aux Pays-Bas, on a eu recours à une analyse spatiale multicritères afin de concevoir un «indice du potentiel TOD», comportant quatre critères jugés essentiels, soit : la densité d’habitants, la mixité des utilisations du sol, la mixité sociale, ainsi que la distance aux transports. Malgré la difficulté d’intégrer l’ensemble des critères identifiés dans la littérature, les résultats révèlent un fort potentiel TOD sur le Plateau Mont-Royal, dans le Sud-Ouest, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve et plus particulièrement dans Anjou et Saint-Michel. On recommande notamment un secteur situé dans Saint-Michel, dont le potentiel TOD pourrait être enrichi par la création de plus fortes connexions au réseau de transports en commun.

Contribution à la planification tactique et opérationnelle du transport forestier

Cette thèse est une contribution à la modélisation, la planification et l’optimisation du transport pour l’approvisionnement en bois de forêt des industries de première transformation. Dans ce domaine, les aléas climatiques (mise au sol des bois par les tempêtes), sanitaires (attaques bactériologiques et fongiques des bois) et commerciaux (variabilité et exigence croissante des marchés) poussent les divers acteurs du secteur (entrepreneurs et exploitants forestiers, transporteurs) à revoir l’organisation de la filière logistique d’approvisionnement, afin d’améliorer la qualité de service (adéquation offre-demande) et de diminuer les coûts. L’objectif principal de cette thèse était de proposer un modèle de pilotage améliorant la performance du transport forestier, en respectant les contraintes et les pratiques du secteur. Les résultats établissent une démarche de planification hiérarchique des activités de transport à deux niveaux de décision, tactique et opérationnel. Au niveau tactique, une optimisation multi-périodes permet de répondre aux commandes en minimisant l’activité globale de transport, sous contrainte de capacité agrégée des moyens de transport accessibles. Ce niveau permet de mettre en œuvre des politiques de lissage de charge et d’organisation de sous-traitance ou de partenariats entre acteurs de transport. Au niveau opérationnel, les plans tactiques alloués à chaque transporteur sont désagrégés, pour permettre une optimisation des tournées des flottes, sous contrainte des capacités physiques de ces flottes. Les modèles d’optimisation de chaque niveau sont formalisés en programmation linéaire mixte avec variables binaires. L’applicabilité des modèles a été testée en utilisant un jeu de données industrielles en région Aquitaine et a montré des améliorations significatives d’exploitation des capacités de transport par rapport aux pratiques actuelles. Les modèles de décision ont été conçus pour s’adapter à tout contexte organisationnel, partenarial ou non : la production du plan tactique possède un caractère générique sans présomption de l’organisation, celle-ci étant prise en compte, dans un deuxième temps, au niveau de l’optimisation opérationnelle du plan de transport de chaque acteur.

Estatística das aplicações de métodos multicritério nas áreas da engenharia de produção

Currently, the decision analysis in production processes involves a level of detail, in which the problem is subdivided to analyze it in terms of different and conflicting points of view. The multi-criteria analysis has been an important tool that helps assertive decisions related to the production process. This process of analysis has been incorporated into various areas of production engineering, by applying multi-criteria methods in solving the problems of the productive sector. This research presents a statistical study on the use of multi-criteria methods in the areas of Production Engineering, where 935 papers were filtered from 20.663 publications in scientific journals, considering a level of the publication quality based on the impact factor published by the JCR between 2010 and 2015. In this work, the descriptive statistics is used to represent some information and statistical analysis on the volume of applications methods. Relevant results were found with respect to the "amount of advanced methods that are being applied and in which areas related to Production Engineering." This information may provide support to researchers when preparing a multi-criteria application, whereupon it will be possible to check in which issues and how often the other authors have used multi-criteria methods.

Proposta de uma matriz de decisão em energia hidrelétrica com o uso do método multicritério, para formulação de políticas públicas no estado do Paraná

Brazil is internationally acknowledged for its renewable sources, most notably, hydroelectric power plant projects which correspond to 65% of electricity production supply to the National Interconnected System. The main question behind this research is: what are the weights and the relative importance of the variables which have influence on the decision making process for the expansion of hydroelectric generation projects in Parana? The main objective is to propose a multi-criteria decision procedure, in association with water sources options that take into consideration the weight and relative importance of the alternatives having influence on the decision by enterprises in the generation of electricity in the state of Paraná. As far as the approach to the problem is concerned, this research can be classified as having mixed methodologies, applying Content Analysis, Delphi technique and the Analytic Hierarchy Process. Following Delphi methodology, a group of 21 was selected for data collection, all of those linked to Paranaense hydroelectricity market. And the main result was the construction of a decision tree in which it was possible to identify the importance and relative weight of the elements associated with the four dimensions of energy. In environmental dimension, the highest relative weight was placed on the loading capacity of Parana system; the economic dimension, the amortization of investment; in social dimension, the generation of direct work places and in institutional dimension, the availability of suitable sources of financing. Policy makers and business managers make their decisions based on specific criteria related to the organization segment, market information, economic and political behavior among other indicators that guide them in dealing with the typical tradeoffs of projects in hydropower area. The results obtained in the decision tree show that the economic bias is still the main factor in making investment decisions. However, environmental impacts on the State loading capacity, income generation, providing opportunities for direct as well as indirect jobs. And at an institutional level, the absence of funding sources show that the perception of experts is focused on other issues beyond the logic behind development per se. The order of priority of variables in this study indicates that in the current environment of uncertainty in the Brazilian economy as many variables must be analyzed and compared in order to optimize the scarce resources available to expand local development in relation to Paranaense water matrix.