International Journal of Industrial Engineering & Production Research

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In this paper we develop a new approach for land leveling in order to improve the topology of a large area for irrigation or civil projects. The objective in proposed model is to minimize the total volume of cutting so that technical requirements of land leveling such as suitable slope and standard ratio of cutting to filling and maximum penstock point’s height are considered. We develop a warped surface pattern and apply a linear programming model to determine the land optimal topology. Our approach is more practical to apply, in comparison with the existing “fit to plane” methods which apply bivariate regression statistical techniques because in these methods finding optimal solution, considering technical requirements, needs trial and error. Our proposed method does not need any trial and error, furthermore its results is global optimum. Also the warped surface pattern is adoptable to plane or curved patterns, and it is applicable for any land with any magnitude.

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This research aims at presenting a consolidated model of data envelopment analysis (DEA) technique and value engineering to select the best manufacturing methods for gate valve covers and ranking the methods using TOPSIS.To do so, efficiency evaluation indices were selected based on the value engineering approach and different manufacturing methods were evaluated using DEA technique.Finally, effective methods were ranked based on TOPSIS. Accordingly, 48 different methods were identified for manufacturing the part. The DEA results showed that only 12 methods have complete efficiency. Meanwhile manufacturing method No. 32 (A216 WCB casting purchased from Chinese market as the raw material, machining by CNC+NC and drilling by radial drill) was ranked the first.Major limitations of the research include time limitations, place limitation, lack of access to the standards adaptability index in different machining and drilling methods, limitation on evaluating all parts of a product, limitation on a technique evaluating efficiency and ranking, and mere satisfying with superior indices in each factor of value engineering. Most previous studies only evaluated efficiency of manufacturing methods based on a single approach.By applying value engineering, which is in fact a combination of three approaches (including quality approach, functional, and cost approaches), the present research provided a far more comprehensive model to evaluate manufacturing methods in industrial.

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There are many real problems in which multiple responses should be optimized simultaneously by setting of process variables. One of the common approaches for optimization of multi-response problems is desirability function. In most real cases, there is a correlation structure between responses so ignoring the correlation may lead to mistake results. Hence, in this paper a robust approach based on desirability function is extended to optimize multiple correlated responses. Main contribution of the current study is the synthesis of ideas considering correlation structure in robust optimization through defining joint confidence interval and desirability function method. A genetic algorithm was employed to solve the introduced problem. Effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated through some computational examples and some comparisons with previous methods were performed to show applicability of the proposed approach. Also, a sensitivity analysis was provided to show relationship of correlation and robustness in these approaches.

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Today’s competition is promoted from firm against firm to supply chain versus supply chain, globalization and competition is a common phenomenon so each organization should make its supply chain as a weapon against the others, in doing so this paper presented a conceptual, graphical, step by step methodology to construct supply chain strategies by integrating strategic management’s theories, application and analysis and supply chain point of view to help managers to compete in the market.

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Disasters can cause many casualties and considerable destruction mainly because of ineffective preventive measures, incomplete preparedness, and weak relief logistics systems. After catastrophic events happen, quick and effective response is of great importance, so as to having an efficient logistic plan for distributing needed relief commodities efficiently and fairly among affected people. In this paper, we propose a fuzzy multi-objective, multi-modal, multi-commodity logistic model in emergency response to disaster occurrence, to assign limited resources equitably to the infected regions in a way to minimize transfer costs of commodities as well as distribution centers activation costs, and maximizing satisfied demand. In the proposed model, we have determined the optimal place of distribution centers among candidate points to receive people donations as well as sending and receiving different kinds of relief commodities. The amount of voluntary donations is not known precisely and is estimated with uncertainty, so we have used fuzzy parameters for them. The number of victims immediately after disaster is vague and is estimated indecisively though we have considered it as a fuzzy demand. A case study has been displayed to test the properties of the optimization problem that shows efficiency of this formulation in experiment.

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This paper offers an approach that could be useful for diverse types of layout problems or even area allocation problems. By this approach there is no need to large number of discrete variables and only by few continues variables large-scale layout problems could be solved in polynomial time. This is resulted from dividing area into discrete and continuous dimensions. Also defining decision variables as starting and finishing point of departments in area makes it possible to model layout problem so. This paper also provides new technique that models basic constraints of layout problems.

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This paper addresses a reliable facility location problem with considering facility capacity constraints. In reliable facility location problem some facilities may become unavailable from time to time. If a facility fails, its clients should refer to other facilities by paying the cost of retransfer to these facilities. Hence, the fail of facilities leads to disruptions in facility location decisions and this problem is an attempt to reducing the impact of these disruptions. In order to formulate the problem, a new mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model with the objective of minimizing total investment and operational costs is presented. Due to complexity of MINLP model, two different heuristic procedures based on mathematical model are developed. Finally, the performance of the proposed heuristic methods is evaluated through executive numerical example. The numerical results show that the proposed heuristic methods are efficient and provide suitable solutions.

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The concept of "complexity" is familiar to most of project's managers, but it is not comprehended in the same way. although the complexity highlights negative points, but it may bring positive advantages which support the project. Researches conducted on this field show that the understanding of "complexity" between the researchers is different and it is mainly depends on their points of view. In fact, many identified aspects of the complexity in the literature are related to the aims of the research. In this paper, an attempt was made to describe the positive / negative features of the complexity of project using three approaches research literature (manufacturing and project complexity), interviews (deep interview with 20 experts) and questionnaire. The research was conducted on the Complex product and system (CoPS) projects. in addition, WH question technique was used. In conclusion, a 5p model (Purpose, Product, Process, People, Peripheral) has been introduced as the outcome of the study.

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In any supply chain, distribution planning of products is of great importance to managers. With effective and flexible distribution planning, mangers can increase the efficiency of time, place, and delivery utility of whole supply chain. In this paper, inventory routing problem (IRP) is applied to distribution planning of perishable products in a supply chain. The studied supply chain is composed of two levels a supplier and customers. Customers’ locations are geographically around the supplier location and their demands are uncertain and follow an independent probability distribution functions. The product has pre-determined fixed life and is to be distributed among customers via a fleet of homogenous vehicles. The supplier uses direct routes for delivering products to customers. The objective is to determine when to deliver to each customer, how much to deliver to them, and how to assign them to vehicle and routes. The mentioned problem is formulated and solved using a stochastic dynamic programming approach. Also, a numerical example is given to illustrate the applicability of proposed approach.

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Process capability indices (PCIs) can be used as an effective tool for measuring product quality and process performance. In classic quality control there are some limitations which prevent a deep and flexible analysis because of the crisp definition of PCA‟s parameters. Fuzzy set theory can be used to add more flexibility to process capability analyses. In this study, the fuzzy X ba and MRx ba control charts are introduced to monitor continuous production process in triangular fuzzy state. Also, fuzzy PCIs are produced when SLs and measurements are triangular fuzzy numbers (TFN). For this aim, a computer program is coded in Matlab software. The fuzzy control charts is applied in Yazd fiber production plant. The results show that in continuous production processes, the better analysis will be performed by using fuzzy measurements. Also, based on the fuzzy capability indices, we can have a flexible analysis of the process performance.

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Currently, due to increased competition in the services and manufacturing, many companies are trying to lower price and good quality products offer to the market. In this paper, the multi-criteria decision-making techniques to evaluate and select the best supplier from among the existing suppliers. The first, hierarchical structure for selecting suppliers of raw materials used and the analytic hierarchy process to obtain the relative importance of quantitative and qualitative criteria related to green supply chain is applied.  Then, a fuzzy TOPSIS technique any raw material suppliers is ranked according to the relevant criteria. Finally, with regard to the weight of suppliers and demand of raw material and resource constraints by a multi-objective mathematical model, optimum order is determined. The objectives are to minimize the total cost, maximize amount of purchases of desirable suppliers and minimize of raw materials required are not provide. The proposed method in a case study used Food Company and the relevant results are expressed.

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Hubs are critical elements of transportation networks. Location of hubs and allocation of demands to them are of high importance in the network design. The most important purpose of these models is to minimize the cost, but path reliability is also another important factor which can influence the location of hubs. In this paper, we propose a P-center hub location model with full interconnection among hubs while there are different paths between origins and destinations. The purpose of the model is to determine the reliable path with lower cost. Unlike the prior studies, the number of hubs in the path is not limited to two hubs. The presented model in this paper is bi-objective and includes cost and reliability to determine the best locations for hubs, allocation of the demands to hubs and the best path. In order to illustrate our model, a numerical example is presented and solved using the Cuckoo Optimization Algorithm.

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The locomotive assignment and the freight train scheduling are important problems in railway transportation. Freight cars are coupled to form a freight rake. The freight rake becomes a train when a locomotive is coupled to it. The locomotive assignment problem assigns locomotives to a set of freight rakes in a way that, with minimum locomotive deadheading time, rake coupling delay and locomotive coupling delay all freight rakes are hauled to their destinations. Scheduling freight trains consists of sequencing and ordering freight trains during the non-usage time between passenger trains but with no interference and with minimum delay times. Solving these two problems simultaneously is of high importance and can be highly effective in decreasing costs for rail transportation. In this paper, we aim to minimize the operational costs for the locomotive assignment and the freight train scheduling by solving these two problems concurrently. To meet this objective, an efficient and effective algorithm based on the ant colony system is proposed. To evaluate the performance of the proposed solution method, twenty-five test problems, which are based on the conditions of Iran Railways, are solved and the computational results are reported.

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The eternal need for humans' blood as a critical commodity makes the healthcare systems attempt to provide efficient blood supply chains (BSCs) by which the requirements are satisfied at the maximum level. To have an efficient supply of blood, an appropriate planning for blood supply chain is a challenge which requires more attention. In this paper, we address a mixed integer linear programming model for blood supply chain network design (BSCND) with the need for making both strategic and tactical decisions throughout a multiple planning periods. A robust programming approach is devised to deal with inherent randomness in parameters data of the model. To illustrate the usefulness of the model as well as its solution approach, it is tested into a set of numerical examples, and the sensitivity analyses are conducted. Finally, we employ two criteria: the mean and standard deviation of constraint violations under a number of random realizations to evaluate the performance of both the proposed robust and deterministic models. The results imply the domination of robust approach over the deterministic one.

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Recently, sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) has become one of the important subjects in the industry and academia. Supplier selection, as a strategic decision, plays a significant role in SSCM. Researchers use different multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methods to evaluate and select sustainable suppliers. In the previous studies, evaluation is solely based on the desirable features of suppliers and their risks are neglected. Therefore, current research uses failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) as a risk analysis technique to consider supplier's risk in combination with the MCDM method. Practically, this study operated in two main stages. In the first stage, the score of the suppliers obtains by integration Fuzzy MOORA and FMEA. In the second stage, the output of the previous stage used as input parameters in developed mix-integer linear programming to select suppliers and order optimum quantity. Finally, to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, a case study in a chemical industry and sensitivity analysis is presented.  

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The present paper aims to propose a fuzzy multi-objective model to allocate order to supplier in uncertainty conditions and for multi-period, multi-source, and multi-product problems at two levels with wastages considerations.  The cost including the purchase, transportation, and ordering costs, timely delivering or deference shipment quality or wastages which are amongst major quality aspects, partial coverage of suppliers in respect of distance and finally, suppliers weights which make the products orders more realistic are considered as the measures to evaluate the suppliers in the proposed model. Supplier's weights in the fifth objective function are obtained using fuzzy TOPSIS technique. Coverage and wastes parameters in this model are considered as random triangular fuzzy number. Multi-objective imperial competitive optimization (MOICA) algorithm has been used to solve the model,. To demonstrate applicability of MOICA, we applied non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II). Taguchi technique is executed to tune the parameters of both algorithms and results are analyzed using quantitative criteria and performing parametric. 

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Nowadays, with a growing body of features and technologies, supply chain management is being widely used to coordinate and optimize key processes such as increasing customer satisfaction, facilitating the processes, and enhancing product quality. In recent years, the emergence of IT and new business environments has led to the development of electronic supply chains. In order to use and benefit from the privileges of e-supply chains, organizations must identify the key factors in the implementation of e-supply chain management so that they can monitor the organization's current and future activities and take action to identify and modify and fix any bugs. The present study aimed at identifying these factors. Based on the available theoretical foundations and expert opinions, the factors affecting the implementation of electronic supply chain management were identified in seven factors with 31 indicators. To determine the weight of the identified factors considering the lack of independence between them, an integrated type-2 fuzzy AHP and type-2 fuzzy DEMATEL approach was used. Results showed that computer-based technology, infrastructure, inter-organizational relationships, and information are the most important factors.

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Public transportation has been one of the most important research fields in the two last decades. The purpose of this paper is to create a schedule for public transport fleets such as buses and metro trains with the goal of minimizing the total transfer waiting time. We extend previous research works in the field of transit schedule with considering headways of each route as decision variables. In this paper, we formulate the problem as a mixed integer linear programming model and solve it using ILOG CPLEX solver. For large-scale test instances, we develop a metaheuristic based on the scatter search algorithm to obtain good solutions in a reasonable CPU run times. Finally, in the computational section, the efficiency of the proposed model and developed algorithm are compared with the existing results in the literature on a real railway network.

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CCC-r control chart is a monitoring technique for high yield processes. It is based on the analysis of the number of inspected items until observing a specific number of defective items.  One of the assumptions in implementing CCC-r chart that has a significant effect on the design of the control chart is that the inspection is perfect. However, in reality, due to the multiple reasons, the inspection is exposed to errors. In this paper, we study the economic-statistical design of CCC-r charts when the inspection is imperfect. Minimization of the average cost per produced item is considered as the objective function. The economic objective function, modified consumer risk, and modified producer risk are simultaneously considered, and then the optimal value of r parameter is selected.

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In last decades, mobile factories have been used due to their high production capability, carrying their equipment and covering rough and uneven routes. Nowadays, more companies use mobile factories with the aim of reducing the transportation and manufacturing costs. The mobile factory must travel between the suppliers, visit all of them in each time period and return to the initial location of the mobile factory. In this paper, we present an integer nonlinear programming model for production scheduling and routing of mobile factory with the aim of maximization of profit. This problem is similar to the well-known Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) which is an NP-hard problem. Also at each supplier, the scheduling problem for production is NP-hard. After linearization, we proposed a heuristic greedy algorithm. The efficiency of this heuristic algorithm is analyzed using the computational studies on 540 randomly generated test instances. Finally, the sensitivity analysis of the production cost, transportation cost and relocation cost was conducted.