An integrated risk assessment method using Z‐fuzzy clouds and generalized TODIM

Abstract

AbstractAs a systematic risk assessment instrument, failure mode, and effects analysis (FMEA) has been extensively applied for enhancing systems’ quality. However, the classical FMEA technique has limitations in many application scenarios. Although fuzzy logic‐based risk assessment techniques are introduced to enhance conventional FMEA, they still have limitations, for example, needing prior presumptions, neglecting decision‐makers’ bounded rationality, and lacking the capability to reflect the judgmental reliability and randomness of experts’ evaluations simultaneously. To cover these limitations, an extended FMEA method is presented in this paper by using Z‐fuzzy clouds and generalized TODIM (An acronym in Portuguese of interactive and multiple attribute decision‐making). First, a novel concept of Z‐fuzzy clouds is proposed to handle various factors of uncertainties by combining the advantages of the Z‐number theory, the interval‐valued intuitionistic fuzzy sets theory, and the cloud model theory, and the basic operations and Minkowski‐type distance measure of Z‐fuzzy clouds are also defined and discussed. Furthermore, more risk factors are added into the conventional three risk factors and to further build a multiple dimension risk factor system for better evaluating failures. Additionally, the experts’ bounded rationality and the risk factors’ interrelationships are considered by two developed weighting models. Finally, a real study case, sensitivity analysis, and several comparisons are performed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed model. Results demonstrate that the proposed model is more rational compared with the previous several methods.