RANKING ALTERNATIVE ROUTES FOR PEDESTRIAN WALKWAYS FOR A FACTORY BY APPLYING ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS

Abstract

The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is one of the Multi Criteria Decision-making (MCDM) methods developed by Thomas Lorie Saaty. It can be defined as the theory of measurement through pairwise comparisons, relying on expert judgments of priority scales. This study aims to compare the alternative pedestrian routes within the production area of a manufacturing company located in Manisa, Türkiye, utilizing AHP. AHP is selected as a suitable tool for this case study, since it allows inclusion of tangible and intangible criteria and consideration of sub-criteria as part of the decision-making process. Three alternative pedestrian routes were evaluated by applying the AHP method to define the best route enabling access for pedestrians to the targeted area in the manufacturing building. The decision criteria were defined by expert Decision Makers of the company and are in line with criteria, such as safety, cost effectiveness and time, utilized broadly for layout selection related studies in manufacturing as per the conducted literature review. The best alternative route was determined as Route 1, and the main criteria priorities were ranked as Criteria 1- “Operational Health and Safety (OHS) Risk Assessment,” Criteria 4 “Restricted access to the material warehouse,” Criteria 2 “Investment Feasibility” and Criteria 3 “Walking Time.” As a conclusion, AHP is effectively applied to prioritize the tangible and intangible criteria and select most suitable pedestrian routes within a manufacturing facility.