Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process Method Research Articles

Accessing Occupational Health Risks Posed by Fishermen Based on Fuzzy AHP and IPA Methods: Management and Performance Perspectives

In developing countries such as China, commercial fishermen’s occupational health risks are rarely studied despite being extremely critical for the sustainable development of the fisheries sector. In this study, we attempt for the first time to categorize and prioritize multiple types of health risks posed by these fishermen. This was accomplished by conducting a structured questionnaire survey between 9 January 2022 and 24 May 2022. We sought the professional opinion of fishermen that were located in the coastal areas of Zhejiang, China, namely Zhoushan (121 responses, 64%), Taizhou (66 responses, 49%), and Wenzhou (94 responses, 53%). This study used two hundred eighty-one questionnaires with a consistency ratio (CR) below 0.1 and completed in every respect. Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchical Process (Fuzzy AHP) and Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) statistics were employed to perform statistical analysis. Results have revealed that commercial fishermen’s health is affected by five main risk factors, namely natural (0.058), biological (0.088), social (0.152), psychological (0.234), and physical (0.468), which are arranged from the least to the most significant risk factors. As for the performance of the main risk factors, the physical risk was ranked first (4.786), followed by social risk (4.571), psychological risk (4.214), biological risk (4.000), and natural risk (3.429). These research findings can serve as guidelines for managers. Moreover, this study discusses ramifications, constraints, and proposals for future research.

A building sustainability assessment system (BSAS) for least developed countries: A case of Ethiopia

The principle of sustainability or meeting the needs of the current generation without imperiling the needs of the next generation become a major concern in modern infrastructure development. Economically least developed countries (LDCs) are struggling to meet the demand of current generation through large amount of infrastructure development. Ethiopia, one of the LDCs, provides a good example of sustainable energy development. However, the country has no local building sustainability assessment system and studies confirmed that internationally available systems are not suitable for LDCs like Ethiopia. This new building sustainability assessment system (BSAS) is developed after identifying non-sustainable practices, and challenges of building construction industry in the study area. Because of the principle is new for most of experts in the country, a combination of subjective expert evaluation and judgmental scale was applied to assign weightings using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) method. Two new buildings in the study area were evaluated to demonstrate the new system. Finally, the assessment system is compared with well-known existing systems around the world and in the continent. This work helps to promote sustainable building construction practices in Ethiopia and other economically LDCs by serving as reference and benchmark.

Multi-criteria decision making for determining best teaching method using fuzzy analytical hierarchy process.

During the outbreak of COVID-19, information technology played a critical role in promoting education all around the world. Online teaching boosts students' learning processes and has a good impact on their learning during the epidemic. Big data technology transforms traditional teaching approaches and learning processes by providing a rich learning resource for diverse teaching elements and improving teachers' teaching techniques. Due to the COVID-19 epidemic, online education spread quickly, and traditional instruction was abruptly switched to online mode, posing a number of issues for students and management. Choosing a decent teaching technique is not an easy option, and it is even more difficult when it comes to selecting the approach. We used the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (Fuzzy AHP) method to evaluate four instructional methods based on seven criteria to solve this challenge. Fuzzy AHP is a powerful, simple, and direct way for determining which approach is the most efficient and effective. To simplify the selection process and address the issue of uncertainty, the Fuzzy AHP technique employs the geometric mean method. The Fuzzy AHP approach was found to be efficient and successful in the decision-making process in this study.

Research on a lightweight unmanned sightseeing vehicle frame based on multi-condition and multi-objective optimization

A design method for a lightweight unmanned sightseeing vehicle frame was proposed based on multi-condition and multi-objective optimization to improve the vehicle’s range and reduce its production cost. First, a finite element model of the frame is established, and its static and dynamic characteristics are analyzed. Then, the wall thickness of the middle beam of the frame was selected as the design variable, and its sensitivity was analyzed. Sample points were generated from the design variables using the Latin hypercube sampling method, and the corresponding response values of the sample points were calculated. A Kriging approximation model was established using the sample points and response values and replaced the actual model for optimization. Finally, a multi-condition and multi-objective optimization mathematical model of the frame was established with the minimum mass, maximum first-order natural frequency, and the minimum stresses under full load bending and torsion conditions as the objectives. The multi-objective genetic algorithm was used for the lightweight design by comparing the fuzzy matter element and analytic hierarchy process methods to select the optimal design and to verify the rationality of the final design scheme. The results show that this method results in an optimized frame meeting the strength requirements under various working conditions and reducing the frame mass by 5.4%.

Evaluation of the Best E-commerce Websites in Malaysia Using Fuzzy AHP

E-commerce, often known as electronic commerce, is a method of doing business that involves purchasing and selling products and services via a digital network like the internet. Since there are various types of e-commerce websites in Malaysia like Lazada, Shopee and PGMall, the consumers have difficulties choosing which e-commerce websites to access for online shopping. The organisation also finds it hard to make a judgement about which sites to use for their online transaction and human judgement for decision making is not reliable in our daily life. The Fuzzy AHP method was used in this study to select the best e-commerce websites in Malaysia. The research aim is to determine the criteria when choosing e-commerce websites, identify sub-criteria that impact e-commerce website rankings and investigate the best rank of e-commerce in Malaysia. In this study, two decision-makers examine three criteria and eight sub-criteria to determine the best e-commerce websites in Malaysia. There are three websites to choose from Shopee, Lazada, and PGMall. The criteria are system quality, information quality, and service quality. Besides, the sub-criteria are access speed, visual appearance, response time, reliable information, update information, accurate information, tracking order status, and payment alternatives. The primary data was used by distributing a set of questionnaires to the experts in the field. Shopee is the best e-commerce website in Malaysia, according to the results, with a normalised score of 0.4488. Lazada comes in second with a normalised 0.4360, and PGMall with a normalised 0.1153. As a result, Shopee outperforms the other two online transaction platforms, Lazada and PGMall.

Analisis pengambilan keputusan terhadap pemilihan portofolio saham terbaik menggunakan metode fuzzy analytical hierarchy process dan fuzzy topsis

The proses of decision-making in stock investment considers criteria based on the personal preferences of each investor. In addition, investors also need to analyze fundamental factors that include quantitative and qualitative criteria in which external or internal factors are affecting the company. This is because stocks have a high level of risk, so the selection of a portfolio must be done with the right decision. In making decisions based on many criteria can use fuzzy AHP (analytical hierarchy process) and fuzzy TOPSIS methods. The use of fuzzy logic because it can to cope the subjective assessment result of investor preferences. The fuzzy AHP method is applied to obtain the weights of each criterion which are the factors of stock fundamental analysis. The fuzzy TOPSIS method is applied to determine the ranking of alternatives. Based on the analysis and calculation, the most influential sub criteria is inflation rate and top alternative is the company with the BBNI stock code. 
 Keywords: Decision-making, Fuzzy AHP, Fuzzy TOPSIS MSC2020: 90B50, 91B06, 62C86

Evaluation of Factors Affecting Motivation of Health Professionals Using Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process Method

The aim of this study is to weight the factors affecting the motivation of health professionals according to the order of importance in line with the opinions of the participants and to rank these factors from the most important to the least important. The population of the research consists of health professionals working in a private hospital operating in Bandırma district of Balıkesir province, Turkey. Opinions of 62 health professionals were evaluated. The Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) method was used to rank the motivation factors. It is seen that economic factors are the most important criteria on the motivation of health professionals than psychosocial and managerial and organizational factors. The sub-criterion with the highest priority among the economic factors criterion is "wage". When the psychosocial factors are evaluated, the criterion of "value and status" and “recognition” are important; among the managerial and organizational factors, the criterion of "fair and open management policy" was found to be more important on motivation. Based on these results it is suggested that in order to improve health professional motivation the wages can be improved and the further development of policy and practice that recognizes the value and status of the health professionals and fair and open management policy can be adopted.

A Guide to Integrating Expert Opinion and Fuzzy AHP When Generating Weights for Composite Indices

Composite indices are a great tool for researchers and policymakers alike as they provide a simplification of reality of complex phenomena, as well as their enabling ability for cross-country comparisons. A troublesome issue with constructing composite indices is the selection of the weighting system as it can greatly influence the results of the index developed. One of the most reliable weighting systems is the expert weighting system, where experts on the topic being studied are delegated the weight selection process, and the average of their responses are then transformed into weights. The limitation of this method, however, is the high subjectivity, uncertainty, and inconsistency of the expert responses. This paper seeks to address this limitation by providing a guide to researchers on how to improve the expert weights by subjecting them to the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) method for multicriteria decision making (MCDM) to compute the fuzzy weights, a more objective and reliable weights relative to expert weights. That said, and despite the benefits of the FAHP method, it can produce weights that can skew the composite index results. To address this limitation, the study introduces the interval weights, which are calculated by finding the midpoint between the expert weights and the fuzzy weights. The resulting interval weights exhibit the benefits of both principal component analysis (PCA) and the FAHP process, the difference being that PCA cannot be applied for noncompensatory indices.

Recent Developments on Fuzzy AHP&ANP Under Vague and Imprecise Data

When a decision maker is not sure in assigning a value for a pairwise comparison, he/she should assign a fuzzy value such as ‘between 3 and 4’ or ‘around 5’. These expressions can be represented by fuzzy numbers, which make the use of fuzzy AHP methods possible. Each new fuzzy set extension has caused new fuzzy AHP method to be developed by researchers. INFUS conferences is a scientific arena that the researchers can present their new fuzzy AHP extensions and benefit the discussions during the sessions. This paper summarizes the latest fuzzy AHP/ANP extensions developed in the recent years at INFUS conferences.

Sağlık İşletmeleri Açısından Yeşil İnsan Kaynakları Yönetimi İşlevlerinin Bulanık AHS Yöntemi ile Değerlendirilmesi

Bu çalışmada, yeşil yönetimin işletmelerde gerçekleştirilmesini sağlayacak yeşil insan kaynakları yönetimi (Y-İKY) işlevleri ele alınmış, literatürde yer alan 10 farklı Y-İKY işlevinin önem derecelerinin belirlenmesi amacıyla Bulanık AHS (Analitik Hiyerarşi Süreci) yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Y-İKY işlevleri alanda 10 yıl tecrübeye sahip 3 uzman tarafından değerlendirilmiştir. Değerlendirme sonrası ulaşılan sonuçlara göre sağlık işletmelerinde Y-İKY uygulamalarının en önemlilerinin sırasıyla; %29,8 ile ‘‘yeşil örgüt kültürü ve yeşilin benimsenmesi stratejileri’’, %17,4 ile ‘‘yeşil iş tasarımı’’ ve %11,7 ile ‘‘yeşil eğitim ve geliştirme’’ olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Sağlık işletmelerindeki yeşil örgüt kültürü ve personelin yeşil stratejiyi benimsemesi oluşan çevreci kimlik ve davranışlar ile sürdürülebilirliğe katkı sağlamaktadır. Eğitim ve geliştirme uygulamalarıyla çalışanların yeşil stratejiye yönelik bilgi düzeyini artırmak elzemdir. İşletmelerde yeşil yönetimin tam anlamıyla başarılı olabilmesi, araştırmaya dahil edilen kriterlerin topyekûn dikkate alınması ve uygulanmasıyla mümkündür. Nitekim hazırlanan çalışmada sağlık yöneticilerine ve insan kaynakları profesyonellerine Y-İKY işlevleriyle ilgili kapsamlı bir bakış açısı sunulmaktadır.
 Anahtar Kelimeler: Analitik Hiyerarşi Süreci, Yeşil İnsan Kaynakları Yönetimi, Sağlık Tesisleri, Çok Kriterli Karar Verme Yöntemleri
 JEL Sınıflandırması: M14, O15, D23

The Fuzzy-AHP approach using Normalized Decision Matrix on Tourism Trend Ranking based-on Social Media

This research discusses multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) using Fuzzy-AHP methods of tourism. The fuzzy-AHP method will rank tourism trends based on data from social media. Social media is one of the channels with the largest source of data input in determining tourism development. The development uses social media interactions based on the facilities visited, including reviews, stories, likes, forums, blogs, and feedback. This experimental analysis aims to prioritize facilities that are the trend of tourism. The priority ranking uses the fuzzy-AHP method for the process of determining weight criteria and the ranking process. The highest-ranking is on the Parks/Picnic Spots attraction and make it a priority to develop.

Dengue risk zone mapping of Thiruvananthapuram district, India: a comparison of the AHP and F-AHP methods.

Dengue fever, which is spread by Aedes mosquitoes, has claimed many lives in Kerala, with the Thiruvananthapuram district bearing the brunt of the toll. This study aims to demarcate the dengue risk zones in Thiruvananthapuram district using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and the fuzzy-AHP (F-AHP) methods. For the risk modelling, geo-environmental factors (normalized difference vegetation index, land surface temperature, topographic wetness index, land use/land cover types, elevation, normalized difference built-up index) and demographic factors (household density, population density) have been utilized. The ArcGIS 10.8 and ERDAS Imagine 8.4 software tools have been used to derive the risk zone maps. The area of the risk maps is classified into five zones. The dengue risk zone maps were validated using dengue case data collected from the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme portal. From the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) values, it is proved that the F-AHP method (AUC value of 0.971) has comparatively more prediction capability than the AHP method (AUC value of 0.954) in demarcating the dengue risk zones. Also, based on the comparison of the risk zone map with actual case data, it was confirmed that around 82.87% of the dengue cases occurred in the very high and high-risk zones, thus proving the efficacy of the model. According to the dengue risk map prepared using the F-AHP model, 9.09% of the area of Thiruvananthapuram district is categorized as very high risk. The prepared dengue risk maps will be helpful for decision-makers, staff with the health, and disaster management departments in adopting effective measures to prevent the risks of dengue spread and thereby minimize loss of life.

Port personnel recruitment process based on dynamic capabilities: port managers' priorities vs customer evaluations

PurposeConsidering the human factor, the quality of the personnel is vital to ensure especially the value creation in the ports. Therefore, employee quality stands out for withstanding the pressures that stem from global trade on its operational speed felt by ports in recent years. Accordingly, the selection of the qualified personnel at the ports is very critical and a tool based on dynamic capabilities is needed to manage this process well. The aim of this study is to develop a model based on dynamic capabilities for recruitment process of ports.Design/methodology/approachPort personnel should have dynamic capabilities detected from the literature. These capabilities were approached as criteria. In this study, Buckley's proposed fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method was employed for weighting the whole criteria. After that, weights of the criteria were used to prioritize alternatives with the fuzzy TOPSIS method.FindingsThis model reflects port managers' priorities and port customers' evaluations. Thus, the model can also reflect the level of integration of ports' related department managers into the recruitment process. The analyses allow the evaluation of the attitudes of the human resources department in the related port while fulfilling the personnel recruitment function. As a result of analyses, differences between perceptions of port managers and customers served as a feedback to the human resource management department of the ports.Originality/valueOne of the originalities of this study was derived from its customer-oriented perspective. This is a unique study that gathers common personnel capabilities related to the operation, planning and customer relationship departments and evaluates the success of these capabilities from the customer perspective.

Development of a Weighting Procedure for Geomechanical Risk Assessment

Underground mining is one of the riskiest industries. It is well established that the investigation of geomechanical parameters at the design stage of an underground mine provides the approximate rock mass characteristics, which are associated with some risks in the design. From a realistic risk assessment point of view, it is essential to classify risky design parameters as relevant to risk groups and determine a suitable weighting strategy for risk-prone elements aiming at risk assessment. Therefore, a realistic weighting procedure is an essential step in making realistic design decisions to increase the safety of mining operations and economic vitality. This study aimed to develop a realistic weighting procedure to assess and compare various geomechanical parameters that pose a risk to opening stability. In this research, sub-level stoping mining methods, which are commonly used in the Kazakhstan mining industry, were selected to test the developed weighting algorithm. In this study, the risk-prone geomechanical parameters for the chosen mining method were defined, and a weighting procedure was developed using the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) method. The proposed methodology was verified against available data from the Ridder–Sokolny underground mine, and the analysis results showed good agreement with actual observations in the mine. The obtained preliminary results show that FAHP is a reliable method for weighting geomechanical parameters and can be used as an input in any geomechanical risk assessment practice.

Optimality of flood influencing factors for flood hazard mapping: An evaluation of two multi-criteria decision-making methods

• Two Multi-criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) methods were evaluated by applying two groups of flood influencing factors. • Compared the suitability of the two MCDM methods in the identification of flood hazard areas. • Evaluated the influence of each group of flood influencing factors on the flood hazard maps. • Validated the resulting flood hazard maps with historical flood record to ascertain the accuracy of the two MCDM methods. Flooding is a serious and recurring natural hazard. Flood hazard mapping requires synthesizing relevant factors that affect flood occurrence to allow for an accurate geographical assessment of flood characteristics for flood management activities. Two Multi-criteria Decision-Making Methods consisting of the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy-AHP (F-AHP) methods were applied in identifying flood hazard areas by using two groups of flood influencing factors (FIFs) to decrease the number of pairwise comparisons required for AHP to enable the use of an optimum set of factors. For the AHP and F-AHP methods, fewer pairwise comparisons can reduce uncertainty caused by inconsistency in the decision-making process of a larger number of factors. Thirteen non-correlating FIFs were selected and divided into two groups namely the flood susceptibility factors group (FSFG) and flood vulnerability factors group (FVFG). FSFG consisted of drainage density, elevation, land use, slope, rainfall, infiltration, topographic wetness index, time of concentration, and flood depth) and FVFG consisted of distance from inundated locations, distance from rivers, population, and distance from roads & buildings. The methodology was evaluated using three test scenarios; a) FSFG group only; b) FVFG group only; c) flood susceptibility and vulnerability factors group (FSVFG). The AHP and the F-AHP methods were applied in evaluating the influence of each group of factors on the flood hazard maps. The result of the evaluation indicated that the FVFG had the highest influence based on the spatial extent of the region by each varying flood hazard class (low to very high) on the generated flood hazard maps. The FVFG had (40.15% and 42.09%) influence in comparison with FSFG (25.85% and 25.26%), and FSVFG (34% and 32.65%) for the AHP and F-AHP methods respectively. The findings from the sensitivity analysis showed similar findings with the AHP and F-AHP methods confirming the accuracy of the methods. The validation of the AHP and F-AHP methods showed excellent compatibility with the historical flood record and affirmed the relevance of applying FSVFG. The methodology applied in this study can be a dependable support tool in flood risk analysis and management for efficient decision-making to achieve a resilient city.

OPTIMIZING SERVICE QUALITY MANAGEMENT OF THE BUS RAPID TRANSPORT SYSTEM IN LAGOS USING THE MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS

Evaluation of Bus Rapid Transportation (BRT) based on service quality criteria and customer satisfaction can never be overemphasized due to its derivative, such as optimizing the performance of the transportation industry. Thus, this study employs the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method for the evaluation of service quality and customer satisfaction of the BRT system in Nigeria using the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) and visekriterijumska optimizacija i kompromisno resenje (VIKOR), which are components of multi-criteria optimization and compromise solution to evaluate notable factors responsible for the user’s perspective. Research design is quantitative and analytical in nature through a survey of experts who are users of BRT services. Samples were drawn through a multi-stage sampling procedure and a total of 402 copies of questionnaires were administered to BRT users based on their experience with the system. Hence, VIKOR and FAHP methods are applied to analyse data retrieved from the field on services quality and performance level. The service quality (SERVQUAL) model (a multi-dimensional research instrument designed to capture consumer expectations and perceptions of service) was modified thereby generating six dimensions and thirty-six service criteria for this research. The FAHP method was employed to determine the weights of the decision criteria because there is a need to measure commuters’ perceptions and expectations based on numerical linguistic variables due to the vague, imprecise and complexity related to the nature of services. The criteria weights and responses of the survey analysis (data) related with the BRT are input for the VIKOR method for ranking. As measuring the perception of service quality based on crispy value can often be misleading, hence, the use of the fuzzy MCDM method can give a more realistic measurement. The result of the multi-criteria decision analysis revealed that pricing quality is the most relevant service quality dimension to users’ satisfaction, followed by the empathy quality dimension. The summary of strength and weakness areas of service quality discovered through the research and its managerial implications with recommendations were related to the appropriate authority in charge of the BRT system for improved performance.

HEART Hybrid Methods for Assessing Human Reliability in Coal-Fired Thermal Power Plant Process

The assessment of human reliability is crucial in serious processes and operations, such as planned maintenance, unplanned maintenance, and troubleshooting in a coal-fired thermal power plant, as the nature of these processes poses significant threats. When the literature is examined, the evaluation of human reliability in any type of power plant, especially coal-fired thermal power plants, is limited. In order to fill this gap, we systematically assessed human reliability in an accident that occurred during a repair of a tube failure in a boiler in a coal-fired thermal power plant. The HEART (human error assessment and reduction technique) method was used in a hybrid way alongside the fuzzy AHP and SWARA (step weight assessment ratio analysis) methods. Although the HEART method is a practical, understandable, and easy-to-implement human reliability assessment method, the APOE (assessment of the proportion effect) value depends on the decision of a single decision maker. This study aimed to eliminate this deficiency and compare human error possibilities using HEART–fuzzy AHP and HEART–SWARA methods. This hybrid method can be used in the operation of all coal-fired thermal power plants and provides practical contributions to minimize human error.

Index Construction and Application of School-Enterprise Collaborative Education Platform Based on AHP Fuzzy Method in Double Creation Education Practice

At present, China’s education reform is developing rapidly, and many schools begin to study and implement school-enterprise cooperative education. There are also some conceptual deviations. In addition, the government’s weak implementation of the guarantee policy for the implementation of combination of school and enterprise education, coupled with the lack of relevant laws and regulations, rarely leads to the success and enthusiasm of combination of school and enterprise education. With the development of collaborative training companies, the participation rate needs to be improved, and the influence of school-enterprise colearning is not significant enough. Therefore, we should do more theoretical research on combination of school and enterprise education, so as to further improve the present situation of combination of school and enterprise education in China and promote the in-depth development of combination of school and enterprise education. At the same time, we should constantly improve relevant practices and systems, improve relevant laws and regulations, learn from the successful experience of cooperation between schools and enterprises training at home and abroad, and design a unique path of cooperation between schools and enterprises in combination with China’s reality. First of all, this paper deeply analyzes the synergy degree of combination of school and enterprise education. By defining the concepts of the combination of industry and teaching and the combination of colleges and enterprises, synergy degree, and cooperative development level, this paper makes an in-depth interpretation of the education and teaching of schools and enterprises. From the perspective of synergetic theory and interactive mechanism, school-enterprise cooperation needs to be strengthened. Secondly, the model is created through the analytic hierarchy process, in which the hierarchical model uses the 10/10-18/2 scaling method to form the classification matrix. Finally, this paper analyzes on the factors affecting the combination of school and enterprise education and puts forward some perfect countermeasures from three angles of government, school, and enterprise.

Development Potential Evaluation for Land Resources of Forest Tourism Based on Fuzzy AHP Method

With the development of modern economy and society, people have higher and higher requirements for spiritual needs request. The demand of traveling is a key growth point of the people’s spiritual needs. Forest tourism has become an important part of the forestry modernization. Its reasonable development can provide a site for urban residents’ leisure and health preservation, and help the revitalization of local villages and economic development. However, there are few studies on the evaluation methods of forest tourism land resources potential development around the world nowadays, and the planning and development of forest land resources are also lack of scientific guidance. The research work of this paper is carried out based on the realistic problems above, through analyzing the characteristics of the land resources of forest tourism, carding the main indicators of forest land resources development value, and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is studied to evaluate its development potential. The relevant conclusions can provide a theoretical guidance for the forest land resources development and planning, which will improve the development quality and effect of forest land resource.

The Homogeneous MADM Methods: Is Trade-Off between Attributes Important?

Compensatory multiattribute decision-making (MADM) methods are founded on the trade-offs between attributes, allowing an alternative to compensate for its weakness in an attribute with its strength in another attribute. We call them heterogeneous MADM methods because they generally consider the unlimited trade-off between attributes. In other words, they even allow that very poor performance of an attribute to be compensated by the strong performance of another attribute. However, this may not be acceptable to decision makers (DMs). They may accept the limited trade-offs between attributes, making them more homogeneous. In these situations, MADM methods should be modified to consider the limited trade-offs between attributes. This modification comes with some conceptual and technical difficulties. This study presents some examples to show the concept of limited trade-offs clearly and presents a modified version of the simple additive weighting (SAW) method, H-SAW, considering the limited trade-offs between attributes. We also integrate H-SAW and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) methods to supplier selection and illustrate the real application of H-SAW method.