Automotive industry has moved from manufacturing automobiles using mechanical units to using Electronic Control Units (ECUs). One of the integral parts of ECUs are the microcontrollers. Selecting the right microcontroller unit for the ECU in automotive industry, involves high time and cost factors, as several criteria need to be examined for each microcontroller in the market. There is a need for a methodology for selection of the microcontroller based on the given requirements, with the aid of some tools, to reduce the time and cost factors. This thesis involves determining criteria for automotive microcontrollers and selection of the microcontroller by following a systematic process. A part of the systematic process involves filtering or ranking microcontrollers according to the requirements and plotting microcontrollers for the required criteria along with pareto-front analysis of rank versus cost. Ranking of microcontrollers is done using Goal Programming and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) methods. The result from the thesis shows various criteria for the microcontroller in an ECU and the methodology to be followed for microcontroller selection using case study of Exterior Lighting System. The results of Goal Programming and TOPSIS methods show that they could provide good aid in selection by ranking the microcontrollers along with pareto-front analysis. Finally, a selection methodology guideline has been formulated to aid the selection process with the help of the methods. / Fordonsindustrin har gått från att tillverka bilar med mekaniska styrsystem till att använda elektroniska styrenheter (ECU:er). En central del i styrenheterna är mikrokontrollers. Att välja rätt mikrokontroller för en ECU i fordonsindustrin är tidskrävande och kostnadsintensivt eftersom många faktorer behöver tas i beaktning och undersökas för varje mikrokontroller på marknaden. Det finns ett behov för en metod att välja mikrokontroller utifrån en given kravställning, med hjälp av olika verktyg, för att minska utvecklingstid och kostnad. Detta examensarbete handlar om att fastställa relevanta kriterier för fordonsrelaterade applikationer som använder mikrokontrollers samt urval av mikrokontrollers genom att följa en systematisk metod. En del av den metoden är filtrering och rangordning av alternativen utifrån kravställningen och visualisering hur jämförelsealternativen uppfyller kravställningen jämte Pareto-front analys mellan rangordning och kostnad. Rangordning görs med hjälp av metoderna Målprogrammering och Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). Resultatet av examensarbetet visar olika kriterier för en mikrokontroller i en ECU och metoderna att använda sig av för val av mikrokontroller i studieexemplet ett belysningsstyrningssystem. Resultaten av metoderna målprogrammering och TOPSIS visar att de kan vara till god hjälp i valet genom rangordning av mikrokontrollers med tillägg av Pareto-front-analys. Slutligen har en guide för urvalsmetod skapats för att hjälpa urvalsprocessen med hjälp av metoderna.

[pt] Nos últimos anos tem havido uma grande modificação da matriz elétrica brasileira, como se pode comprovar ao avaliar os recentes Planos de Expansão de Energia – PDE elaborados pela EPE. Houve um grande investimento em usinas eólicas e fotovoltaicas e uma redução no número de hidroelétricas construídas e planejadas. Além disso, as recentes crises hidrológicas podem sinalizar que a alteração climática, associada a intensificação dos ciclos naturais de bloqueios atmosféricos (ENOS), pode reduzir a geração hidráulica. Com maiores investimentos em usinas eólicas e solares (fontes não controláveis) em larga escala, será necessário dispor de formas para garantir o atendimento à demanda. Essa garantia poderá se dar por meio de mais geração termoelétrica a combustível fóssil, que pode ser reduzida com a implantação de Sistemas de Armazenamento de Energia (SAEs). Assim, a variabilidade de produção de energia das fontes intermitentes precisa ser coberta com recursos que aumentem a flexibilidade operativa. E dessa forma, o interesse maior da pesquisa visou utilizar métodos de análise multicritério de apoio à decisão com base na avaliação do desempenho dos SAEs considerando diversos atributos técnicos, econômicos e socioambientais para selecionar aqueles mais adequados para o suporte de grade na transmissão e distribuição e de gerenciamento de energia elétrica (num sistema hidrotérmico que vai ser cada vez mais complexo de operar com a entrada de grandes plantas de geração renovável intermitente). Foi selecionado o modelo AHP Fuzzy TOPSIS para essa avaliação por facilitar avaliações subjetivas, como aquelas associadas aos aspectos socioambientais e por sua maior transparência numa discussão multidisciplinar e com diversos interlocutores. O resultado mostrou a eficácia da metodologia adotada para a ordenação e seleção das melhores soluções para armazenamento de energia elétrica. / [en] In recent years there has been a major change in the Brazilian electrical matrix, as can be seen when evaluating the last Energy Expansion Plan (PDE 2002) prepared by EPE. There was a large investment in wind and photovoltaic plants, and a reduction in construction and even in the planning of new hydroelectric plants. Associated with this change, it is important to highlight the observation of climate change effects in its hydrographic basins in the last ten years. A long period of drought was noticed, which started in 2012 and lasted until 2019, being an even more serious event than the worst drought ever recorded in Brazilian basins. This fact resulted in the hiring of emergency thermal plants to meet demand in 2022. This hydrological crisis is already a sign that climate change, associated with the intensification of natural cycles of atmospheric blockages (ENSO), can reduce hydraulic generation. And with greater investments in large-scale in the wind and solar plants, it will be necessary to have more thermoelectric generation using fossil fuel to support the intermittence of these renewables, an operation that can be reduced with the implementation of Energy Storage Systems (ESSs). Resources with operational flexibility that can mitigate the increasing variability of the production of renewable sources in electrical matrices will contribute to balancing the load and regulating the frequency. Thus, ESS can reduce the effects of the irregularity of renewable production and help transmission networks to meet demand at peak consumption hours (EPE, 2018), maintain electrical system frequency stability, and optimize the economic performance of generation systems, avoiding activation of less competitive resources such as fossil fuel thermoelectric plants (EPE, 2018). Several countries have already started to invest in pumped storage hydropower (PSH) to enable the intermittent renewable generation and reduce emissions (China and Europe, IDB, 2021).

Investors, stock exchanges and financial regulatory institutions can be used as strong levers for making firms accountable for achieving sustainable operational performance and not just maximizing profits. The objective of this research study is to enhance the quantitative tools available to stakeholders for evaluating relative operational performance of firms, thereby encouraging the financial investors to base their portfolio investment decisions on the basis of sustainable operational performance of firms. The study reviews the existing literature on evaluating relative operational performance of firms on sustainability metrics and proposes multi-level multi criteria decision making (MCDM) quantitative methods for measuring the same. The research work demonstrates the research framework proposed in the study by evaluating the 2014 Sustainable Operational Performance of firms in the oil & gas sector. The reason for choosing the oil & gas sector for this case study is in view of the relative large ecological and social impact which this industry has on different stakeholders. Due to the same reasons, the oil & gas sector is a bit more advanced in terms of its sustainability performance reporting standards. The review of past literature and the sustainability reports of firms for the year 2014 is initially used to develop the construct for measuring the firm operational performance on three pillars of TBL i.e. for the ecological, social and economic dimensions. / February 2017

Offshore oil and gas exploitation is principally conducted using dry or wet tree systems, otherwise called the subsea Xmas tree system. Due to the shift to deeper waters, subsea production system (SPS) has come to be a preferred technology with attendant economic benefits. At the centre of the SPS is the subsea control module (SCM), responsible for the proper functioning and monitoring of the entire system. With increasing search for hydrocarbons in deep and ultra-deepwaters, the SCM system faces important environmental, safety and reliability challenges and little research has been done in this area. Analysis of the SCM reliability then becomes very fundamental due to the huge cost associated with failure. Several tools are available for this analysis, but the FMECA stands out due to its ability to not only provide failure data, but also showcase the system’s failure modes and mechanisms associated with the subsystems and components being evaluated. However, the technique has been heavily challenged in various literatures for several reasons. To close this gap, a novel multi-criteria approach is developed for the analysis and ranking of the SCM failures modes. This research specifically focusses on subsea tree-mounted electro-hydraulic (E-H) SCM responsible for the underwater control of oil and gas production. A risk identification of the subsea control module is conducted using industry experts. This is followed by a comprehensive component based FMECA analysis of the SCM conducted with the conventional RPN technique, which reveals the most critical failure modes for the SCM. A novel framework is developed using multi-criteria fuzzy TOPSIS methodology and applied to the most critical failure modes obtained from the FMECA evaluation using unconventional parameters. Finally, a validation of these results is performed using a stochastic input evaluation and SCM failure data obtained from the offshore industry standard reliability database, OREDA.

This diploma thesis deals with description of methods and original on-line application for solving multicriteria evaluation of alternatives problems. Methods based on maximisation of utility value (WSA), minimisation of distance from ideal alternative (TOPSIS), evaluation of preference relations (ELECTRE) and evaluation along preference flows (PROMETHEE) are described and implemented in the application. The thesis introduces an original web application written in PHP language which is developed for solving multicriteria evaluation of alternatives problems in internet environment. The application running on web-server allows solving multicriteria evaluation of alternatives problems by four above mentioned methods. The application is controlled by any web browser. A run-time complexity of used algorithms is measured and discussed.

Cílem diplomové práce je aplikace modelů vícekriteriálního rozhodování na reálný rozhodovací problém ve firmě INVEST TEL AUTO s.r.o. V praktické části je pomocí několika metod vícekriteriálního hodnocení variant nejprve vybrána nejvhodnější automobilová značka, poté je pomocí metod spojitého vícekriteriálního rozhodování navržena skladba první objednávky vozů vybrané automobilové značky.

Demand responsive transport services are nowadays an established and recognized way to provide better social inclusion to non-urban, low population density areas. The concept has its origins in the 70´s in the USA, but just recently the advances in technology made this type of service more economically attractive. Therefore is of no surprise that this kind of transportation is starting to be a serious option in several regions across Europe. The European Commission has been promoting projects to study and implement DRT services. One of these projects, MASCARA (deMand responsive trAnsport service for increasing Social Cohesion in urbAn/Rural Areas), involved a team from the Engineering School of the University of Porto, with the participation of the author. The MASCARA project was designed to promote the cooperation between several regions in Europe to share knowledge about DRT services, evaluating DRT pilots and DRT feasibility studies. This dissertation focus on the design of a framework to help this evaluation. The work resulted in combining two known multi-criteria methodologies, namely AHP and TOPSIS. Albeit these methods were designed to help choosing (ranking) between two or more possible scenarios, the proposed framework is able to evaluate and score one scenario situations. This work can be viewed as having two parts: the first one (from chapter 1 to chapter 4) deals with the design of the framework and methodology. From chapter 5 onwards the practical application is adressed. The author work was focused on the design and software implementation of the evaluation framework.

Offshore oil and gas exploitation is principally conducted using dry or wet tree systems, otherwise called the subsea Xmas tree system. Due to the shift to deeper waters, subsea production system (SPS) has come to be a preferred technology with attendant economic benefits. At the centre of the SPS is the subsea control module (SCM), responsible for the proper functioning and monitoring of the entire system. With increasing search for hydrocarbons in deep and ultra-deepwaters, the SCM system faces important environmental, safety and reliability challenges and little research has been done in this area. Analysis of the SCM reliability then becomes very fundamental due to the huge cost associated with failure. Several tools are available for this analysis, but the FMECA stands out due to its ability to not only provide failure data, but also showcase the system’s failure modes and mechanisms associated with the subsystems and components being evaluated. However, the technique has been heavily challenged in various literatures for several reasons. To close this gap, a novel multi-criteria approach is developed for the analysis and ranking of the SCM failures modes. This research specifically focusses on subsea tree-mounted electro-hydraulic (E-H) SCM responsible for the underwater control of oil and gas production. A risk identification of the subsea control module is conducted using industry experts. This is followed by a comprehensive component based FMECA analysis of the SCM conducted with the conventional RPN technique, which reveals the most critical failure modes for the SCM. A novel framework is developed using multi-criteria fuzzy TOPSIS methodology and applied to the most critical failure modes obtained from the FMECA evaluation using unconventional parameters. Finally, a validation of these results is performed using a stochastic input evaluation and SCM failure data obtained from the offshore industry standard reliability database, OREDA.

For any given reason, every year many countries spend a lot of money purchasing at least one weapon. Due to the secret character of the military, the decision process for specific weapon procurement is shrouded. Moreover, there are several funds loss cases due to mistakes in weapon contractions. Weapon procurement requires very large amounts of money which comes from tax payers. Therefore, an effort to reduce a possible monetary loss is needed. A decision process based on an analytic model can present a better chance to decision makers for better weapon decisions. In general, weapon procurement decision is a multi criteria environment. Decision making in such environments is defined as Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM). MCDM is broadly classified into two areas: Multi-Attribute Decision Making (MADM) and Multi-Objective Decision Making (MODM). MADM methods are used for selecting an alternative from a small explicit list of alternatives. MODM methods are used for designing problems involving an infinite number of alternatives implicitly defined by mathematical constraints. This research is intended to be used by the South Korean Navy when there is a need to select one weapon type among several candidate types. Therefore, MADM methods are used in this research.Many researches for developing an analytical model for better decision-making have been done. However, there is no research for a generalized weapon procurement decision model that is easy to implement. For this reason, whenever there is a need for weapon procurement decision, the Navy has to spend a lot of effort in determining the best weapon. These efforts can be reduced with a generalized model that is proposed in this research for naval weapon procurement. MADM methods determine alternatives ranking orders and the highest ranked alternative is the best one. Various MADM methods are used in computing the alternatives ranking scores.

Οι επιχειρήσεις λειτουργούν και αναπτύσσονται σε ένα περιβάλλον που συνεχώς εξελίσσεται και αλλάζει και όπως είναι φυσικό οφείλουν να προσαρμόζονται στα νέα δεδομένα. Το προσωπικό των επιχειρήσεων αποτελεί ένα σημαντικό παράγοντα για την επιβίωση, την εξέλιξη και γενικά την καλή λειτουργία των επιχειρήσεων. Η παρούσα διπλωματική εργασία πραγματεύεται το πρόβλημα της επιλογής και αξιολόγησης του προσωπικού μιας επιχείρησης. Πρέπει να αναφέρουμε ότι είναι δύο ξεχωριστά προβλήματα που έχουμε να αντιμετωπίσουμε, η επιλογή και η αξιολόγηση, χωρίς αυτό να σημαίνει ότι δεν συνδέονται ή ότι δεν μπορούν να χρησιμοποιηθούν παρόμοια εργαλεία επίλυσης. Έχουν προταθεί αρκετά μαθηματικά υποδείγματα για την επίλυση αυτού του προβλήματος. Τα μαθηματικά υποδείγματα που χρησιμοποιούνται για την επίλυση αυτών των προβλημάτων σκοπό έχουν να βοηθήσουν τους αποφασίζοντες να πάρουν ορθότερες αποφάσεις. Με τη χρήση μαθηματικών μεθοδολογιών για την επιλογή και αξιολόγηση του προσωπικού, επιτυγχάνεται μεγαλύτερη αντικειμενικότητα καθώς και η τυποποίηση της διαδικασίας. Μία τέτοια μεθοδολογία είναι και η TOPSIS, μια από τις πρώτες που παρουσιάστηκε στη βιβλιογραφία. Είναι μια εύκολα εφαρμόσιμη μέθοδος και με αξιόπιστα αποτελέσματα. / Organizations function and grow in an environment that is constantly developing and changing, so they have to adjust with the new data. The personnel has a crucial role for the survival, the evolution and generally the good function of every organization. This dissertation is about the problem of selection and evaluation an organization's personnel. Many mathematical patterns have been proposed for the solution of this problem. We will discuss some of them with details in this dissertation. At this point, we must mention that selection and evaluation process are two different problems that we have to face. This does not mean that they do not connect or that we can not solve both with the same tools. Certainly, the first step is the choice of an employee and the second is the evaluation. Choosing the right employee for the right job is a very difficult problem and that because is hard to judge objectively the candidates΄ personalities. Also, it is difficult to decide about the criteria, based on which the choice will be maid. For example, the experience or the knowledge is more important for a certain job, and how that’s can be represent with numbers or functions at a mathematical pattern. Organizations have to ensure that they made the right choice of a new employee and afterwards they have to measure the efficiency of the other employees. In the first step, we try to predict the future working behavior of a new employee, as well as in the second to describe the working behavior of the employees that already working in an organization.