Soft computing based on a fuzzy grey group compromise solution approach with an application to the selection problem of material handling equipment

The aim of this article is to present a new fuzzy grey multi-criteria decision-making method to handle evaluation and selection problems by a group of decision-makers under the condition of uncertain information. By a combination of the concept of compromise solution and grey relational model, a new multi-criteria analysis is developed for real-life situations. Linguistic terms characterised by trapezoidal fuzzy numbers are first utilised to provide weights of selected criteria and to denote the performance rating of alternatives with respect to the conflicting criteria. Then, a grey relational analysis is introduced to investigate the extent of connections between two alternatives by the use of an effective fuzzy distance measurement under the group decision-making process. Finally, a new ranking index is extended to obtain a compromise solution and to determine the best alternative in order to solve complex decision problems. The proposed fuzzy grey group compromise ranking method helps the decision-makers to evaluate the gaps that have not been reduced or improved for the alternatives under uncertainty in order to have the great benefit. Moreover, a practical example is used for decision-making in a selection problem of the material handling equipment to show the feasibility and applicability of the proposed ranking process. A comparative analysis of the proposed method and the combined VIKOR (VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje in Serbian) method under uncertainty from the recent literature is presented in a manufacturing environment.