Multi-Criteria Ranking of Industrial Presses with Respect to Operational Performance Using the Square-Root based Evaluation Method (SREM)

Abstract

This paper presents a Multi-Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) framework for the evaluation and ranking of industrial punch presses based on their operational performance. The case study was conducted in a company engaged in the production of industrial machines and assemblies. For the first time, the Square-Root based Evaluation Method (SREM) is introduced and applied, aiming to overcome certain limitations of MCDM methods based on linear data normalization. The SREM method introduces a combined nonlinear transformation approach based on square and root transformations. Unlike standard approaches, it employs a fusion of these two transformations, thereby enabling decision makers to balance between emphasizing excellent (extreme) alternative values with respect to a given criterion and achieving ranking stability by reducing the influence of such alternatives. The former is achieved through the square transformation, while the latter is attained through the root transformation. The results obtained using the SREM method were compared with those derived from the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) and the Simple Additive Weighting (SAW) methods under three different scenarios, i.e., varying criterion weights. The comparative analysis confirmed the robustness of the SREM method. The results further indicate that SREM provides flexibility and inherently incorporates sensitivity analysis, which can be highly valuable in practice, as problem analysis does not require the application of multiple MCDM methods.