ERJ

Engineering Research Journal

Faculty of Engineering
Menoufia University

A MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION MAKING MODEL FOR

CERAMIC TILES CONVEYOR SELECTION
Omayma A. Nada
Production Engineering and Mechanical Design Department, Faculty of Engineering,
Menoufia University, Shebin El-kom, Menoufia, Egypt.

Abstract:
Material handling is one of the activities in manufacturing that can drastically affect not only the
production cost but also the performance of the entire line, particularly in continuous and transfer
manufacturing system. Therefore, selecting the most appropriate material handling equipment is a
critical decision that should be could be carefully studied in the early stages of manufacturing
system design. This paper is mainly concerned with selecting the most appropriate conveyor for
handling ceramic tiles during it production phases. The handling process in this application is
characterized by dealing with fragile product as well as exposure to high temperature. Generally,
such a decision inherently entails several conflicting qualitative and quantitative criteria.
Accordingly, a multi-criteria decision making model has been developed using the Analytic
Hierarchy Process (AHP) to assist the system designer in selecting the most appropriate conveyor.
In this study, four conveyor alternatives have been considered. The results of the model
implementation recommended slat conveyors as the best alternative for serving in the ceramic tile
manufacturing environment, followed by belt and chain conveyors, while the last one in the
ranking is the roller conveyor. Besides, the developed model can be used to perform sensitivity
analysis to explore how the decision could be affected in response to changes in the decision
maker’s preferences related to the considered criteria.

Keywords: Analytic Hierarchy Process, Conveyors, Material Handling Equipment Selection

:‫الملخص‬
‫حؼذ يُبٔنت انًٕاد يٍ أحذ األَشطت انشئٍضٍت فً قطبع انصُبػبث انخحٌٕهٍت انخً ًٌكٍ أٌ ٌإثش بشذة نٍش فقط ػهى حكهفت اإلَخبج‬
‫ فٳٌ اخخٍبس يؼذاث يُبٔنت‬،‫ ٔنزنك‬.‫ ٔال صًٍب فً يُظٕيبث انخصٍُغ انًضخًش‬،‫ٔنكٍ أٌضب ػهى أداء خط االَخبج بصٕسة ػبيت‬
‫ ٔ ٌٓخى ْزا‬.‫انًٕاد األكثش يالءيت ٌؼذ قشاسا حبصًب ٌُبغً أٌ ٌذسس بؼُبٌت خالل انًشاحم األٔنى نخصًٍى يُظٕيبث انخصٍُغ‬
‫ حٍث حخضى ػًهٍت انًُبٔنت فً ْزا انخطبٍق‬.‫انبحث فً األصبس بخحذٌذ انُبقم األكثش يالءيت نُقم انضٍشايٍك أثُبء يشاحم اإلَخبج‬
‫ ٔػًٕيب فٳٌ يثم ْزا انقشاس ٌُطٕي‬.‫ فضال ػٍ انخؼشض نذسخبث انحشاسة انؼبنٍت‬،‫ببنخؼبيم يغ يُخدبث ْشت ٔقببهت نهكضش‬
‫ فهقذ حى حطٌٕش ًَٕرج نذػى احخبر انقشاس يخؼذد انًؼبٌٍش بٳصخخذاو‬،‫ ٔحبؼب نزنك‬.‫بطبٍؼخّ ػهى ػذة يؼبٌٍش يخؼبسضت َٕػٍت ٔكًٍت‬
ً‫ ٔ ْزِ انذساصت اخزث ف‬.‫( ٔرنك نًضبػذة يصًى انُظبو فً اخخٍبس انُبقم األكثش يالءيت‬AHP) ‫ػًهٍت انخضهضم انٓشيً انخحهٍهٍت‬
‫ ٔنقذ أٔصج َخبئح حطبٍق انًُٕرج بأٌ َبقم انصفبئح ْٕ أفضم بذٌم نهؼًم فً بٍئت حصٍُغ‬.‫اٳلػخببس أسبؼت بذائم نهُٕاقم‬
‫ ًٌكٍ اصخخذاو‬،‫ ٔػالٔة ػهى رنك‬.‫ بًٍُب األخٍش فً انخشحٍب ْٕ َبقم اٳلصطٕاَت‬، ‫ ٌهٍٓب انحزاو انُبقم ٔانُبقم انضهضهت‬،‫انضٍشايٍك‬
‫انًُٕرج انزي حى اَشبؤِ فً اخشاء ححهٍم حضبصٍت الصخكشبف كٍف ٌخأثش انقشاسانًخخز كٳصخدببت نهخغٍشاث فً حفضٍالث يخخز‬
.‫انقشاس فًٍب ٌخصم ببنًؼبٌٍش انًأخٕرة فً االػخببس‬

Engineering Research Journal, Vol. 42, No. 3, July 2019, PP: 211-217 211
© Faculty of Engineering, Menoufia University, Egypt
 Omayma A. Nada “A MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION MAKING MODEL FOR CERAMIC…"

1. INTRODUCTION durability, flexibility for working with different

temperatures in addition to ease of maintenance.
In most of the manufacturing operations, material
Conversely, this conveyor also has some disadvantages as;
handling constitutes a significant ratio of the production
high conveying risk especially in the presence of fragile
cost. Besides, the performance of the material handling
products, low flexibility for working with different sizes in
equipment directly affects the performance of the entire
addition to the difficulties of fitting in place and low
production line, particularly in continuous and transfer
reconfigurability.
manufacturing systems. Accordingly, selecting the
appropriate material handling equipment can be The chain conveyor has two I-beam parallel lines
considered as one of the critical decisions in tracks to facilitate the sliding motion of suitable cross
manufacturing system design. Nevertheless, the selection carriers. These cross carries can easily slide between these
process of the suitable handling method is not always parallel lines to convey the products[16, 17]. Moreover,
straight forward, as it incorporates several conflicting chain conveyors have many advantages as; moderate fixed
criteria. Sometimes it can be a challenging task, cost, low maintenance cost, low power consumption, good
particularly in the presence of some constraints and durability, and flexibility for working with different
conditions such as handling fragile materials associated temperatures. On the other hand, this conveyor also has
with complicated handling factors like high temperatures disadvantages as; high conveying risk with fragile
and heavy weights. Hence, selecting the suitable handling products, low flexibility for working with different sizes in
equipment can be modeled as multi-criteria of decision addition to the difficulties of fitting in place and low
making that should be properly considered in the early reconfigurability.
stages of manufacturing system design. Multi-criteria
The slat conveyor consists of sprockets, chains, metal
decision making methods have employed by several
plates connected to each other with suitable hinges in
researchers to support the decisions related to the selection
order to form a heavy slated belt [18]. Slat conveyors have
of material handling equipment in different applications
many advantages as; low breakdown frequency, high
[1-12]
durability, high working flexibility with different sizes and
Several types of material handling equipment are temperatures. On the other hand, slat conveyor has some
discussed in [13] as; moving carts and trucks, elevators, disadvantages such as complicated design, heavy weight,
conveyors. The usage of moving carts and trucks in high fixed cost, high maintenance costs, high power
addition to small vehicles needs a wide working area for consumption, long repairing time, and maintenance
maneuvering. Likewise, elevators can be widely used for difficulties.
raising the materials from a certain level in the production
This paper is concerned with applying multi-criteria
line to another level. On the other hand, conveyors can be
decision making to support selecting the most suitable
flexibly used with different applications via continuous
conveyor in ceramic tiles production lines considering
and transfer production lines. Generally, conveyor systems
different conveying requirements such as surrounding high
can be used to facilitate the handling materials process,
temperature in frying and glazing stages. The belt
especially with heavy and hot materials. Types of belt,
conveyors usage for conveying manufactured tiles in
roller, chain and slat conveyors are commonly used in the
ceramic production line are discussed in many published
continuous and transfer manufacturing lines such as
scientific papers as [7, 19-21]. Moreover, the roller
ceramic production line.
conveyors can be used for conveying materials in
The belt conveyor consists of a strong flexible belt in production lines with some design limitations and
addition to two pulleys, one of these pulleys is used to precautions related to conveying fragile materials like
drive the belt by a suitable motor. Moreover, the flexible ceramics [22, 23]. Also, the chain conveyor can be widely
belt must have high strength in addition to sufficient used for conveying ceramic tiles through frying and
flexibility properties, especially with using a thin pulley glazing stages [22, 23]. Furthermore, the slat conveyor can
[14]. Belt conveyors have many advantages as; simple safely convey the ceramic tiles [24].
design, safe, light weight, low fixed and maintenance
The remainder of this paper is structured as follows:
costs, low power consumption, fast repairing, ease of
Section 2 explains the AHP methodology to be utilized for
maintenance and it has suitable ability to be reconfigured.
model building. Section 3 represents the details of
On the other hand, belt conveyors have some
building the multi-criteria decision model using Analytic
disadvantages as; high breakdown frequency, moderate
Hierarchy Process (AHP). Section 4 is allocated to the
durability, Low working flexibility with different sizes and
results and discussion. Finally, Section 5 is devoted to the
temperatures.
conclusion.
The roller conveyor is a series of cylindrical rollers
fixed with a suitable frame on vertical stands. The rolling 2. METHODOLOGY
motion of these cylinders facilitates the handled product
motion from one working station to the next one [15]. AHP has been extensively employed for modeling
Furthermore, roller conveyors have many advantages as; multi-criteria decision problems in diverse domains. This
safe, moderate fixed cost, low maintenance cost, can be attributed to its simplicity and effectiveness in
acceptable power consumption, fast repairing, good incorporating quantitative as well as qualitative criteria in

212 Engineering Research Journal, Menoufiya University, Vol. 42, No. 3, July 2019
 Omayma A. Nada “A MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION MAKING MODEL FOR CERAMIC…"

the overall assessment. Besides, AHP can be weighted average of all priorities, which is the sum of the
systematically applied in complex decision scenarios priority of this alternative with respect to each criterion
through the hierarchical decomposition of the goal into multiplied by the weight of the corresponding criterion.
criteria and subcriteria. In the AHP structure, the decision The outcome of this synthesis is the overall ranking or
alternatives constitute the lowest level in the hierarchy. overall priority of all the considered alternatives.
Accordingly, pairwise comparisons can be accomplished
in order to obtain relative importance or weight of the 3. CONVEYOR SELECTION MODEL
lower layer elements with respect to each element in the DEVELOPMENT
immediate upper layer in the hierarchy. Commonly, these
comparisons can be performed either by the decision In this section, an AHP model will be developed to
maker or a group of experts can be consulted for this support the decision making in selecting the most
purpose. In addition, while performing the pairwise appropriate conveyor to perform the planned task.
comparisons the assessment can be made not only using Besides, a ranking for all the considered conveyor
the available data, but human judgment can be used as alternatives will be realized according to the considered
well. decision making criteria. The model development entails
several steps that will be explained in the remaining of this
In AHP model, in order to construct a pairwise section.
comparison matrix A for n criteria, the decision maker has
to start with a square matrix n× n. When comparing two In the context of tile conveying during ceramic
criteria or alternatives with respect to any criterion in a manufacturing, the decision concerned with selecting the
higher level, the preference will be assigned based on most appropriate conveyor can be hieratically structured
Satty’s numerical relational scale. [25]. The Satty’s scale as illustrated in Fig. 1. The decision hierarchy is composed
ranges from one to nine to indicate the intensity of of seven main criteria that have been proposed for
importance, with 1 refers to equal importance, 3 refers to assessing the different conveyor alternatives. Specifically,
moderate importance, 5 refers to strong importance, 7 these main criteria include cost, durability, reliability,
refers to very strong importance, and 9 refers to extreme flexibility to fit in place, versatility, risk on product, and
importance. Besides, 2, 4, 6, and 8 are intermediate values reconfigurability. In this model, the cost criterion is
between the two adjacent judgments. The entries in such a decomposed into three subcriteria. The first one is the
pairwise comparison matrix are represented by ai j > 0, initial cost of the conveyor which entails the purchase and
where; installation cost of the conveyor. While, the second one is
concerned with the power consumption associated with
1 , i j (1) the conveyor operation. However, the third one represents
ai j  
1 / aij , i j the conveyor maintenance cost. Moreover, durability as
one of the main criteria in the model refers to the useful
Pairwise comparison matrices are reciprocal expected service life, as defined in Ref. [27], for the
matrices. Therefore, the number of comparisons or conveyor. On the other hand, the reliability of the
judgments needed for each matrix with n criteria is n(n – conveyor is decomposed into two subcriteria, namely, the
1)/2. After creating a pairwise comparison matrix, it has to failure rate and the repair or fixing speed. These measures
be checked for inconsistency. The inconsistency can be are utilized in the assessment to reflect the most common
assessed as recommended in [26]. It has been also reliability indices, namely, the mean time between failures
recommended that the inconsistency ratio should not (MTBF) and the mean time to repair (MTTR) [28].
exceed 0.10. If it is more, the comparison matrix is
considered inconsistent and judgments should be reviewed Besides, the main criterion named flexibility to fit
and improved. After performing all the required pairwise in place is used to assess how the conveyor route can be
designed to fit different shapes to help in utilizing the
comparisons and checking their consistencies, the relative
available space in the workplace. Whereas, the main
weights (local priorities) of the items of each level in the
criterion versatility is further decomposed into sizes range
hierarchy with respect to an item in the next higher level
are computed. One of the methods is to compute these and temperature range to reflect the conveyor’s flexibility
weights as the components of the normalized eigenvector in handling ceramic tiles of different sizes and it is
associated with the largest eigenvalue of their comparison flexibility to serve in high temperature. The risk on
matrix. product criterion refers to the expected bad effects, such as
cracks or damage, on the product resulted during transfer
The vector of the weights W may be determined by using
the eigenvalue formulation as follows: via the conveyor. Finally, the reconfigurability criterion
reflects the possibility that the conveyor can be
W , (2) reconfigured in the future to meet changed conveying
needs.
where, is the principal eigenvalue of matrix A. For
more details about the computations in the AHP, one may In the field of ceramic tile manufacturing, four
refer to Ref. [26]. Accordingly, the composite weight or types of conveyors are commonly used. These are slat
the overall priority of each decision alternatives can be conveyor, belt conveyor, roller conveyor, as well as chain
determined by aggregating the weights all over the conveyor. These conveyor alternatives constitute the lower
hierarchy. The overall priority for each alternative is the layer of the model and each one of them should be

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 Omayma A. Nada “A MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION MAKING MODEL FOR CERAMIC…"

connected to all the elements immediately above it. The mentioned main criteria. Therefore, for the cost criterion
lowest level criteria or subcriteria directly connected to the the pairwise comparison matrix, its dimensions will be
alternatives are called the covering criteria. (3×3). However, for reliability and versatility, it will be
(2×2). Additionally, there is one matrix for assessing the
In this model, eleven (4×4) pairwise comparison relative importance of the seven main criteria with respect
matrices should be constructed in order to evaluate each to the goal, which will be a (7×7) matrix. It should be
conveyor alternative with respect to each of the eleven pointed, discussions with experienced engineers and
covering criteria. Besides, three comparison matrices for academic staff have conducted to help in making the
the (cost, reliability, and versatility) will be constructed. judgments while developing these matrices
These are to evaluate the decision maker’s relative
importance of the subcriteria connected to each of the

Goal Criteria Subcriteria Alternatives

Initial Cost
Cost Power Consumption

Durability Maintenance Cost Slat Conveyor

Failure Rate
Reliability
Belt Conveyor
Repair Speed
Flexibility to
Conveyor fit in place
Selection Sizes Range Roller Conveyor

Versatility
Temperature Range
Chain Conveyor
Risk on the
product

Reconfigurability

Fig. 1 Hierarchical structure of conveyor selection AHP model

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION entire line. Besides, the cost of production is very critical
in this industry. Furthermore, the pairwise matrix for the
In order to construct the required matrices and
cost subcriteria and their calculated priorities are shown in
perform the required calculations for the AHP
Table 2. Noticeably, the power consumption has the
implementation, the Super Decisions Software [29] has
highest priority as it directly affects the variable cost of the
been employed. The pairwise comparison matrix that
production. In this application, the considered production
assesses the relative importance of the main criteria
is characterized by its high volume and this gives a higher
affecting the conveyor selection is illustrated in Table 1.
priority to the variable cost as opposed to the fixed cost
Besides, the calculated priorities of these criteria are
represented in this model in terms of the initial cost of the
highlighted in the last column of the same table.
conveyor.
Generally, the decision maker’s preferences may vary
according to the manufacturing environment and the Likewise, the pairwise comparison matrices for the
organization’s competitive strategy. The values in Table 1 reliability and versatility subcriteria are presented in Table
reveal that the reliability has the dominant weight 3 and Table 4, respectively. In assigning these preferences
followed by the cost. This can be considered as an it has been considered that the frequency of conveyor
appropriate assessment because of the nature of the breakdowns is much more critical than the speed of repair
ceramic tiles manufacturing. In which, malfunctions in the as it results in interruptions in the production. Particularly,
conveyors will significantly affect the production of the in ceramic tile manufacturing, the capability of the

214 Engineering Research Journal, Menoufiya University, Vol. 42, No. 3, July 2019
 Omayma A. Nada “A MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION MAKING MODEL FOR CERAMIC…"

conveyor to withstand high temperature is much more is the best alternative, followed by the belt conveyor and
important that handling different sizes. the chain conveyor, while the last one in the ranking is the
For assessing the four considered conveyor alternative with roller conveyor.
respect each of covering criteria or subcriteria, eleven matrices
have been constructed. Samples of these are illustrated in
In different manufacturing circumstances, the
preferences of the decision maker with respect to the
Table 5 and Table 6 for the power consumption and considered criteria may vary. For instance, in a situation in
failure rate, respectively. The local ratings for each of the which cracks or defects on some items cannot be tolerated
conveyor alternatives with respect to the considered or it would be very costly to scrap or downgrade those
criteria are highlighted in the last column in each table. items, the decision maker would increase the weight of the
Additionally, all the local ratings of the alternatives with risk on product criteria. To indicate such a scenario,
respect to all the covering criteria is summarized in Table sensitivity analysis can help in assessing the impact of
7. increasing the risk on product weight on the overall
The final step is to perform model synthesis in order to ranking of the alternatives, as demonstrated in Fig. 3. This
obtain the overall ranking of the alternatives. The figure indicates that increasing the weight of risk on
outcomes of model synthesis are presented in Fig. 2. The product criteria resulted in changing the decision and
results provide an overall ranking for the four conveyor selecting the belt conveyor as the best alternative in this
alternatives considered in the decision making process. scenario. Consequently, the decision maker can perform
According to the preferences of the different criteria sensitivity analysis as need so that the model can cope
specified in the model, the results reveal the slat conveyor with the decision making environment.
Table 1 Pairwise comparison matrix of the main criteria with respect to the goal
Inconsistency
Fit in Risk on Reconfigur-
=0.0181 Cost Reliability Durability Versatility Priorities
place Product ability
Cost 1 1/2 3 5 4 3 6 0.232
Reliability 2 1 6 9 8 6 9 0.445
Durability 1/3 1/6 1 3 2 1 4 0.100
Fit in place 1/5 1/9 1/3 1 1/2 1/2 2 0.043
Versatility 1/4 1/8 1/2 2 1 1/2 2 0.058
Risk on Product 1/3 1/6 1 2 2 1 3 0.089
Reconfigurability 1/6 1/9 1/4 1/2 1/2 1/3 1 0.032

Table 2 Pairwise comparison matrix of the cost subcriteria

Table 5 Pairwise comparisons of the alternatives with respect to
Maintenance
consumption

power consumption
Initial cost

Priorities

Inconsistency
Conveyor

Conveyor

Conveyor

Conveyor
Energy

= 0.0035

ratings
Inconsistency
cost

Roller

Chain

Local
=0.0089
Belt
Slat

Initial cost 1 1/5 1/3 0.109

Energy consumption 5 1 2 0.582 Slat 1 1/9 1/7 1/4 0.046
Maintenance cost 3 1/2 1 0.309 Belt 9 1 2 3 0.494
Roller 7 1/2 1 2 0.296
Table 3 Pairwise comparison of the reliability subcriteria
Failure Repair Chain 4 1/3 1/2 1 0.164
Inconsistency = 0 Priorities
rate Speed Table 6 Pairwise comparisons of the alternatives with respect to
Failure rate 1 3 0.75 failure rate
Repair Speed 1/3 1 0.25
Conveyor

Conveyor

Conveyor

Conveyor

Inconsistency
ratings
Roller

Table 4 Pairwise comparison of the versatility subcriteria

Chain

Local

=0.0127
Belt
Slat

Sizes Temp.
Inconsistency = 0 Priorities
range range
Sizes range 1 0.25 0.2 Slat 1 9 5 2 0.535
Temperature Belt 1/9 1 1/3 1/6 0.049
4 1 0.8
range Roller 1/5 3 1 1/3 0.117
Chain 1/2 6 3 1 0.300

Engineering Research Journal, Menoufiya University, Vol. 42, No. 3, July 2019 215
 Omayma A. Nada “A MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION MAKING MODEL FOR CERAMIC…"

Table 7 Summary of the local ratings of the alternatives with preferences with respect to different criteria
respect to the different covering criteria
on the selection decision.

Conveyor

Conveyor

Conveyor
conveyor
Alternative

Roller

Chain
Belt
Slat
Covering
Criterion

Initial cost 0.051 0.510 0.236 0.202

Power consumption 0.046 0.494 0.296 0.164
Maintenance cost 0.041 0.455 0.252 0.252
Durability 0.494 0.046 0.164 0.296 Fig. 2 Conveyor Alternatives Overall Ranking
Failure rate 0.535 0.049 0.117 0.300
Repair speed 0.060 0.598 0.117 0.224
Fit in place 0.314 0.091 0.052 0.543
Sizes range 0.587 0.217 0.067 0.129
Temperature range 0.321 0.036 0.321 0.321
Risk on product 0.101 0.679 0.066 0.154
Reconfigurability 0.053 0.321 0.097 0.530

5. CONCLUSION
Fig. 3 Sensitivity analysis for the effect of risk on product
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