Vladimir Marianov – författare

This book applies Multicriteria Decision Making (MCDM) tools and techniques to problems in location analysis. It begins with a generic model for MCDM and subsequently develops specific versions of the technique for particular location problems. Throughout the book, MCDM is understood to encompass all tools and techniques that choose or rank existing or feasible solutions, including discrete multi-attribute decision making (MADM) problems, which typically include an attribute table that specifies the consequences of each decision with regard to the given criteria, as well as multi-objective linear problems (MOLPs), which incorporate all objectives in a single optimization problem. 

This book is intended as a textbook for upper-undergraduate and master-level courses on location analysis. It will also benefit decision-makers who actually need to locate facilities. 

This book deals with an often-neglected feature of location problems, namely uncertainty, by combining two related fields: location theory and optimization. Written by leading researchers and practitioners in these fields, each chapter examines one aspect of the location process in different contexts, such as supply chains; location decisions under congestion; disaster management; design of resilient facilities; uncertainty in the health sector; and facility location in the retail sector under uncertainty. The book also addresses methodological aspects, such as chance-constrained approaches, heuristic algorithms, scenario approaches, and simulation. As such, it provides decision-makers with essential methods, tools and approaches to help them deal with these uncertainties. It is mainly intended for graduate students in the fields of operations research and logistics, as well as professionals in logistics and supply chain management.

This book, companion to Foundations of Location Analysis (Springer, 2011), highlights some of the applications of location analysis within the spheres of businesses, those that deal with public services and applications that deal with law enforcement and first responders. While the Foundations book reviewed the theory and first contributions, this book describes how different location techniques have been used to solve real problems. Since many real problems comprise multiple objectives, in this book there is more presence of tools from multicriteria decision making and multiple-objective optimization.

The section on business applications looks at such problems as locating bank branches, the potential location of a logistics park, sustainable forest management and layout problems in a hospital, a much more difficult type of problem than mere location problems.

The section on public services presents chapters on the design of habitats for wildlife, control of forest fires, the location of intelligent sensors along highways for timely emergency response, locating breast cancer screening centers, an economic analysis for the locations of post offices and school location.

The final section of the book includes chapters on the well-known problem of locating fire stations, a model for the location of sensors for travel time information, the problem of police districting, locations of jails, location of Coast Guard vessels and finally, a survey of military applications of location analysis throughout different periods of recent history.