Hydraulic projects prioritization in the steel industry : an analytic hierarchy process approach

Abstract

The increased use of high-precision operational functions in the steel industry makes hydraulic systems one of the items that require more attention. The prioritization in the modernization of hydraulic projects is one of the critical issues in maintenance management, which involves multiple criteria that should be considered. To solve such problems, multi-criteria decision methods are considered an advantage. To define the model’s multi-criteria structure, the Benefits, Opportunities, Costs, and Risks, based on Analytic Hierarchy Process, were applied, considering the possibility of group decision-making. The aim of this research is to propose an evaluation framework for the prioritization of hydraulic projects in the steel industry. With this study, managers and executives can define adequate policies and methods that allow them to guide their decisions in a clear way. Three alternatives were associated with criteria and sub-criteria, available in a hierarchical decision tree, based on the literature and feedback received from the industry experts. The proposed model was applied in a steel plant located in the Brazilian State of Rio de Janeiro. As a general result, this research contributes to the development of a useful decision support tool, enabling a clear view of the most significant factor disposed on a hierarchical tree, and the priority classification of hydraulic system projects in the context of the steel industry.