1. Fixed cost allocation with a minimum distance to fair allocation in Fuzzy Data Envelopment AnalysisElahe Sarfi, Esmat Noroozi, Farhad Hosseinzadeh Lotfi, Mohammadreza Shahriari, Tofigh Allahviranloo, Sovan Samanta, Leo Mršić, 2025, original scientific article Abstract: Resource allocation in Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) has been extensively studied, yet most works focus on redistributing available resources rather than allocating unavoidable fixed costs among decision-making units (DMUs). This study addresses the important problem of fixed cost allocation, aiming to ensure that inefficient DMUs can become efficient while keeping allocations as fair as possible, thereby providing a practical decision-making tool in real-world contexts such as banking and manufacturing. We propose a new linear DEA-based model that allocates fixed costs so as to transform an inefficient DMU into an efficient one, with the objective of minimizing the deviation from fair allocation. The model is then generalized to a fuzzy environment by incorporating triangular fuzzy numbers for inputs, outputs, and costs, and validated using benchmark datasets from Cook and Kress and Wang et al. The results demonstrate that the proposed models can successfully enhance the efficiency of targeted DMUs while producing allocations close to fairness, and the fuzzy extension proves robust in handling imprecise data. The key novelties of this research are (i) introducing a linear efficiency-improving allocation model with minimum distance to fairness, (ii) extending the allocation problem to fuzzy DEA by considering fuzzy costs alongside fuzzy inputs and outputs, and (iii) showing that this integrated framework has not been addressed before in the literature, thereby offering a novel, practical, and equitable approach for fixed cost allocation in DEA.
Keywords: data envelopment analysis, efficiency, allocation, fair allocation, triangular fuzzy number
Published in DiRROS: 30.12.2025; Views: 698; Downloads: 208
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2. Development of an advanced methodology for assessing the environmental impacts of refurbishmentsTajda Potrč Obrecht, Sabina Jordan, Andraž Legat, Marcella Ruschi Mendes Saade, Alexander Passer, 2022, published scientific conference contribution Abstract: The refurbishment of the building stock is one of the key tasks for reducing the future environmental emissions in building sector. The assessment of the environmental impacts (EI) of refurbishments with LCA methodology remains a challenge. In the current practice, the refurbishment is threated as the beginning of the new lifecycle and all the impacts associated with the previous life cycle are generally neglected. The exclusion of materials and components used prior to the refurbishment produces a data gap at the end-of-life since information about materials that remained in the building after the refurbishment are missing. Furthermore, no information about what impacts have already been considered in the past bears the risk that some of the impacts are double-counted. In order to overcome these problems, an advanced methodology for the assessment of the embodied impacts in the case of refurbishment was developed that combines two sub-methodologies that can also be used separately. The first submethodology is used for remodelling the input data in order to make them time corresponding. The second sub-methodology is used for the assessment of the EI in the residual value of building materials and components and is including the allocation of EI between the life cycle before and after the refurbishment. The combination of the two sub-methodologies enables a more realistic and accurate assessment of the environmental impacts. The methodology is illustrated on the case on the case of a façade refurbishment. Five different allocation approaches are investigated and the residual value is calculated after a selected time period before and after the refurbishment. For all the inputs time-corresponding data is modelled and used. The study showed that for the life cycle before the refurbishment the EI and the residual value are generally higher if time-corresponding data is used since the EI of the electricity mix are higher. It turned out that the use of different allocation approaches is favouring either the use of recycled or reused materials or the recycling of the materials at the end. The PEF and the cut-off approach with module D are both enhancing the circular economy. It can be assumed that they are likely to prevail in the future.
Keywords: LCA, refurbishment, allocation, module D, dynamic LCA
Published in DiRROS: 31.01.2024; Views: 1551; Downloads: 819
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3. An LCA methodolody for assessing the environmental impacts of building components before and after refurbishmentTajda Potrč Obrecht, Sabina Jordan, Andraž Legat, Marcella Ruschi Mendes Saade, Alexander Passer, 2021, original scientific article Abstract: Refurbishment is one of the most important measures for reducing the environmental impacts of the construction sector in the near future. According to the life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology for buildings, the environmental impacts of refurbishment measures should be assessed within the whole life cycle of the building and reflected in separate modules. However, in practice, refurbishment is often treated as the beginning of a new building life cycle. This leads to difficulties in correctly assessing the environmental impacts for the components that are reused or recycled after the refurbishment. The division of a building’s life cycle into two separate life cycles indicates that the environmental impacts must be divided between the life cycle before and the life cycle after the refurbishment for a correct assessment of the environmental impacts and a calculation of the residual value. We propose a newly developed methodology for calculating the environmental impacts and the residual value of refurbishment measures that also involves a division between life cycles. The new methodology is a combi-nation of already exiting methodologies that are innovatively combined and consists of four sequential steps. In the first step, the input, output and reuse flows between the life cycles before and after the refurbishment are defined. In the second step, the environmental impacts are assessed using the chosen allocation approach (i.e., the cut-off, cut-off with module D, avoided-burden, 50:50 and the product environmental footprint (PEF)). In the third step, a maintenance scenario is implemented according to the selected reference-service-life (RSL) database. In the fourth step, the residual value is estimated. The methodology was tested on selected building components. A sensitivity analysis for different allocation approaches and RSL databases was performed to show how the choice of these parameters can influence the results. The differences between the selected allocation approaches emerge if materials with recycled content are used or if the materials are being recycled or reused at the end of their life cycle. The developed methodology reliably estimates the environmental impacts as well as the residual value of the life cycle before and after the refurbishment. We expect that this research will stimulate practitioners to avoid the negligence of previous environmental flows, bringing scientific consistency to future assessments of refurbishment measures.
Keywords: Life cycle assessment (LCA), refurbishment, allocation approaches, residual value, reference service life (RSL)
Published in DiRROS: 28.07.2023; Views: 1870; Downloads: 1281
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