TOPSIS Based Power-saving Plans Choice for Manufacturing Enterprise
Dong-sheng Wang, Kuan-ming Zheng
School of Management, Shaanxi University of Technology, Hanzhong Shaanxi, China
(wangdsh0916@126.com)
Abstract - To accommodate the demand of low-carbon
economy and lowering enterprise’s production costs, the
issues of one electronic manufacturing enterprise on powersaving are analyzed, and the plans for its power-saving are
devised. With TOPSIS, these plans are appraised and
optimized, and the effects on cutting down costs and
improving efficiency are summed up.
Keywords - Low-carbon economy,
enterprise, power-saving, TOPSIS method
manufacturing
I. INTRODUCTION
Since the 21st century, low-carbon economy has been
attached more and more importance to. For manufacturing
enterprises, the low-carbon developing model means that
diminishing their energy consuming, improving the
utilizing efficiency, and curtailing waste discharging are
the foremost issues to be resolved. Improving production
efficiency and lowering equipment cost are the basic
conditions for the optimization of any enterprise’s powersaving plans. The optimization methods include Fuzzy
Evaluation Model, Analytical Hierarchy Process, Gray
Comprehensive Evaluation, TOPSIS, etc, [1] among which
TOPSIS, as a simple statistical method, is of high
reliability and of low error [2]. This paper, taking one
electronic manufacturing enterprise as the case, puts
forward three power-saving plans, optimizes these plans
with TOPSIS, and analyzes the effects of the optimal
choice.
II. METHODOLOGY
A. Basic Ideas of TOPSIS Method
TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by
Similarity to Ideal Solution) is an important multiattributes decision model, which finds the positive ideal
plan and negative ideal plan with normalized initial
matrix, to calculate the relative closeness between one
plan and two ideal plans [3]. Based on the relative
closeness, the sequence of the evaluation results is
achieved. The positive ideal plan is the optimal one,
which is a virtual plan, and its attributes are the best. And
the negative ideal plan is the worst one, which is also
virtual plan, and its attributes are the worst [4].
B. Steps of the TOPSIS Method
Y
ij
X ij
=
（j=1, 2, 3…n）
m
å
X
(1)
2
ij
i =1
Step 2: Set up weighted normalized decision matrix [6]
(2)
Vij  Wi  Yij (i=1, 2…n j=1, 2…n)
Step 3: Calculate the positive solution V+ and
negative ideal V- [7]
V   (max vij , j  J1 ), (min vij , j  J 2 ), i  1.2.3, m
(3)
V   (min vij , j  J1 ), (max vij , j  J 2 ), i  1,2,3,, m
Step 4: Calculate Euclidean distance [8]
D 
 W V
m
i
i 1
D 
ij
 W V
m
i 1
i
ij
 Vi
 Vi



2

2
Step 5: Calculate the relative adjacent degree [9]
Di
Ci 

Di  Di
Step 6: Obtain the optimal plan from Ci [10]
(4)
(5)
III. APPLICATION OF TOPSIS METHOD TO
ENTERPRISE’S POWER-SAVING PLANS
A. Troubles in the Power-saving of the Case
Enterprise
The case enterprise is an electronic manufacturing
factory. There are too many testing processes with high
energy consumption. Before packaging, there are for steps
of test for the products. Its testing workshops use LCD
equipment to display the testing information. The
followings are the existed troubles for the enterprise:
Large space is occupied by LCD equipment. The
information displayed by LCD equipments is very simple
and much equipment is used for the tests, which lead to
large space occupation. The whole produce lines are
crowded and the layout of lines is in chaos, which caused
the operating personnel to walk frequently, and to walk in
large range. These factors speed up personnel’s fatigue,
and the efficiency is low.
The testing equipments are of high cost. Through
statistics, there are 373 testing stations in the whole
workshop. The cost of LCD equipment is 1200 Yuan per
station, and the total cost is up to 447,600 Yuan.
The energy consumption is high. Through statistics,
the power fee from one workshop is high up to 96,300
Yuan per year.
Step 1: Set up normalized decision matrix [5]
B. TOPSIS Based Power-saving Plans Choice
Through brain-storm, three plans are addressed. The
first is that replace the CMC for LCD equipment which is
a kind of apparatus for displaying scanning and testing
information. The advantage of this plan is of
comprehensive information and of good effects; and the
weakness is of low visual angles and of high cost. The
second plan is that substitute LED equipment for LCD.
The advantage is of good visualization, of efficient
information and of low equipment cost; and the weakness
is of too simple in displaying information. The third plan
is that change LCD equipment for LED indicator lamps
with different colors. The advantage is of direct
observation, of efficient information and of low price; and
the weakness is of little information and of chaos in
visualization.
Through analysis and research, lowering equipment
cost, diminishing space occupation, saving power, and
improving the efficiency are the indexes for plan choice.
The steps to use TOPSIS for the choice of the powersaving plans are the followings:
Step 1: Set up decision indexes set C
 y1 = lowering - cost

 y = improving - efficiency 
2

C
 y3 = occupying space 


 y4 = saving power

Step 2: Set up plans set X
 x1  plan1 
X   x 2  plan2 

 x 3  plan3 

Step 3: Decide the weight of indexes and set up the
weight set W
 w1(lowering  cost)  0.25

 w (improving  efficiency)  0.15 

W  2
 w3 (occupying  space)  0.35

 w (saving  power)  0.25

 4

Step 4: Decide the actual value of indexes
Through market survey and field measurement, the
price of CMC is 1500 Yuan per station, and the space
occupation is 0.00179m3; the price of LED monitor is 200
Yuan per station, and the space occupation is 0.00145m3;
the price of LED indicator is 150 Yuan each, and the
space occupation is 0.00062m3. According to the above
data, the score of the three plans’ efficiency-improving
and power-saving can be obtained as tableI:
TABLE I
INITIAL VALUE OF DECISION INDEXES
Index
Plan
Plan 1
Plan 2
Plan 3
The dimensions of the above values are different.
Thus it is necessary to transform the value to normalized
ones with Eq.1.
Y11 =0.986394 Y12  0.131519 Y13  0.098639 Y21  1.053182
;
;
;
;
Y22  1.180127 ; Y23  0.52718 ; Y31  0.32014 ; Y32  0.260452 ;
Y33  0.11146 ; Y41  0.840125 ; Y42  0.744251 ; Y43  1.04825 .
From the above values, the decision matrix Y can be
obtained:
0.986 1.053 0.320 0.840 


Y  0.132 1.180 0.260 0.744


0.100 0.527 0.111 1.048 
Step 6: Calculate weighted decision matrix V with
Eq.2.
0.247 0.158 0.112 0.210


V  0.032 0.177 0.091 0.186 


0.025 0.079 0.039 0.262 
Step 7: Calculate positive and negative ideal solution
with Eq.3.
V   0.025 0.177 0.039 0.262
V   0.247 0.079 0.112 0.186
Step 8: Calculate Euclidean distance D with Eq.4.


D1  0.240 ; D1  0.082 ; D2   0.092 ;



D2  0.236 ; D3  0.099 ; D3  0.246
According to the above value, tableII can be
ascertained.
Step 9: Calculate the relative adjacent degree C with
Eq.5.
C1  0.255 ; C2  0.720 ; C3  0.713
C 2  C3  C1
Among which, the second plan is the most optimal as
the final choice.
TABLE II
EUCLIDEAN DISTANCE OF THE THREE PLANS
Plan
Plan 1
Plan 2
Plan3
D+
0.240
0.092
0.099
D-
0.082
0.236
0.246
Item
IV. PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS ON THE PLAN
CHOICE
Lowering
Cost
(Yuan)
Improving
Efficiency
Occupying
Space
（m3）
Saving
Power
1500
200
150
8
9
4
0.00179
0.00145
0.00062
9
8
9
Step 5: Ascertain normalized decision matrix Y
Until present, the case enterprise has introduced plan2
to display testing information, and the performance is
fairly well. Before improvement, the total cost of
equipment is up to 447,600 Yuan and the power fee from
one workshop is high up to 96,300 Yuan per year. After
the enforcement of plan 2, the total cost is 74,600 Yuan
and the power fee is 12,000 Yuan per year. The cost
saving is 373,000 Yuan, and the power fee is lowered by
84,300.
At the same time, the substitute of LED monitor for
LCD equipment makes the production line in order,
improves personnel’s morale, and allows workers to see
the information clearly without much motion. And
through speech set on the equipment, the information of
code type can not only be identified by visualization but
also by sound, which facilitates workers’ operation. And
the replaced LCD equipment can be made use by other
department and production line. The goal of lowering cost
and saving power is attained.
V. DISCUSSION
Since the early 21st century, we have focused on low
carbon, which emphasizes protecting our environment.
For the public, it means leading a simple and saving life.
And for the enterprises, it means eliminating the
redundant
emission,
lowering
power
using,
comprehensively reusing the material called waste before,
and recycling the materials that can be reused such as
packages, bottles, and so on.
Unfortunately, in the early stage of the low-carbon
economy, there are a number of requirements on the
publics at present. Those on enterprises seem to be
neglected. Someone will say that environment protection
has been awakened by many governments in the world,
and the relative institutions have been initiated since the
1960s. But an obvious fact must be laid on the desk that
compared with the public the amount of power-using by
enterprises is fairly huge. Thus, enterprises should be the
priority to low-carbon economy.
For enterprises, to meet the requirement of reducing
emission, reusing and recycling, they should enforce their
consciousness and self-discipline besides abiding by the
outer institutions, which means they should adjusting their
operation strategies to cover reducing, reusing and
recycling., and some scientific methods should be adopted.
This paper takes a specific case to explore the way to
lower its power-using with TOPSIS. But faced with the
pressure of profit earning and growing, quite a few
enterprises will not consider too much low-carbon.
Seemingly, it is reasonable. But through deep exploring,
the fact that one enterprise which complies to the demand
of low-carbon usually affords high costs, which will be a
burden for its development. And those enterprises that
consider these factors of low-carbon will not obtain
anything in return. Although some stimulus measures
have been enforced in low-carbon by some governments;
these measures are usually treated as temporary ones. And
form the long period perspective, these measures will
cause damage to the enterprises’ operation. The reasons
are that some enterprises will rely highly on the
allowances form government, and some will use these
allowances to compete with others, which will cause
unfairness, even international trade disputes such as antidumping and anti-subsidies.
So, for enterprises, the low-carbon economy needs
more innovations including technology, operation and
management. The technology innovation means some
techniques that are efficient in low-carbon will be
invented and adopted by enterprises. The operation
innovation means the enterprises must change their
visions. From the present research and practice, lowcarbon supply chain seems as one effective strategy. Its
application will equalize the costs of reusing, reducing
and recycling on the supply chain. This strategy needs
some supportive means such as low-carbon contracts for
all members on the chain, interest-collaboration between
different members, and so on. And on the basis of
operation innovation, the management must innovate on
some aspects such as information management,
outsourcing, supplier management, channel management,
etc.
In a word, this paper probes the way to low-carbon
development of one enterprise’s power-saving. To
comprehensively realize low-carbon economy, the field
must extend from the public to all industries. And
enterprises should play relatively important role in the
process. The cost of the realization of low-carbon
economy requires a full range of innovations.
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