Using PROMETHEE IV & LINMAP in Continuous Multi Attribute locating

Decision making techniques are often used for choosing the best solution among all available alternatives. Among many mathematical methods proposed to simplify decision making process, PROMETHEE and LINMAP are the most applied techniques to multi-attribute decision making (MADM) problems. Many of MADM problems include ranking finite number of discrete alternatives or selecting the best solution among them. But in many cases, for example in some locating problems, it is necessary to consider multiple contradictory criteria to determine the optimal facility location in infinite and continuous set of alternatives. This paper deals with continuous alternative MADM problems. In addition to the use of PROMETHEE-IV, an extended LINMAP technique is proposed and tested for a continuous problem. Results of a numerical example and data analysis using Excel and Lingo indicate the efficiency of these techniques in our continuous alternative multi-attribute problem.