OPTIMIZATION OF BLIND SPOT IN

HEAVY VEHICLES – A MULTI CRITERIA

DECISION MAKING APPROACH

A THESIS

Submitted by

VINCENT D S
(Reg. No. 201214234)

In partial fulfillment for the award of the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

KALASALINGAM UNIVERSITY
(Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education)
ANAND NAGAR
KRISHNANKOIL – 626 126

JUNE 2016
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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 INTRODUCTION

Road accidents, which are normally not forecasted and avoidable,

are general risks in day to life. The problem of road accident is gradually more
now-a-days become a threat to human health and the development of nation in
most of the developing nations. Road accidents cause injuries, disabilities,
pain, deaths and material damages. The statistics show that more people lost
their life on the road accident than from any other major diseases worldwide.
More than 1 million people died and about 15 million people get injured every
year all over the world due to road accidents.

The world report on road accident prevention states that traffic

accidents claim about 3000 fatalities daily around the world (Peden et al
2004). Statistical projections illustrate that from the year 2000 to the year
2020, there will be a decrease of 30% fatalities associated to road accidents in
the developed nations. The contradictory trend is predicted in developing part
of the world, where the number of road accidents is predicted to increase
rapidly in the forthcoming years. The 2001 strategy of World Health
Organization (WHO) reports (Table 1.1) that at present injuries due to road
accidents are the foremost causes of injuries, disabilities and deaths, the 10th
prime cause of deaths and 9th leading cause of disease around the world. The
number of death in the road accident has been estimated approximately 8
million in the year 2020. The seriousness of road accidents is shown in Table
1.1. In developing nations, the trend of road accidents is increasing in nature
 2
 
and also reached an alarming state. But very less attention is shown on that
problem (Odero et al 1997). Hence, it is must to prevent the accidents to save
life and money. Worldwide reports disclose that road accidents worldwide are
projected that 70% of the accidents occurred in developing countries and
claim a total of 20 million victims for a time period.

Table 1.1 Major causes of death

Disease or Injury
S. No
Year 1998 Year 2000.
1. Respiratory infections Heart disease
2. AIDS Unipolar Major depression
3. Perinatal Conditions Road accident Injuries
4. Diarrhoeal diseases Cerebrovascular disease
5. Unipolar Major depression Chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease
6. Heart disease Respiratory infections
7. Cerebrovascular disease Tuberculosis
8. Malaria War
9. Road accident Injuries Diarrhoeal diseases
10. Chronic obstructive pulmonary AIDS
disease
Courtesy: WHO Report, 2000

The number of road accidents per registered vehicles in developing

countries is 10% to 20% higher as compared with the developed countries.
The common reasons spelled by the researchers for the increases of road
accidents in developing countries are given below:
 Rapid urbanization process in the developing countries.
 Faster growth rates of traffic.
 Technical problems.
 Worst road conditions.
 Careless driving.
 Not following the traffic regulations.
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Number of road accidents increases in line with the raise of
vehicles. Road accidents are major public health concerns for all. In
India, the accident death rates are relatively higher than any other developed
countries. A case study performed in Calcutta city located in India, shows that
there two factors such as human factors and seasonal factors are contributing
to fatal road accidents (Zhang et al 1998). Behaviour of drivers, cyclists and
pedestrians are listed under human factors and weather and time are listed as
seasonal factors. Road safety is classified as active road safety and passive
road safety. Technology assistance to the accident prevention is called active
road safety. Various components of the vehicle that help to improve the road
safety are known as passive road safety. Road safety is concerned with
ergonomic design of following components of vehicles:

 Head Lamps, Reflectors, Lights, signals.

 Mirrors.
 Wind Screen Glass.
 Vehicle colour.
 Road Design.
 Road Lighting.

1.2 REASONS FOR ACCIDENTS

By definition, the accidents are unavoidable. But, if accidents are

expected, it can very well be avoided. Road accidents take place due to some
mistakes in any one or more of the following elements:
 Road Phenomenon
 Road user & Driving Habits
 Vehicle
 Environment
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 Road phenomenon has the relationship with the type of the road
like,
 National Highways
 State Highways
 Major District Roads
 Panchayat Road
 Roads inside Bus terminus.
 The factors concerning of ‘Road user’ are as follows:
 Responsibility and the driving habits of the driver
 Age of the driver
 Experience in driving
 Human errors
 The other vehicles type, responsibility and driving habits of other
vehicle drivers.
 Factors concerned for ‘Vehicle’ are as follows:
 Mechanical failure of components
 Missing of safety devices or defective head lamps
 Brake lights and indicators
For environment, the following factors are to be considered.
 Weather Condition.
 Defect in Road Surface.
 Light Condition.
 Stray Animals.

In general, the major causes for accidents are classified into three
major categories such as visual factor, human factor and other influencing
factors. Visual factors are nothing but the factors related to vision of the driver
which causes accidents. The influencing factors related to human behaviour
and attitude are listed under human factor. The natural factors and the factors
 5
 
not listed under the above two are known as other influencing factors The
various factors listed under the three major causes of accidents during day and
night time are listed in Table 1.2.

1.3 ROLE OF BLIND SPOT IN ACCIDENTS

Statistics reveals that the visual problems are the prime reasons for
more number of road accidents. Good driver visibility ensures the safe road
traffic. The drivers of larger / heavy vehicles involved in the accidents, are not
aware that other road users are very close to or beside their own vehicle. The
hidden area should be minimized to reduce the accidents. A blind spot area in
a vehicle is nothing but the area around the vehicle that cannot be directly
observed by the driver while he is in driver seat. The heavy vehicle drivers
can’t see certain areas on the roadway in their front, behind the vehicle and on
either sides of the vehicle. Reduction of blind spots improves the area of
visibility.

Table 1.2 Major causes for accidents

Period Visual factor Human factor Others

Day Blind spot Fatigue Weather

Road geometry Concentration Lack of sign
Opposite vehicle speed Monotony repetition board
Brightness of sunlight Tiredness
Psychological factors
Night Glare Alcohol consumption
Brightness
Scattered light
Insufficient light
Reflection of lights
Road Geometry
Opposite vehicle speed
Invisibility of sign
board
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Figure 1.1 reveals the area of the blind spot existing in a heavy
transport vehicle. Blind spots exist in a wide range of vehicles such as cars,
trucks, motorboats and aircraft. The blind spot in a vehicle is the area around
the vehicle that cannot be directly observed by the driver while driving. The
heavy vehicle drivers can’t see certain areas on the roadway in their front,
behind the vehicle and on either sides of the vehicle.

Figure 1.1 Area of blind spot

Forward visibility of a driver is influenced by,

 Vehicle body structure
 Human anthropometric data
 Road geometry
 Driver seat design
 Height of the seat from platform
 Total seat height
 Distance of seat back rest to windscreen glass
 Distance of seat back rest to steering wheel centre.
 7
 
Side visibility of a driver is influenced by,
 Vehicle body structure
 The positioning of the rear view mirror
 The distance of the driver from the pillar or frame of the structure
to the left and right side of the front body structure
 Driver eye sight height, when he is in the driver seat
 Height of the centre of the mirror from the ground level.

The visibility not only depends on the individual driver’s vision

condition but also depends on the design of the driver seat and the rearview
mirror. These designs are directly related to the area of the blind spot in the
front and the sides of the vehicle.

1.4 NEED FOR THE STUDY

Now-a-days road accidents are the major reason for death and
disability. Prevention of accidents saves not only money but also human life.
Statistics shows that more number of pedestrians are affected by the accidents.
Accidents in the bus stops and on the roads with heavy traffic may be caused
by blind spot. It is essential to take steps to reduce the accidents on road. In
this research, an effort is made to reduce the accidents during the day time,
since the movement of human is comparatively more than night time. As per
the previous studies, human factors and vision related factors are the major
contributors to the reasons for day time accidents. Human related causes can
be reduced by proper counseling and training. So, it is vital to concentrate on
design related factors to reduce the accidents. With this aim, this research has
attempted to reduce the accidents by optimizing the blind spot area in heavy
transport vehicles.
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1.5 ORGANIZATION OF THESIS

This thesis has been organized into six chapters. Chapter 1 presents
an introduction to the research topic. It gives an introduction to the issues and
factors related to the accidents in heavy transport vehicles. It briefly
summarizes the need for the blind spot reduction and its importance in road
safety. It briefly outlines the various factors which influence the accidents
during day as well as night time. The scope of the research, and the
terminology used in the research are also explained in this chapter.

Chapter 2 deals with the literature review. It also explains the

background of the current trends in the road safety and the different literatures
related to criteria, methodologies and their applications. It cites different
research works which are carried out in the field of road safety. It also
provides an insight to the research works of the various techniques with
respect to road safety applications. The need, objective and the research
framework are analyzed and presented. The state-of-the-art of the research and
the gap of the research are also discussed in this chapter.

In Chapter 3, the various tools and techniques used in this research

are presented. Also the basic concepts, algorithm, the limitations of the tools
and techniques are presented in this chapter. A brief overview about the
concepts of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy
Process (FAHP), Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) and Complex Proportional
Assessment of alternatives (COPRAS) is discussed and presented in this
chapter.

Industrial case study used in the research work is described in Chapter

4. It outlines the description of problem and the identification of criteria
related to the problem.
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Chapter 5 explains the development of decision models. The
required data to develop the models are collected from the case study
organization. By using these data, various decision models are developed. The
proposed techniques for the model development are GRA and COPRAS. The
weights of the criteria chosen for evaluation are done by AHP and FAHP By
using these tools and techniques, various decision models are formulated.

The development of the following models is described in this chapter:

 Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) combined with Analytical
Hierarchy Process (AHP)
 Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) combined with Fuzzy Analytical
Hierarchy Process (FAHP)
 Complex Proportional Assessment of Alternatives (COPRAS)
combined with Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)
 Complex Proportional Assessment of Alternatives (COPRAS)
combined with Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP)

In Chapter 6, the summary of the research work and the findings are
presented. The contributions of the research work are also summarized here.
This chapter describes the limitations of this study also. Scope for future
research in this field is also covered in this chapter.
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CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 INTRODUCTION

The literature on road safety issues is categorized into overview of

road safety, blind spot, analysis of variance (ANOVA) applications, and focus
on the applications of the tools used in this research such as Analytical
Hierarchy Process (AHP), Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP), Grey
Relational Analysis (GRA) and Complex Proportional Assessment of
alternatives (COPRAS). The literature review is a representative of relevant
research in the area.

2.2 REVIEW BASED ON OVERVIEW OF ROAD SAFETY

Accident analysis is necessary to reduce accidents. Many

researchers [Ceder and Livneh 1982, Hauer (1986), Ferrante et.al (1993),
Srewart (1996), Wu and Harbird (1996), Abdel Aty et al (2000), Lai et. al
(2004) and Lyons et. al (2008)] deal with road accident analysis and
prevention. The World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that more
than 1million deaths occur each year worldwide, due to road traffic accidents
(Atubi, 2012). More than a million people are killed and around ten millions
are injured each year during road accidents in the world. The costs are more
than billion. The road traffic injuries occupy the ninth place among the causes
of disability (Peden et al 2004). Accidents are not often due to lack of
knowledge, but are due to negligence, rudeness and over confidence. Several
factors such as human related factors, factors related to vehicle and
 11
 
environmental related factors play roles in the accidents. (Nilambar et al
2004).

More number of accidents involving pedestrians are happened at night

because visibility under night driving conditions is very much restricted.
Night driving tends to be riskier, when the illumination is provided by the
vehicle’s headlamps. Because, the illumination available is limited and the
drivers tend to overrun their headlamps (Hall, 1983). Mohan and Bawa (1985)
have made an analysis on road traffic accidents in Delhi, India. The roads are
occupied by non-powered vehicles in more numbers. The results show that
fatal accident patterns in Delhi are differing from those in developed countries.
Two-wheeler riders, bus commuters and pedestrians, comprise about 80% of
fatalities and motor powered vehicle users / occupants a minority. The authors
recommended the measures to be taken in the short-term and long-term. Night
driving is generally accepted to be more dangerous than daylight driving
(Rumar, 1990). Al-Sulaiman and Al-Masaeid (1992) developed descriptive
analysis model for fatality traffic accident rates. Pattinaik and Sreedar (1993)
suggested the remedial measures using expert system for accident analysis.
Gozias et al (1997) analyzed the factors affecting road safety by conducting a
case study in Greek. Heger (1998) specified the mental workload requirements
and the limitations of the capacities of drivers in the processing of
information. The internal and external measurements were analyzed by the
measurements with the help of video recording techniques. The data such as
geometric, functional and physiological measures on roads with various levels
of difficulty were studied in the study. It was observed that if the curves on the
road has smaller radius, there is a possibility of greater increase in the
reduction of speed, eye blink rate and variation of heart beat rate decreased.
 12
 
Pearce and Maunder (2000) explained how to improve driver
behaviour by comparing the driving behaviour of accident drivers and drivers
not involved in accidents. Petredon and Mousraki (2001) described the human
factors for road traffic accidents. In that review, behavioral factors represented
the major cause of most of road accidents and contribute to the fatality. The
classification of behavioral factors such as inexperience, alcoholism, addiction
to drug, tiredness, aging, disease and disability, fatigue, psychological stress,
temporary distraction overestimation of capabilities, attitude, over speeding,
disregard of traffic regulations, crude driving behavior, non-use of safety
equipments such as seat belt or helmet, posture while driving, suicidal
behavior and compulsive acts were considered in the study. Vehicle crashes
are the principal cause of accidental death and around 60% of them occur
during night time (Blanco et al 2001). This study analyzed the characteristics
of fatal crashes using the factors such as type of person, time of day, and
weather. The vision enhancement systems such as halogen headlamps, high
intensity discharge headlamps, three levels of UV-A (low, middle, and high),
infrared thermal imaging system and high output halogen were recommended.
Galal and Shigidi (2002) analyzed the traffic accidents using safety
management techniques.

Chong et al (2004) analyzed the traffic accidents and the causes

using decision trees and neural networks. Chong et al (2005) also used
machine learning paradigms to analyze the accidents. Ahmadian and Boggs
(2005) experimented the safety measures of operator seat design in heavy
commercial vehicle with driver preference of seat. The ergonomic design of
chair, the causes and the prevention of road accidents were also discussed.
Chang and Chen (2005) explained how data were used to analyze the accident
frequency. Koppits and Cropper (2005) discussed the relation between the
economic growth of a Nation and traffic fatalities. As a result, the economic
 13
 
growth was spoilt due traffic accidents. Hence, it is necessary to take steps to
prevent accidents. Fuller, (2005) developed a theory to study the general
behaviour of drivers and gave tips to reduce accidents. Oltedal and Rundmo
(2006) investigated the effects of personality behavior and gender on
hazardous driving behaviour and accident involvement. Totally, 37.3% out of
1356 of Norwegian adolescents have the risky driving behavior. For the
analysis, regression analysis between personality behavior and gender was
performed. Fai et al (2007) discussed the state of the art and present
development in the ergonomic approach for vehicle driver seat in automobile
industry. Jarasuniene and Jakubauskas (2007) stated the need for road safety.
Intelligent vehicle safety systems should be vehicle-based or infrastructure
related systems guarantee a superior safety on road. Passive safety
applications help the people stay alive and safe in an accident, while the active
safety applications help the drivers to prevent accidents. Xin and Shou-en,
(2007) studied the key problems in road safety management and how to
attempt it.

Road accidents are the regularly occurrence at some critical points

such as sharp bends, potholes and at bad sections of the roads. At those points
it is difficult to control the vehicles by the over speeding drivers. It results to
fatal road accidents not only during at night but also during day time (Atubi
and Onokala, 2009). Road safety performance at local territorial stage was
studied by Eksler (2010) and concluded that several factors related to human
behaviour, design parameters and road conditions were influencing to a major
extent. Beshah and Hill (2010) studied the role of road traffic accident data in
the improvement of safety by considering the factors related to road on the
severity of accident in Ethiopia. Haixia and Zhihong (2010) analyzed the
various factors influencing various road accidents. Totally, causes of 372 road
accidents that occurred in China were taken for the analysis. Savolainen et al
 14
 
(2011) have discussed the progress of research and current thinking related to
the statistical analysis of injury severities of road accidents, and provided a
suggestion for future research directions. Khorasani et al (2012) developed an
intelligent decision support system to assess the road safety performance
through a case study of a given set of countries in Europe and prioritization of
road safety indicators in roads. Beshah et. Al (2013) revealed the road user’s
behaviour by way of analyzing accident data. The strategic plan to improve
road safety of the several countries was also explained.

2.3 REVIEW BASED ON BLIND SPOT

Good driver visibility results safe road traffic (Hatamleh et al

2013). In many accidents, the drivers of heavy vehicles are not able to predict
that other vehicles / pedestrians are very nearer to or beside their own vehicle
in the area of blind spots (Olejnik, 2008). Vision related factors are the major
reasons for the accidents during both day and night times. High rate of crashes
involving pedestrians are happened due to vision related factors (Hall, 1983).
Eloholma et al (2006) identified the visual problems, human related problems
and other related factors influence the accidents. Akamatsu, et al (2013) have
done a detailed review on the human factors on automotive technology
research for the past, present, and future.

Statistics revealed that most of the road accidents were happened

due to visual problems such as vision of the driver, brightness of the light and
glare during night time and the area of blind spot. Among them, blind spot is
the key attribute. Many heavy trucks may have serious blind areas within
which passenger vehicles may not be visible to the drivers of such trucks
(Burger et al 1980). Platzer (1995) described and related the enlargement,
viewing angle and reflection of convex mirrors which are used as rearview
mirror in vehicles. The above said factors of convex mirrors were compared to
 15
 
those for plane mirrors. Also the viewing angles of rearview mirrors of
vehicles were calculated and illustrated. Erp and Padmos (2003) investigated
the support of indirect viewing systems for drivers under low visibility
conditions or when the driver's field of view. Ehlgen et al (2008) explained the
use of the combination of mirrors and cameras to survey the adjacent area of
vehicles. The proposed system supports the driver during decision tasks and
improves the safety of driving heavy vehicles. Cho and Han (2010)
investigated that the vision of the driver as the most critical factor for an
unusual driving situation. The magnitude of the blind area was determined and
visibility target that could be employed for ensuring that trucks would comply
with driver visibility requirements was developed.

Poorly designed seats will cause fatigue to the drivers and also
reduce the vision in the front and sides of the vehicle. (Park et al 1998). The
well – designed driver seat should assure the driver’s satisfaction and less
fatigue by way of its safety aspects, comfort and visibility. . Even though the
design of driver seat by considering the above points will have the effect of
reducing accident considerably, driver’s fatigue is the prime factor in road
accidents (Shen and Vertiz, 1997). Mehdi and Christopher (2005) studied the
static, dynamic and transient comfort experienced by the drivers in the
automotive sea. The transient comfort perceived during position change or
move around the seat. To design the seat, the following criteria such as
driver’s anthropometric data, driver’s visibility, driver reach to controls and
size, shapes and deflection of the seat are considered. Gundogdu (2007)
presented genetic algorithm based optimization method to find a set of
parameters to achieve the best performance of the driver in a car seat.
Sanchez-Alejo et al (2011) presented a design procedure for the cockpit of a
sports vehicle by applying ergonomic module of a three-dimensional (3D)
design program and the creation of the driver's seat and the cockpit chassis.
 16
 
Minfeng (2012) used the ergonomics principle to analyze the causes of driver
fatigue with regard to the auto driver's seat in the perspective of
anthropometry, biomechanics, psychology, mechanical vibration and work
space to reduce the blind spots. Seats that don’t hold the size and shapes of
body of a driver, will force the driver into a poor sitting posture. Thus, lack of
effective adjustments in the driver’s seats correlated with the low back pain
among the drivers who drive continuously for a longer period (Onawumi and
Lucas, 2012). Kulcsar et al (2013) observed the ergonomic benefits of various
car seats and how the driver is adjusted to them while driving. The dynamic
characteristics of a vehicle were analyzed in that study. Kolich (2014)
proposed design failure mode and effects analysis for seating comfort
development in automotives. An example was given to explain how that
approach was used to stress prospective failure modes of seating comfort, risk
reduction, and bring capable designs to life.

Burger et al (1980) studied the effects of mirror convexity of the

driver performance after training, in order to isolate the optimum convexity.
Also various combinations of plane and convex mirror systems in on-the-road
tests, employing the designated optimum convexities were evaluated. Reed et
al (2001) reviewed the fields of view of the rear view mirror in 48 numbers of
minivans, pickup trucks, and sport vehicles. A manual pole-sighting method
was enhanced from 3D vehicle data. The mirror orientations and driver eye
locations were recorded using a coordinate measurement machine. Way and
Reed (2003) presented a physical measuring method to measure the field of
view of drivers in rear view mirrors. The mirror locations, contours, and
curvature were measured by using a portable coordinate measurement
machine. An extensive review on the safety features concerned in the use of
rear-view mirrors was performed by Ayres et al (2005). The research
directions related to rear view mirror were also and discussed in that paper.
 17
 
Kojima et al (2005) proposed a support system to enhance the vision namely
"NaviView". It provides visual support for safe and sound driving. Hughes et
al (2009) discussed the factors that encourage the use of electronic based
vision support systems designed in the heavy transport vehicles to reduce the
blind zones. Fuzzy based intelligent blind spot detecting system was presented
by Qidwai (2009). In this system, several ultrasonic sensors were used to
monitor the chosen blind spots in a vehicle. Tideman et al (2010) presented the
systematic approach, when designing a new lane change support system for
vehicle using scenarios, virtual reality simulation, and gaming principles. The
mock-up system consisted of three flat screens that offer rear view mirror
functionality. Kim et al (2011) studied the surface flow and wake structure
around an automotive external rear-view mirror and demonstrated the
visualizations over the mirror housing surface and the driver side vehicle skin.
Computer based simulation method was also used to detect and warn the
objects present within the blind spots in automobiles (Hatamleh et al 2013).

2.4 REVIEW BASED ON TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

In this section, the journal papers are referred based on the

application of various tools and techniques which are related to blind spot
optimization. The findings and observations based on the literature review are
presented under the following sub sections.

2.4.1 Review of Literature focused on ANOVA Applications

Park et al (2005) proposed a model with the objective to minimize

the weight of laminated plates fabricated by using resin transfer molding
process by considering both the process and the structural requirements.
Analysis of variance (ANOVA) method was used to determine the influence
of the process parameters. Kiran Kumar et al (2012) studied the use of infrared
radiation based curing as a replacement to usual thermal curing for epoxy
 18
 
based polymer matrix composites with glass fiber reinforcement. The factors
such as distance from infrared source to laminate, schedule of curing and
volume of the composite were considered, and the influence percentage was
determined by ANOVA. Aleksendric and Senatore, (2012) determined the
impact of manufacturing parameters of friction materials used for brakes on
the friction and wear behavior. Moataz and Julian (2013) evaluated the user’s
perception towards bus transit services by using a review. ANOVA was
performed and the levels of variations in the view of both current and potential
users towards bus service quality were identified. ANOVA was used by many
researchers to find the influencing parameters in machining studies. ANOVA
was also used to determine the more influencing parameters in welding studies
to optimize the mechanical properties and micro structural properties etc.,
(Panda et al 2015, Costa et al 2015; Plaine et al 2015). Some researchers
(Gecer and Erginel, 2012; Ercan Senyigit, 2013; Kar and Pani , 2014) used
ANOVA to determine the more influencing parameters in industrial
engineering MCDM problems.

2.4.2 Review of Literature focused on Analytical Hierarchy Process

Applications

Saaty (1980) introduced AHP technique to solve complex problem

using multiple criteria. Triantaphyllou and Mann (1995) discussed the use of
AHP in engineering applications and the computational issues involved during
the decision making. Hsu (1999) proposed multiple criteria evaluation
approach for the evaluation of a transportation project. A decision model was
developed by integrating fuzzy Delphi method and AHP for a Taiwanese
transportation company. Byun (2001) used AHP method for the selection of
suppliers in an automobile purchase model. Bhutta and Huq (2002) have used
AHP to find the weights of the evaluation criteria and also to rank the
alternatives for an industrial engineering problem. Srdjevic (2005) developed
 19
 
AHP based selection model to select the operator in seat selection process by
evaluating three seats of five tractor operators through a structured and
weighted criteria and sub-criteria. Liu and Hai (2005) have discussed the use
of AHP method to assist multi criteria decision making problems. Kokangul
and Susuz (2009) proposed an integrated model for a MCDM problem using
AHP and multi-objective programming. AHP was used as a weight
determination method of the criteria and non-linear integer programming
approach was used to determine the best alternative with two conflicting
objectives. Cheng et al (2011) used AHP to find the criteria which affect road
safety and discharge the potential risk basically. The finding of the
investigation confirmed that over speed is the most predominant factor for
causing traffic accidents. The AHP method prevail over the limitations of the
conventional measures where only one factor was considered. But AHP
incorporate several factors such as people, vehicles, roads and environmental
influence in the road accidents. Habibian et al (2011) determined the weights
safety factors using AHP in the process of determining the hazardous
locations. The investigation was performed by decomposing it first into six
elements such as straight roads, curved roads, bridges, tunnels, intersections,
and side land.

Apak et al (2012) used AHP technique for luxury car selection. The
weights of the evaluation criteria were found using AHP and final ranking was
also done by AHP. Wu and Tsai (2012) proposed AHP for the evaluation of
the criteria of auto spare parts industry. Totally, 7 major criteria and 30 sub-
criteria were considered. For computing weights, AHP was used. Velasquez
and Hester (2103) compared different MCDM techniques and concluded that
AHP outperforms others. Moataz and Julian (2013) evaluated the user’s
perception towards bus transit services by using a review. The gap in the
views of current and potential bus service users was also measured. First, AHP
 20
 
model was proposed to measure user preference. Then the preference and
satisfaction of the users were identified by developing weighted perception
index using a multi criteria model. Agarwal et al (2013) presented AHP based
methodology for ranking road safety hazardous locations. A four stage
methodology was developed for identification of safety factors. Yuan and Wu
(2013) analyzed more number of accident statistics, qualitative analysis of the
criteria affecting road safety and use mathematical theories to formulate the
quantitative relationships among the road accidents and different criteria
which reflect the road safety level. AHP based safety evaluation system was
established by considering the conditions of the road, available safety
facilities, and environment. Sordyl (2015) analyzed the significance of
individual factors affecting road safety using AHP. It was achieved by linking
the statistical data and data from surveys on road safety. The factors were
grouped into three categories such as driver, vehicle and environment.
Temrungsie et al (2015) used AHP to handle multicriteria analysis for
multifarious decision making. AHP has been used as a tool to prioritize the
information for the reduction of accidents.

2.4.3 Review of Literature focused on Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy

Process Applications

Bian and Wang (2009) evaluated safety of a road passenger

transportation enterprise impersonally and scientifically towards the reduction
of road traffic accidents in China. The evaluation model was developed by
FAHP. Lotfi and Fallahnejad (2010) used Shannon entropy method to find the
weight for each imprecise data in the fuzzy data cases. Hung and Chen (2010)
proposed fuzzy TOPSIS group decision making model using entropy weight
for dealing with Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) problems in an
intuitionistic fuzzy environment with an investment example. Bao et al (2010)
developed a fuzzy TOPSIS decision model for road safety using performance
 21
 
index by incorporating experts’ opinions. This approach effectively handled
experts' linguistic expressions into account in the current index research. Yu et
al (2011) used FAHP to determine the weights of the road safety system which
are complex in nature. Lee et al (2011) developed entropy model to find the
weight of evaluation criteria and a fuzzy MCDM evaluation model was
established for the selection of enterprise resource planning system. Cui et al
(2011) improved the stability and sustainability of highway electromechanical
system by use of FAHP.

Xiao-yan et al (2012) analyzed the building of the diversion

channel project for a hydro electric power station. The construction traffic
safety was evaluated using using FAHP model. FAHP was used to find the
influencing factors of the construction safety in that project, and also the
relative measures to eliminate hazards and improve the construction safety
using FAHP. Chen et al 2013 used FAHP to overcome the limitations in the
existing methods for calculating entropy through the measurement of interval-
valued intuitionistic fuzzy set by using cotangent function. Janackovic et al
(2013) presented the occupational safety factors, performance, and indicators
and also proposed FAHP method to rank and select the occupational safety
indicators. The FAHP model was tested by a case study in road construction
companies in Serbia. The expert’s opinion and the results of a survey were
incorporated to find the prime safety performance indicators for the road
construction industry. TOPSIS was used for the evaluation of road safety
measures focused on road users, vehicles, road infrastructure, and
comprehensive measures by using a survey with a questionnaire. An
Intelligent Decision Support System (IDSS) was developed to evaluate the
road safety performance in European countries (Bao et al 2012). To develop
the IDSS, an improved hierarchical fuzzy TOPSIS model was used.
 22
 
2.4.4 Review of Literature focused on Grey Relational Analysis
Applications

Deng (1989) applied the grey system theory to solve the decision-
making problems under more uncertain environments with less data. GRA was
used to solve several MCDM problems such as machining studies (Narender
Singh et al 2004; Lin, 2004; Asokan et al 2008; Siddiquee et al 2010) and
selection of automated guided vehicle (Maniya and Bhatt, 2011).

Wu (2002) used GRA method for a multiple criteria decision

making problem and the solution was compared with the results obtained by
Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS)
method. Yang and Chen (2006) applied integrated AHP and GRA approach
for solving supplier evaluation problem to select the best supplier for a
computer notebook manufacturer. AHP was applied in the determination of
weights of the criteria and GRA was ranking the suppliers by grey relational
grade. Qiu (2007) determined the prominent factors of the accidents of the
routing markers by using GRA method. Xi et al (2009) considered the road
safety system as the grey system because of the availability of incomplete
information related to safety system, complexity in few of the data which are
undefined. To analyze the foremost factors leading to road accidents, GRA
method was presented. In that methodology, the GRG of the entire influencing
traffic accident factor were calculated. At the same time the relative
importance of all influencing factors for road traffic accidents was determined.
Among those selected factors, the first three factors such as snowy, cloudy,
and rainy were chosen based on the GRG.

Wang (2010) has used GRA method for the analysis of mine hoist
overrelaxation accident. The possibilities of various fault pattern occurrence in
the fault tree analysis of mine hoist overrelaxation accident were investigated.
 23
 
The judgment was made by computing GRG and sorting the GRG to find the
better alternative. Yang and Li (2011) has studied the existing safety system
followed in the coal mine’s people-machine- environment. GRA was applied
to research the coal mine accident based on its relevant factors, and the factors
are prioritized to know the key factor causing accident in the coal mine. Lu
and Wevers (2012) have mentioned that two major area are to be concentrated
to improve road traffic safety. They are complete revamp of the present road
infrastructure and the large-scale execution of sophisticated systems to assist
the drivers. Evaluation of different strategic investments in the above
mentioned area is complicated by restrictions in availability, consistency and
correctness of data. For the evaluation GRA was proposed and illustrated with
a case study in The Netherlands. Li and Wang (2012) forecasted the road
safety to examine the trend of road accidents under existing road traffic
conditions and evaluate the feasibility and practical effectiveness of road
safety measures reasonably, control various factors affecting road accidents,
and reduce the accidents. For the forecasting of accidents GRA was
recommended. Zeng et al (2013) performed road traffic accident analysis and
condition of accident warning using GRA. Least square method was adopted
to develop the analysis of the correlation degree. Twala (2014) presented
accident prediction using transportation data analysis. Experimental results
were given to demonstrate the efficiency and the healthiness of the GRA
algorithm in terms of road accident predictive accuracy.

2.4.5 Review of Literature related to Complex Proportional

Assessment of Alternatives (COPRAS) Applications

Zavadskas et al (2009) demonstrated a case study for the selection

of contractor on the basis of multiple attributes of efficiency with fuzzy inputs
applying COPRAS method. Madhuri et al (2010) developed COPRAS based
model for the selection of best web site. Podvezko (2011) compared SAW
 24
 
(Simple Additive Weighting) method and COPRAS method for multi criteria
evaluation models. The COPRAS method outperformed by eliminating the
drawbacks of the SAW method. Chatterjee and Bose (2012) integrated the
fuzzy with COPRAS approach for site selection for a wind farm. Chatterjee
and Chakraborty (2012) have attempted to work out the problem to select the
material using COPRAS method by considering various criteria used for
material selection and their relative weight. Podvezko and Sivilevicius (2013)
have used AHP and COPRAS methods for finding the importance of the
interaction between the transport system elements with a strong influence on
road traffic safety. The road transport system involves vehicles, roads, traffic
participants and freight. The interaction between aforementioned elements
takes place in an external environment. The process of transportation is aimed
at the improvement in the efficiency of the transport system. However,
negative effects like a higher accident rate cannot be avoided. The road traffic
accident rate is determined by the properties of the elements of the transport
system and the parameters and their interaction. Their impact on the road
traffic accident rate cannot be calculated by a structured experiment. For
evaluating expert judgments with reference to the use of the correlation
analysis of ranks and weights COPRAS is presented.

2.5 IDENTIFICATION OF RESEARCH GAP

After the detailed review of literature, the following observations

are made: Many researches focused the accident prevention during night time.
Earlier researches have discuss the prevention of accidents caused by human
errors and human related factors such as fatigue, loss of concentration,
monotony repetition, tiredness, psychological factors and alcohol consumption
etc., Most of the researchers focus the accidents happened on highways for
their study. Few literatures were found in the area of accident prevention in the
bus stops and on the roads in thickly populated area. Accident preventions by
 25
 
considering the design parameters are found in few literatures. Very few
literatures are dealt with the reduction of blind spot particularly by using
electronic equipments like sensors and cameras. And all those techniques are
dealt with the blind spot reduction on left, right and rear side of the vehicle.
No attempt was made earlier to reduce the front side blind spot. No evidence
of literature with blind spot optimization using the design parameters is
formed.

Therefore, by considering of the above mentioned research gap, the

optimization technique to reduce the area of blind spot through the
optimization of design parameters which are influencing the blind spot in
heavy public transport vehicles is introduced.

2.6 OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH WORK

In this research work, an attempt has been made to study some of

the issues related to heavy vehicles in the domain of blind spot reduction. The
main objective of the present research is to design and develop a decision
model using optimization techniques, to assist the decision makers who need
the information. Hence, the objectives of this research are stated as follows:
 To develop the multi criteria decision making models to optimize
the area of blind spot in heavy vehicles
 To develop various models to optimize the area of blind spot in
heavy vehicles based on the design and positioning of driver’s seat
 To develop various models to optimize the area of blind spot in
heavy vehicles based on the design and positioning of rearview
mirror.
 26
 
2.7 RESEARCH FRAME WORK

In this research, an attempt has been made to study the issues

related to the blind spot reduction in heavy vehicles. Decision models using
conventional as well as intelligent techniques have been designed and
developed to assist the decision makers in the transport section. The frame
work followed for this purpose is presented in Figure 2.1. The frame work can
be summarized in the following steps:

 Detailed study of safety issues encountered in the road safety

 Understanding the causes for the accidents
 Observing the factors involved in the road accidents.
 Understanding the role of blind spot in road accidents and the
factors affect the area of blind spot.
 Identification of domain experts. For this work, experts from road
transport organization are utilized.
 Extraction of domain expert knowledge by using intelligent
technique is used in this work.
 27
 
Public Transport Vehicles

Passenger Vehicles Goods Vehicles

Safety issues

Analysis of reasons for accidents

Role of blindspot in accidents

Identifying key factors

Optimization of design parameters of Optimization of design parameters of rear

driver’s seat view mirror

Development of MCDM models to reduce the

area of blindspot

Validation

Figure 2.1 Research framework

 Development of various multi criteria decision models to optimize

the area of blind spot in heavy vehicles based on the design and
positioning of driver’s seat
 Development of various multi criteria decision models to optimize
the area of blind spot in heavy vehicles based on the design and
positioning of rearview mirror
 28
 
 Verification and validation of the developed model and
implementation in industrial applications.

2.8 Summary

In this chapter, brief literature review on overview of road safety,

blind spot, analysis of variance (ANOVA) applications, Analytical Hierarchy
Process (AHP) applications, Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy process (FAHP)
applications, Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) applications and Complex
Proportional Assessment of alternatives (COPRAS) applications are discussed.
From the detailed review of literature, highly influencing criteria are identified
for blind spot reduction. Then, various methods used so far for blind spot
optimization are discussed in brief. The basic concepts of the various tools and
techniques used in the development of multi criteria decision models are
presented in the next chapter.
 29
 
CHAPTER 3

TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

3.1 INTRODUCTION

In this research, the following tools and techniques are used for
optimization of blind spot area in heavy transport vehicles.
 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)
 Grey Relational Analysis (GRA)
 Complex Proportional Assessment of alternatives (COPRAS)
 Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)
 Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP)

3.2 ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (ANOVA)

Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is the analysis of deviation in an

experimental result and especially of a statistical variance in order to
determine the contributions of given factors or variables to the variance. In
real world problems, any set of data has inconsistency and the inconsistency
exists within groups and between groups. To find whether this inconsistency is
significant, or merely by chance, ANOVA is used. To compute ANOVA
assumptions, the data set is distributed normally and variances of dependent
variable are made equal in all the populations. There are two categories of
variables in ANOVA such as dependent variable and independent variables.
ANOVA is classified into two types as follows:

 One way ANOVA: In this model, the number of independent

variable is only one with two or more than two levels.
 30
 
 Two way ANOVA: There are two independent variables, both
have two or more levels.

A single dependent variable is tested as the result of an action or

manipulation with ANOVA. But, MANOVA (Multiple Analysis of Variance)
is used to test two or more metric dependent variables. In this research, the
influencing response variables are identified using ANOVA. There are 3 sums
of squares in the simple ANOVA designs.
 The total sum of squares (SSTotal) is derived from the distance of all the
scores from the grand mean.

∑ (3.1)

 The next is within-group or within-cell sum of squares. It is determined

using equation (3.2) which is derived from the distance of the
observations to the cell means. This sum of square indicates error.

∑ (3.2)

 The third is the sum of squares between-cells or between-groups.

Equation (3.3) is used to determine the sum of squares between-cells.
This is nothing but the distance of the cell means from the grand mean.
This sum of squares between-cells indicates effects.

∑ (3.3)

(3.4)

where is the observation or raw data for ith value; is the grand mean for
all observations; is the mean at any level of a treatment and N is the
number of variables.
 31
 
Then, the sum of squares is divided by degrees of freedom
(equation 3.5) to get mean squares.

(3.5)

Finally, fitness value (F), which is the ratio between the two mean
squares, is determined (equation 3.6). The calculated values are compared
with the table value. It is used for significance testing.

(3.6)

3.3 GREY RELATIONAL ANALYSIS

The grey system theory was developed by Prof. J. Deng in the year
1982. It was born from the theory of grey set. The grey theory is a appropriate
theory where the data has the characteristics such as uncertainty, multiple
inputs and discrete in nature. It is one of the booming methods used to solve
problems with uncertainty in nature have discrete data and incomplete
information (Deng 1989). According to the degree of information available the
systems are classified into three types such as white system, black system and
grey system. In the white system all the system information is completely
known. The black system is a system that has the information completely
unknown. If a system has partial known and unknown information that system
is known as grey system. The concept of grey system (Li et al 2008) is shown
in Figure 3.1.

Figure 3.1 Concept of grey system

 32
 
The grey set G (X) is defined by the following equation (3.7).

: → 0,1
(3.7)
: → 0,1

where X be the universal set; ≥ ; ∈ and and are

the upper and lower membership functions. If , then the grey
set will become fuzzy set. This proves that grey theory considers the condition
of the fuzziness and can deal with the fuzziness situation more flexibly.

GRA is a key concept of grey system theory in the evaluation of a

set of alternatives by using more number of decision criteria. The data with
same features are considered as a sequence in GRA. As an effective tool to
accommodate quantitative and qualitative criteria during evaluation, the GRA
can be used to find the correlation between two sequences by determining the
correlative degrees of the sequences, which is called grey relational grade. The
value of GRG is lying between 0 and 1. Deng (1989) stated that grey theory is
suitable for decision-making under more uncertain environments. The grey
system theory consists of the following procedural steps:
(i) Collection of data
(ii) Data preprocessing
(iii) Determination of the Grey Relational Coefficient
(iv) Computation of the Grey Relational Grade (GRG)

The collected data are represented by the matrix XDATA. The referential series
of X0 has the optimal value for each criterion in the data matrix.
….
….
: : : (3.8)

……… (3.9)
 33
 
where ……… - the optimum values of each criterion column in the
data matrix.
The data set is preprocessed (normalized) by using equations (3.10)
and (3.11). For preprocessing the qualitative nature of the criterion is taken
into consideration. For a criterion, if the larger value is optimal, it can be
preprocessed using equation (3.10). Equation (3.11) is used for preprocessing
for a criterion for which the smaller value is the optimal value.

∗
(3.10)

∗

(3.11)

where ‘i’ represents alternatives such as 1, 2, …. m and ‘j’ denotes the criteria
1, 2 … n.
Next step is to find the absolute difference (∆ ) by applying equation (3.12).

∗ ∗
∆ (3.12)

∗ ∗
where is the referential series value of jth criterion; is the
preprocessed / normalized value of jth criterion.

From the preprocessed data, to state the correlation between the best
and the actual results the grey relational coefficient is calculated by using
equation (3.13).

∆ ∆
(3.13)
∆ ∆

where ∆ ∆ ;∆ ∆ ; and represents

the distinguished coefficient lying between 0 and 1.
Finally the GRG is calculated using the equation (3.14).
 34
 
Ѓi =∑ . (3.14)

where Wi (j) is the weight of criterion j

In this research, AHP and FAHP methods are used for the computation
of the weights of the criteria.

The GRG shows the correlation level between the reference and
comparability sequence. For two identical sequences, the value of GRG equals
to one. It also denotes the degree of influence performed by the comparability
sequence on the reference sequence.

3.4 COPRAS METHOD

The concept of COPRAS method starts from the real conditions of

decision making and the grey systems theory applications. In, Zavadskas et al
(2008) proposed the concept of COPRAS method. The procedure consists of
the following steps:

 Identification and selection of influencing criteria (attributes) and

the available alternatives
First, the attributes, which are influencing the decision in the
MCDM problem, are identified and the available alternates are selected.
 Preparation of decision matrix (Alternatives vs attributes) (X)
The collected data (Alternatives and attributes) are shown in matrix
form as shown in equation (3.15).
….
….
: : : (3.15)

where n= number of alternatives and m = number of attributes.

 Normalization of decision matrix (
The decision matrix is normalized as shown in equation (3.16).
 35
 
̅ ̅ …. ̅
̅ ̅ …. ̅
: : : (3.16)
̅ ̅ ̅

̅ ∑
(3.17)

where i= 1, 2, …..n; and j = 1, 2, … m.

 Determination of the weight of the attributes (Wj)
The weights of the attributes are determined by using AHP and FAHP
methods.
 Determination of the weighted normalized matrix
The determined weights are multiplied with the corresponding attribute value
of all alternate to get the weighted normalized matrix.
….
…. (3.18)
: : :

where ̅ ∗
 Determination of maximizing index (Pj) and minimizing index (Rj)
Based on the qualitative nature of the attribute, the maximizing index (Pj) and
minimizing index (Rj) values are calculated. If the maximum value is
optimum, for that attribute, Pj is determined using equation (3.19). For others
Rj will be calculated using equation (3.20).

∑ (3.19)

∑ (3.20)

where k = number of attributes which is to be maximized.

 Determination of relative weights of each alternative (Qj)
Finally, the relative weights of all the attributes will be calculated by using
equation (3.21).
 36
 
∑
(3.21)
∑

The alternative with the highest relative weights is considered as the best
alternative. The COPRAS grades were calculated by dividing the relative
weights (Qj) by the maximum (Qj).

3.5 ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS (AHP)

AHP is a common method among the MCDM methodologies to

solve MCDM problems and also to find the weights of evaluation criteria in
the MCDM problems. AHP methodology decomposes a problem and performs
pairwise comparison of all elements. AHP was introduced by Thomas L.
Saaty, a Mathematics Professor, in 1980. The AHP technique is used to solve
complex problems using multiple criteria. The procedure of AHP depends on
the opinions and judgments of decision makers. The human judgments are
carried together according to a multi level hierarchic structure. The foremost
benefits of the hierarchical structure are that a complete, ordered, controlled
and systematic decomposition of the entire problem into its small basic
components and interdependencies, with a higher degree of flexibility. The
AHP was widely used in the applications of multi-criteria decision making
problems. The structure of AHP hierarchy consists of overall objective, a
group of alternatives or options for the attainment the objective, and a group of
evaluation factors or evaluation criteria that relates the alternatives to the
objective.
 37
 
Objective

Criterion / Criterion/ Criterion/ Criterion /

Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3 Factor 4

Alternative
Alternative Alternative/
/ Option 1
/ Option 2 Option 3

Figure 3.2 AHP Hierarchy

In the majority of the cases, the evaluation criteria are further

broken down into so many levels such as sub criteria, sub-sub criteria, and so
on, based on the requirement requires. The hierarchy of AHP is shown in
Figure 3.2. AHP deals both subjective and objective evaluation criteria also
provides a constructive method for checking the consistency of the evaluation
criteria and suggests the better alternative among a group of alternatives and
reducing favoritism in decision making. AHP allows the organizations to
minimize the common deficiencies in the process of decision making, such as
lack of planning, attention, participation or ownership, can prevent teams from
making the right decision. AHP performs well, if the MCDM problem is
complex. AHP divides the overall problem into small elements which are of
lesser importance. The AHP comprises the following steps:
(i) Define the objective
(ii) Identify and select the criteria
(iii) Select the alternatives
(iv) Pairwise comparison of criteria
 38
 
(v) Check for consistency
(vi) Calculate the weights of criteria

The AHP methodology starts from the comparison of each criterion

with others in a pair wise mode. The basic nine point scale has been shown in
Table 3.1, captures individual preferences with respect to quantitative and
qualitative data (Saaty, 1990). It converts the expert’s opinion on the
preferences into a linear additive weight using the values in the Table 3.1

Table 3.1 Measurement scale for pair wise comparison

Verbal judgment or preference Numerical rating
Extremely preferred 9
Very strongly to extremely preferred 8
Very strongly preferred 7
Strongly to very strongly preferred 6
Strongly preferred 5
Moderately to strongly preferred 4
Moderately preferred 3
Equally to moderately preferred 2
Equally preferred 1

The pair wise comparison matrix is also called original matrix or

criteria matrix (Xatt) as shown in equation (3.19). The cell values in the pair
wise comparison matrix are assigned based on the importance of the criteria
collected from the decision makers of the organization.

Xatt  a ij  ; 1  i, j  m (3.19)

where, aij = Pair wise comparison of ith and jth criteria and m represents the
number of alternatives
 39
 
….
….
: : : (3.20)

Then the criteria matrix is normalized using the equation (3.21) and the
normalized matrix Natt is obtained.

(3.21)

where ∑ , 1

….
….
: : : (3.22)

Then the consistency of the proposed pair wise comparison is checked using
the equation (3.23). CI is calculated using the equation (3.24)
Consistency Ratio (3.23)

where CI is the Consistency Index and RI is the Random Index.

λ
(3.24)

where λ

⋯
(3.25)

where m is the number of criteria and A1, A2 ….. Am are the cell values in the
matrix A which are calculated using the equation (3.26) and equation (3.27).

∗ (3.26)
 40
 
….
….
: : : ∗ (3.27)
⋮

Random Index (RI) was proposed Thomas L.Saaty (1990, 2008) for
various size of matrices. The RI vales are given in Table 3.2.

Table 3.2 Random Indices

m 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
RI 0 0 0.58 0.90 1.12 1.24 1.32 1.41 1.45 1.49 1.51 1.58

If the CR is less than 0.10, then the decision maker's opinion to

formulate pair wise comparison matrix is acceptable (Saaty, 1990). Then, the
weights Watt are computed from the normalized matrix and it is shown in
equation (3.28)

∷ (3.28)
∷

∑
where (3.29)

3.6 FUZZY ANALYTICAL HIERARCHY PROCESS (FAHP)

Saaty’s (1980) analytical hierarchy process is combined with fuzzy

concept to formulate FAHP. Based on the opinion of the decision maker, the
evaluation criteria are compared. The ranking of the criteria used for
evaluation is collected.
 41
 
Table 3.3 Equivalent triangular fuzzy number for saaty’s nine point scale
Saaty’s scale of Triangular
Verbal judgment or preference
relative importance fuzzy numbers
Extremely preferred 9 9,9,9
Very strongly to extremely 8 7,8,9
preferred
Very strongly preferred 7 6,7,8
Strongly to very strongly preferred 6 5,6,7
Strongly preferred 5 4,5,6
Moderately to strongly preferred 4 3,4,5
Moderately preferred 3 2,3,4
Equally to moderately preferred 2 1,2,3
Equally preferred 1 1,1,1

Based on that, first the criteria matrix (equation 3.20) is formed based
on the Saaty’s nine point scale which is shown in Table 3.3. This is converted
into fuzzy original matrix using TFN prescribed by Alias et al (2009) which is
also shown in the same table. The fuzzy number in a fuzzy set can be
represented by equation (3.30).

F x, μF x , x ∈ R (3.30)

where F is fuzzy set; x is fuzzy number; R: ∝ x ∝ and µF(x) is a

continuous mapping from R in the interval [0, 1].

A TFN expresses the relative strength of each pair of elements in

the same hierarchy and it is denoted as TFN (M) = (l, m, u) where .
In which, l is the smallest possible value, m is the most promising value and u
is the largest possible value in a fuzzy event. The triangular membership
function of M fuzzy number can be described in equation (3.31)
 42
 
0
⁄
(3.31)
⁄
0

Then the fuzzy original matrix is by normalized using equation

(3.21). The weights are calculated by converting fuzzy numbers into crisp
values by using defuzzification technique. The defuzzification has the
capability to reduce a fuzzy to a crisp single-valued quantity. There are seven
methods used for defuzzification of the fuzzy output functions such as max-
membership principle, centroid method, weighted average method, mean–max
membership, centre of sums, centre of largest area and first of maxima or last
of maxima. In this study, centroid method was used for defuzzification which
is given in equation (3.32).

∑ ∗
Weights (Crisp value) ∑
(3.32)

where k is the number of rules, Oi is the class generated by rule i ( from 0, 1,

…. L-1) and L is the number of classes.

∏ (3.33)

where n is the number of inputs and mli is the membership grade of feature l in
the fuzzy regions. It occupies the ith rule.

Since the pairwise comparison matrix is formulated based on

human judgment, it is must to ensure that the values collected are accepted
values. To check the consistency, the Consistency Ratio (CR) is calculated
using equation (3.23). If the CR < 0.10, the decision maker's pairwise
comparison matrix is acceptable (Saaty, 1990).
 43
 
3.7 SUMMARY

In this chapter, the concepts of various tools and techniques used in

the development of multi criteria decision models for optimizing the blind spot
area in heavy vehicles have been presented. In the following chapters, details
of case study carried out and the development of models by applying various
conventional and intelligent techniques will be discussed.
 44
 
CHAPTER 4

INDUSTRIAL CASE STUDY

4.1 INTRODUCTION

In this research work, a case study is performed in a state owned

passenger transport corporation which is functioning for more than 40 years,
located in south India. At present, the transport corporation has the total fleet
of 2640 buses, operated in three districts with 39 branches. It has 15,185
employees and 81 officers. The distance covered by this corporation per day is
1.1 million kilo meter and the passengers used the buses are 1.75 million per
day. The corporate office is functioning with the following departments:
 Administrative department
 Secretarial department
 Accounts department
 Commercial department
 Legal department
 Technical department
 Materials and Stores.

The Technical wing mainly governs the training centers,

reconditioning workshops and body building units. At the training centers, the
following trainings are imparted:
 Refresher courses to drivers, conductors and technical personnel
 Training for better fuel conservation.
 Training to avoid accidents Viz. safety driving and self defense
driving
 45
 
 Simulator training
 Yoga training
The body building units are confined to the construction of body on new
chassis renovation and repairing of bodies of old vehicles.

4.2 DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM

The common reasons for the accidents are human related factors,
mechanical failures, due to design aspects. This research focuses on the
reduction of number of accidents by considering the design aspects. Reduction
of blind spot reduces the accidents during daytime particularly in bus stops
and thickly populated area. Area of blind spot depends on the design of driver
seat, design and positioning of rearview mirror. In this research, an attempt
has been made to reduce the area of blind spot by optimizing the parameters
involved in the design of driver seat and rearview mirror.

After the thorough literature review, the following evaluation

criteria for the optimization based on driver seat design are identified:
 Distance between the driver’s seat and platform (A)
 Total seat height (B)
 Distance between seat back rest and windscreen (C)
 Distance between seat back rest and steering centre (D)
For the optimization based on rearview mirror design and
positioning, the following evaluation criteria are considered:
 Distance between the driver and the right side of the body pillar or
frame structure (P)
 Distance between the driver and the left side of the body pillar or
frame structure (Q)
 Distance of driver’s eye sight height from the platform (R)
 46
 
 Distance between the centre of the rear view mirror and the ground
level (S)

At present, in the case study organization four different models of

bus body structures are used. One model is built in their body building unit
and the remaining three models are outsourced. The area of the blind spot in
the front of the buses and also in the left and right sides of the buses are not
same for all the four models.

4.3 SUMMARY

The particulars of the case study organization and the description of

the problem are discussed in this chapter. The development and analysis of
various decision models will be described in the next chapter.
 47
 
CHAPTER 5

MODEL DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSIS

5.1 INTRODUCTION

First, the reasons for the accidents are identified through

questionnaires which are given to around 100 drivers who are working in the
case study transport corporation and their responses were collected. Based on
the understanding and identification of problems faced by the organization, the
following models are developed:
 GRA based decision models
 Model 1: GRA - AHP decision model
 Model 2: GRA - FAHP decision model
 COPRAS based decision models
 Model 3: COPRAS - AHP decision model
 Model 4: COPRAS - FAHP decision model

5.2 ANALYSIS OF PRIME REASONS FOR ACCIDENTS

In this research, an effort is made to reduce the accidents during

day time. From the literature, it is concluded that the reasons for day time
accidents are broadly classified into three categories such as visual factor,
human factor and other influencing factors. Blind spot, road geometry,
opposite vehicle speed and brightness of sunlight are listed below as the visual
factors. The human factor comprises fatigue, concentration, monotony
repetition, tiredness, psychological factors and alcohol consumption. Weather
and lack of sign board are classified under other influencing factors. A
detailed questionnaire, which reflects the above reasons are prepared and the
 48
 
responses are collected from the drivers. The summary of the responses are
recorded in Table 5.1. The pictorial representation of the same is revealed in
Figure 5.1.

Table 5.1 Summary of the responses to the questionnaire

Reasons for Day Time Accidents Response percentage
Visual Factors 51%
Human related factors 29%
Others 20%

Figure 5.1 Summary of the responses to the Questionnaire – Reasons for

day time accidents

From Figure 5.1, it is understood that visual factors contribute more

for the accidents which happened during day time. Hence it is decided to
concentrate more on visual factors than the others in order to reduce the
accidents. The major criteria under the visual factors are as follows:

 Blind spot
 Road geometry
 49
 
 Opposite vehicle speed
 Brightness of sunlight

The responses of the drivers on the visual factors are listed in Table 5.2.
Figure 5.2 depicts the pie chart drawn from the responses recorded from the
drivers on the visual factors.

Table 5.2 Responses of the drivers on visual factors

Visual Factors Contribution
Blind spot 45%
Road geometry 27%
Opposite vehicle speed 20%
Brightness of sunlight 8%

Figure 5.2 Responses of the drivers on visual factors

Figure 5.2 clearly indicates that blind spot has more influence than
others such as road geometry, opposite vehicle speed and brightness of
 50
 
sunlight. In this study, an attempt is made to reduce the blind spot in the heavy
vehicles using multi criteria decision making techniques.

5.3 IDENTIFICATION OF INFLUENCING PARAMETERS

USING ANOVA

First the influencing response variables are identified using

ANOVA. The decision makers related to the case study were asked to submit
their responses related to a questionnaire to identify the influencing
parameters. The following aspects are considered for collecting the responses
of the decision makers:
 Physical nature of drivers
 Types of buses
 Design specifications of driver seat and rearview mirror.

ANOVA is carried out to find the percentage of influence among

the parameters. The sum of squares of the above mentioned parameters are
determined using equations (3.1) to (3.3) and recorded in Table 5.3. Then the
mean squares of the parameters are determined by using equation (3.5).
Finally fitness value (F) is determined by using equation (3.6).

Table 5.3 ANOVA of Parameters

Percentage of
S.V S.S DOF M.S F
Contribution
SSBUSES 257.17 3 85.72 1.86 1.16
SSDRIVERS 138.67 3 46.22 1.00 0.62
SSSPECIFICATIONS 21694.42 3 7231.47 157.15 97.6
SSERROR 276.09 6 46.016 0.996 0.61
SSTOTAL 22366.36 15 1491.09 161 100
 51
 
From Table 5.3, it is concluded that the design specifications of
driver seat and rearview mirror contributes more than physical nature of
drivers and types of buses. Because, ideal drivers and four types of buses are
considered for the study. So the deviations of those parameters from the mean
are less.

5.4 MODEL DEVELOPMENT

For the optimization of blind spot in the front of the vehicle, the
driver seat design is considered. The criteria such as distance between the
driver’s seat and platform (A), total seat height (B), distance between seat
back rest and windscreen (C) and distance between seat back rest and steering
centre (D) are identified as influencing criteria related to driver seat design in
blind spot optimization. Similarly, for the optimization based on rearview
mirror design and positioning, the valuation criteria taken into consideration
are distance between the driver and the right side of the body pillar or frame
structure (P), distance between the driver and the left side of the body pillar or
frame structure (Q), distance of driver’s eye sight height from the platform (R)
and distance between the centre of the rear view mirror and the ground
level (S).

Table 5.4 Parameters involved in driver seat design

Types of Vehicle A (cm) B (cm) C (cm) D (cm)

IS 48.5 100 136 62

OS – 1 53 102 166 64

OS – 2 49 99 134 63

OS - 3 49 99 144 66
 52
 
Table 5.5 Parameters involved in rearview mirror design

Types of Vehicle P (cm) Q (cm) R (cm) S (cm)

IS 34 177 119 204

OS – 1 34 181 123 240
OS – 2 34 182 123 224
OS - 3 36 178 122 242

Table 5.4 and Table 5.5 depict the data collected for four different
model buses which are built by four different body building units such as in-
house unit (IS), three out sourcing units (OS1, OS2 and OS3). The parameters
related to driver seat design are given in Table 5.4 while the parameters related
to rearview mirror design are shown in Table 5.5.

5.5 DETERMINATION OF WEIGHTS OF CRITERIA

The key part in the multi criteria decision making problem is the
determination of weights. In this work, two methods such as AHP and FAHP
are used to determine the weights of the criteria.

5.5.1 Determination of Weights using AHP

The concept of AHP is basically started from expert’s judgment.

The procedure is explained in section 3.5 and Figure 5.3. Initially, the pair
wise comparison matrix / original matrix / criteria matrix is formulated as
given in equation 3.20. The cell values are assigned based on the importance
of the criteria received from the decision makers of the organization. The pair
wise comparison matrix is formulated and is shown in Table 5.6 and Table 5.7
for driver seat design and rearview mirror design respectively.
 53
 
Table 5.6 Pairwise comparison Matrix – Driver seat design

A B C D

A 1.00 4.00 0.50 2.00

B 0.25 1.00 0.17 0.50

C 2.00 5.99 1.00 3.00

D 0.50 2.00 0.33 1.00

Total 3.75 12.99 2.00 6.50

Identification of influencing criteria for the design of

driver’s seat / design of rear view mirror

Collection of data

Pairwise comparison of criteria /

Criteria matrix

Determination of
If no normalized matrix

Check for
consistency

If yes

Determination of weights of criteria

Figure 5.3 AHP Methodology

 54
 
Table 5.7 Pairwise comparison Matrix - Rearview mirror design

P Q R S

P 1.00 2.00 5.00 3.00

Q 0.50 1.00 4.00 2.00

R 0.20 0.25 1.00 0.25
S 0.33 0.50 4.00 1.00

Total 2.03 3.75 14.00 6.25

Then, the pair wise comparison matrix is normalized using the

equation (3.21) and the normalized matrix for driver seat design and rearview
mirror design is shown in Table 5.8 and Table 5.9, respectively.

Table 5.8 Normalized Matrix – Driver seat design

A B C D Weights

A 0.267 0.308 0.261 0.267 0.276

B 0.067 0.077 0.087 0.067 0.074

C 0.533 0.461 0.522 0.533 0.512

D 0.133 0.154 0.130 0.133 0.138

Table 5.9 Normalized Matrix - Rearview mirror design

P Q R S Weights

P 0.492 0.533 0.357 0.480 0.466

Q 0.246 0.267 0.286 0.320 0.280
R 0.098 0.067 0.071 0.040 0.069
S 0.164 0.133 0.286 0.160 0.186
 55
 
Next step is to check the consistency of the proposed pair wise
comparison matrix. To ensure the consistency, equation (3.23) is used. For the
above mentioned pair wise comparison shown in Table 5.6 and Table 5.7,
Consistency Ratio (CR) is determined as 0.0039 for the design of driver seat
and as 0.0387 for rearview mirror design respectively. In the proposed model,
CR < 0.1 and hence the comparison is acceptable. The weights of the criteria
are determined using equation (3.29) and it is given in Table 5.10

Table 5.10 Weights of criteria using AHP

A B C D
Driver Seat
Design 0.276 0.074 0.512 0.138
P Q R S
Rearview Mirror
Design 0.466 0.280 0.069 0.186

5.5.2 Determination of weights using FAHP

Fuzzy based models are highly effective, when the data are vague
and imprecise. FAHP model has been developed by integrating fuzzy concepts
and AHP. The procedural steps of FAHP are explained in section 3.6. Fuzzy
Analytic Hierarchy Process algorithm is shown in Figure 5.4. The FAHP
process starts with the collection of both the data and the linguistic decision
from the decision makers. After the data are collected, the comparisons of
criteria are obtained from the decision makers (Table 5.6 and Table 5.7) to
form the pair wise comparison matrix. This is called crisp matrix. The crisp
matrix is converted into fuzzy matrix using triangular fuzzy numbers
recommended by Alias et al (2009). The equivalent triangular fuzzy number
for Saaty’s nine point scale shown in Table 3.3 is used. By using this, the
criteria matrix is converted into fuzzy criteria matrix which is shown in Table
5.11 and Table 5.12. The fuzzy criteria matrix is normalized and is shown in
Table 5.13 and Table 5.14.
 56
 
The fuzzy numbers are defuzzified using equation (3.32) and the
weights are obtained [Table 5.13 and Table 5.14]. The Consistency Ratio for
this proposed FAHP model is calculated using equation (3.23) and is found as
0.0755 for the design of driver seat and as 0.0873 for the design of rear view
mirror respectively. Both are less than 0.1 and so, these models are acceptable.
The weights obtained by using FAHP are tabulated in and Table 5.15.
 57
 
Table 5.11 Fuzzy criteria Matrix – Driver seat design

A B C D
A 1.00 1.00 1.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 1.00 0.50 0.33 1.00 2.00 3.00

B 0.33 0.25 0.20 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.20 0.17 0.14 1.00 0.50 0.33

C 1.00 2.00 3.00 5.00 5.99 6.93 1.00 1.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00

D 1.00 0.50 0.33 1.00 2.00 3.03 0.50 0.33 0.25 1.00 1.00 1.00

Total 3.33 3.75 4.54 10.0 12.99 15.96 2.70 2.00 1.72 5.00 6.50 8.33

Table 5.12 Fuzzy criteria Matrix–Rearview mirror design

P Q R S

P 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00 2.00 3.00 4.00

Q 1.00 0.50 0.33 1.00 1.00 1.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 1.00 2.00 3.00

R 0.25 0.20 0.17 0.33 0.25 0.20 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.33 0.25 0.20

S 0.50 0.33 0.25 1.00 0.50 0.33 3.00 4.00 5.00 1.00 1.00 1.00

Total 2.75 2.03 1.75 3.33 3.75 4.53 11.00 14.00 17.00 4.33 6.25 8.20
 58
 
Table 5.13 Fuzzy normalized Matrix – Driver seat design

A B C D Weights

A 0.30 0.27 0.22 0.30 0.31 0.31 0.37 0.25 0.19 0.20 0.31 0.36 0.283

B 0.10 0.07 0.04 0.10 0.09 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.08 0.20 0.08 0.04 0.086

C 0.30 0.53 0.66 0.50 0.46 0.44 0.37 0.50 0.58 0.40 0.46 0.48 0.475

D 0.30 0.13 0.07 0.10 0.15 0.19 0.19 0.17 0.15 0.20 0.15 0.12 0.160

Table 5.14 Fuzzy normalized Matrix - Rearview mirror design

P Q R S Weights

P 0.36 0.49 0.57 0.30 0.53 0.66 0.36 0.36 0.35 0.46 0.48 0.49 0.459

Q 0.36 0.25 0.19 0.30 0.27 0.22 0.27 0.29 0.29 0.23 0.32 0.37 0.281

R 0.09 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.07 0.04 0.09 0.07 0.06 0.08 0.04 0.02 0.076

S 0.18 0.16 0.14 0.30 0.13 0.07 0.27 0.29 0.29 0.23 0.16 0.12 0.210
 59 
 

 
Identification of influencing criteria for the design of
driver’s seat / design of rear view mirror

Collection of data

Pairwise comparison of criteria / Criteria matrix

Fuzzification

If no
Determination of normalized matrix

Check for
consistency

If yes

Defuzzification

Determination of weights of criteria

Figure 5.4 FAHP Methodology

Table 5.15.Weights of Criteria Using FAHP

A B C D
Driver Seat Design
0.283 0.086 0.475 0.160
Rearview Mirror P Q R S
Design 0.466 0.280 0.069 0.186
 60
 
5.6 GRA BASED DECISION MODELS

In GRA based models, GRA is used to rank the alternates, in which

the weights of the evaluation criteria are determined by AHP and FAHP. The
algorithm used for the GRA based decision model is shown in Figure 5.5.

 
Identification of influencing criteria for the design of
driver’s seat / design of rear view mirror

Collection of data

Generation of referential series

Determination of weights of
criteria using AHP / FAHP
Determination of grey
relational coefficient

computation of grey
relational grade

Selection of best alternative

Figure 5.5 GRA Based decision model

5.6.1 Model 1: GRA - AHP decision model

The collected data are shown in Table 5.4 and Table 5.5 (Data
matrix). The referential series X0, which has the optimal value for each
criterion is selected. The data matrix is preprocessed (normalized) by using
equation (3.10) and equation (3.11). For the design of driver seat, the criteria
distance between the driver’s seat and platform (A) and total seat height (B)
are normalized by using the equation (3.10), since the maximum value of A
 61
 
and B are considered as optimal values. The other two criteria such as distance
between seat back rest and windscreen (C) and distance between seat back rest
and steering centre (D) are normalized by using equation (3.11). Similarly, for
the rear view mirror design, distance between the driver and the left side of the
body pillar or frame structure (Q) is normalized by using equation (3.10) while
the remaining parameters are distance between the driver and the right side of
the body pillar or frame structure (P), distance of driver’s eye right height
from the platform (R) and distance between the centre of the rear view mirror
and the ground level (S) which are normalized by using equation (3.11). The
normalized values are shown in Table 5.16.

Table 5.16 Normalized Data – Model 1

Driver Seat Design Rearview Mirror Design

Types of
Vehicle
A B C D P Q R S

IS 1.000 0.667 0.063 0.000 0.000 1.000 0.000 0.000

OS – 1 0.000 0.000 1.000 0.500 0.000 0.200 1.000 0.947

OS – 2 0.889 1.000 0.000 0.250 0.000 0.000 1.000 0.526

OS - 3 0.889 1.000 0.313 1.000 1.000 0.800 0.750 1.000

After the preprocessing, the absolute difference between the

referential series and the criteria values is computed using equation (3.12).
Then grey relational coefficient is calculated to express the ideal and actual
normalized results. This is calculated by using the equation (3.13) and the
outcomes are tabulated in Table 5.17. Finally Grey Relational Grade (GRG) is
determined by using equation (3.14) to rank the alternates. The GRG for both
driver seat design and rearview mirror design is given in Table 5.18 and
Figure 5.6.
 62
 
Table 5.17 Grey relational Co-efficient– Model 1

Types of Driver Seat Design Rearview Mirror Design

Vehicle A B C D P Q R S

IS 1.000 0.998 0.995 0.989 0.980 1.000 0.994 0.997

OS – 1 0.987 0.993 1.000 0.995 0.980 0.997 1.000 1.000

OS – 2 0.999 1.000 0.995 0.992 0.980 0.996 1.000 0.998

OS - 3 0.999 1.000 0.997 1.000 1.000 0.999 0.999 1.000

Table 5.18 Grey relational Grade – Model 1

Driver Seat Design Rearview Mirror Design

Types of Vehicle Grade Rank Grade Rank
IS 0.99597 2 0.98988 3
OS – 1 0.99530 4 0.99002 2

OS – 2 0.99595 3 0.98956 4

OS - 3 0.99786 1 0.99970 1

Figure 5.6 Grey relational Grade – Model 1

 63
 
From Table 5.18 and Figure 5.6, it is understood that the vehicle for
which the body is built by OS – 3 has the higher GRG and hence, OS – 3 can
be selected.

5.6.2 Model 2: GRA - FAHP decision model

Next decision model is obtained by integrating GRA and FAHP. In

this model, instead of AHP, FAHP (Table 5.15) is used to find the weights of
criteria. FAHP performs better than AHP, when there are ambiguities in data.
First the collected data (Table 5.4 and Table 5.5) are preprocessed (Table
5.16) by using equation (3.10) and equation (3.11). Equation (3.10) is used to
normalize the criteria distance between the driver’s seat and platform (A) and
total seat height (B) and equation (3.11) is used to normalize other two criteria
such as distance between seat back rest and windscreen (C) and distance
between seat back rest and steering centre (D) in design of driver seat. For the
rear view mirror design, equation (3.10) is used for the distance between the
driver and the left side of the body pillar or frame structure (Q) and the
remaining parameters are distance between the driver and the right side of the
body pillar or frame structure (P), distance of driver’s eye right height from
the platform (R) and distance between the centre of the rear view mirror and
the ground level (S). They are normalized by using equation (3.11). After the
preprocessing, the absolute difference between the referential series and the
criteria values is computed using equation (3.12). Grey relational coefficient
(Table 5.17) is calculated by using the equation (3.13). GRG is determined by
using equation (3.14) with the weights given in Table 5.15. The GRG for
model 2 is shown in the Table 5.19 and Figure 5.7.
 64
 
Table 5.19 Grey relational Grade – Model 2
Driver Seat Design Rearview Mirror Design
Types of Vehicle
Grade Rank Grade Rank

IS 0.99589 3 0.99009 3
OS – 1 0.99503 4 0.99028 2

OS – 2 0.99595 2 0.98981 4

OS - 3 0.99798 1 0.99969 1

Figure 5.7 Grey Relational grade – Model 2

From Table 5.19 and Figure 5.7, it is evident that OS – 3 vehicle

assumed the higher GRG and hence, OS – 3 can be preferred.

5.7 COPRAS BASED DECISION MODELS

COPRAS method is used to rank the alternates, in which the

weights of the evaluation criteria determined by AHP and FAHP. The
algorithm used for the COPRAS based decision model is shown in Figure 5.8.
 65
 
 
Identification of influencing criteria for the design
of driver’s seat / design of rear view mirror

Collection of data

Preparation of decision matrix

(Alternatives vs criteria)

Normalization of decision matrix

Determination of weights of
criteria using AHP / FAHP

Determination of weighted
normalized matrix

Determination of Determination of Determination of

maximizing index Pj minimizing index Rj minimal value of Rj

Determination of relative weights of all

alternatives

Determination of priority of alternatives

Figure 5.8 COPRAS based decision model

5.7.1 Model 3: COPRAS - AHP decision model

The decision matrices (Table 5.4 and Table 5.5) are normalized
using equation (3.17) and are shown in Table 5.20.
 66
 
Table 5.20 Normalized Data – Model 3

Types of Driver Seat Design Rearview Mirror Design

Vehicle A B C D P Q R S
IS 0.243 0.250 0.234 0.243 0.246 0.247 0.244 0.224

OS – 1 0.266 0.255 0.286 0.251 0.246 0.252 0.253 0.264

OS – 2 0.246 0.248 0.231 0.247 0.246 0.253 0.253 0.246

OS – 3 0.246 0.248 0.248 0.259 0.261 0.248 0.251 0.266

After that, the weighted normalized decision matrix is determined

using equation (3.18). To compute the weighted normalized decision matrix,
the weights of the criteria are calculated by using AHP method (Table 5.10).
The weighted normalized decision matrix is shown in Table 5.21. The weights
are multiplied with the corresponding criteria to get the weighted normalized
matrix.

Table 5.21 Weighted normalized Data – Model 3

Types of Driver Seat Design Rearview Mirror Design

Vehicle
A B C D P Q R S
IS 0.067 0.019 0.120 0.033 0.114 0.068 0.016 0.044

OS – 1 0.073 0.019 0.147 0.035 0.114 0.069 0.017 0.052

OS – 2 0.068 0.018 0.118 0.034 0.114 0.070 0.017 0.049

OS - 3 0.068 0.018 0.127 0.036 0.017 0.068 0.017 0.053

Then, the maximizing index (Pj) and minimizing index (Rj) values
are calculated using equation (3.19) and equation (3.20). For the design of
driver seat, maximizing index is calculated for the criteria distance between
the driver’s seat and platform (A) and total seat height (B) by using the
 67
 
equation (3.19), where the maximum values of A and B are considered as
optimal values. For the remaining criteria, such as distance between seat back
rest and windscreen (C) and distance between seat back rest and steering
centre (D), minimizing index (Rj) is determined by using equation (3.20). In
same manner, maximizing index is determined for distance between the driver
and the left side of the body pillar or frame structure (Q) by using equation
(3.19) while for the remaining parameters, distance between the driver and the
right side of the body pillar or frame structure (P), distance of driver’s eye
right height from the platform (R) and distance between the centre of the rear
view mirror and the ground level (S), minimizing index is determined by using
equation (3.20). From these indexes, the relative weights (Qj) of all criteria
will be calculated by using equation (3.21). Table 5.22 and Table 5.23 depict
the COPRAS grade for all criteria.

Table 5.22 COPRAS Grade – Driver seat Design – Model 3

Types of
Pj Rj 1/Rj Qj Grade Rank
Vehicle
IS 0.090 0.150 6.655 0.257 0.994 2

OS – 1 0.097 0.176 5.680 0.240 0.926 4

OS – 2 0.091 0.159 6.277 0.248 0.959 3

OS - 3 0.091 0.149 6.700 0.259 1.000 1

Table 5.23 COPRAS Grade – Rearview mirror Design – Model 3

Types of
Pj Rj 1/Rj Qj Grade Rank
Vehicle
IS 0.068 0.174 5.744 0.194 0.602 2

OS – 1 0.069 0.182 5.480 0.189 0.589 4

OS – 2 0.070 0.179 5.587 0.192 0.597 3

OS - 3 0.068 0.086 11.573 0.322 1.000 1

 68
 
The graphical representation of COPRAS grades for model 3 is shown in the
Figure 5.9.

Figure 5.9 COPRAS Grades for Model 3

Figure 5.9 clearly shows that OS – 3 vehicle is selected because of its higher
COPRAS grade.

5.7.2 Model 4: COPRAS - FAHP decision model

In this model, the procedure is same as model 3 except the

determination of weights. The weights of criteria are determined by using
FAHP (Table 5.15). The weights are multiplied with the corresponding
criteria to get the weighted normalized matrix [equation (3.18)]. The weighted
normalized decision matrix is shown in Table 5.24. Then, the maximizing
index (Pj) and minimizing index (Rj) values are calculated using equations
(3.19) and (3.20). Finally from these indexes, the relative weights (Qj) of all
criteria will be calculated by using equation (3.21). Table 5.25, Table 5.26 and
Figure 5.10 shows the COPRAS grades for all criteria.
 69
 
Table 5.24 Weighted normalized Data – Model 4

Types of Driver Seat Design Rearview Mirror Design

Vehicle
A B C D P Q R S

IS 0.069 0.022 0.111 0.039 0.069 0.113 0.018 0.056

OS – 1 0.075 0.022 0.136 0.040 0.069 0.116 0.019 0.055

OS – 2 0.070 0.021 0.110 0.040 0.069 0.116 0.019 0.052

OS - 3 0.070 0.021 0.118 0.042 0.073 0.114 0.019 0.047

Table 5.25 COPRAS Grade – Driver seat Design – Model 4

Types of
Pj Rj 1/Rj Qj Grade Rank
Vehicle
IS 0.090 0.150 6.655 0.257 0.994 2

OS – 1 0.097 0.176 5.680 0.240 0.926 4

OS – 2 0.091 0.159 6.277 0.248 0.959 3

OS - 3 0.091 0.149 6.700 0.259 1.000 1

Table 5.26 COPRAS Grade – Rearview mirror Design – Model 4

Types of
Pj Rj 1/Rj Qj Grade Rank
Vehicle
IS 0.113 0.144 6.968 0.253 0.974 4

OS – 1 0.116 0.144 6.960 0.255 0.983 3

OS – 2 0.114 0.139 7.204 0.258 0.995 2

OS - 3 0.116 0.140 7.144 0.259 1.000 1

 70
 

Figure 5.10 COPRAS grades for model 4

Figure 5.10 indicates that OS – 3 can be chosen because of the

higher COPRAS grade scored by OS – 3 followed by OS -2, OS – 1 and IS
vehicles.

5.8 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

5.8.1 FINDINGS OF GRA BASED DECISION MODELS

After the ranking of the vehicle body structures, the observations

made are discussed in this section. The overall grades in GRA models and
COPRAS models were calculated by the average of the values obtained for
driver seat design and rearview mirror design. Model 1 (GRA – AHP model)
ranks the OS – 3 vehicle to a higher grade followed by IS. OS – 2 and OS – 1.

Table 5.27 Overall Ranking – Model 1 – GRA – AHP Model

Rearview Mirror
Driver Seat Design Overall
Types of Design
Vehicle
Grade Rank Grade Rank Grade Rank

IS 0.99597 3 0.98988 3 0.992925 2

OS – 1 0.99530 4 0.99002 2 0.99266 4

 71
 
OS – 2 0.99595 2 0.98956 4 0.992755 3

OS - 3 0.99786 1 0.99970 1 0.99878 1

Model 1 is a basic model in which both quantitative and qualitative
data can be used for the evaluation. The combined (overall) ranking by
considering both driver seat design and rearview mirror design is shown in
Table 5.27.

OS – 3 vehicle is ranked as first, when the problem is solved by

model 2 (GRA – FAHP model). The trend observed in the ranks of the vehicle
body structures is similar to model 1. As model 1, model 2 has also performed
well with quantitative and qualitative data. The overall ranking of model 2 for
both driver seat design and rearview mirror design is shown in Table 5.28.

Table 5.28 Overall ranking – Model 2 – GRA – FAHP Model

Rearview Mirror
Driver Seat Design Overall
Types of Design
Vehicle
Grade Rank Grade Rank Grade Rank
IS 0.99589 3 0.99009 3 0.99299 2
OS – 1 0.99503 4 0.99028 2 0.992655 4
OS – 2 0.99595 2 0.98981 4 0.99288 3
OS - 3 0.99798 1 0.99969 1 0.998835 1

Figure 5.11 shows the consolidated results based on overall ranking

for both models for driver seat design and rearview mirror design.
 72
 

Figure 5.11 Overall Ranking – GRA Based Models (Model 1 and Model 2)
5.8.2 FINDINGS OF COPRAS BASED DECISION MODELS

Model 3 (COPRAS – AHP model) concludes that the body built in

OS – 3 vehicles has the lower blind spot area followed by IS, OS – 2 and OS –
1. As compared with GRA based model, COPRAS model gives crystal clear
results. That means the difference between the grades is reasonably more than
model 1 and model 2. The final overall ranking of model 3for both driver seat
design and rearview mirror design is shown in Table 5.29.

Table 5.29 Overall Ranking – Model 3 – COPRAS – AHP Model

Rearview Mirror
Driver Seat Design Overall
Types of Design
Vehicle
Grade Rank Grade Rank Grade Rank
IS 0.994 2 0.602 2 0.798 2
OS – 1 0.926 4 0.589 4 0.7575 4
OS – 2 0.959 3 0.597 3 0.778 3
OS - 3 1.000 1 1.000 1 1 1

The results of model 4 (COPRAS – FAHP model) is shown in

Table 5.30. The ranking order of the vehicles obtained through model 4 is OS
– 3 vehicles followed by IS, OS – 2 and OS – 1.
 73
 

Table 5.30Overall Ranking – Model 4 – COPRAS – FAHP Model

Rearview Mirror
Types of Driver Seat Design Overall
Design
Vehicle
Grade Rank Grade Rank Grade Rank
IS 0.994 2 0.974 4 0.984 2
OS – 1 0.926 4 0.983 3 0.9545 4
OS – 2 0.959 3 0.995 2 0.977 3
OS - 3 1.000 1 1.000 1 1 1
Figure 5.12 depicts the final results based on overall ranking of
COPRAS based models for both driver seat design and rearview mirror
design.

Figure 5.12 Overall Ranking – COPRAS based models (Model 3 and

Model 4)

The final outcome of both GRA based models and COPRAS based
models is given in Figure 5.13
 74
 

Figure 5.13 Final outcome of all models

The overall summary of the various models, tools used and the
findings are presented in the Table 5.31.

Table 5.31 Summary of all decision models

Order of Vehicle Body
Model Tools Used
Structure
Model  GRA
GRA -AHP OS – 3, IS, OS – 2 and OS – 1.
1  AHP
Model GRA -  GRA
OS – 3, IS, OS – 2 and OS – 1.
2 FAHP  FAHP
Model COPRAS -  COPRAS
OS – 3, IS, OS – 2 and OS – 1.
3 AHP  AHP
Model COPRAS -  COPRAS
OS – 3, IS, OS – 2 and OS – 1.
4 FAHP  FAHP

5.9 SUMMARY

Details of the decision models selected for this research work with
its generalized descriptions of the problem are explained in this chapter. In this
chapter, the various decision making models are developed for the purpose of
blind spot optimization with specific reference to vehicle bodies used in a
 75
 
transport corporation. In the next chapter, the summary of the research work
and findings are presented along with the contributions, limitation and scope
for the future research.
 76
 
CHAPTER 6

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION

6.1 INTRODUCTION

Today’s thickly populated traffic increases the chance of accidents.

The principal goal of this research effort is to optimize the blind spots in the
front and side of the heavy vehicle. They are important aspects of road safety.
The results of this study represent the foundation for larger future efforts
aimed at improving driving safety. The primary investigation of this research
outline that the area of blind spot has more dependence on the body structure
of the vehicle than any other parameters. Blind spot optimization depends on
design parameters which is multi-objective in nature. The developed decision
models replace the intuitive and non-quantifiable methods employed by
human decision makers. A organized and reliable approaches through the use
of management science and operations research models are originating the
decision models. In the preceding chapters, a research study which is carried
out on the design and development of decision models for the selection of
body structures with optimal blind spot is presented. This chapter concludes
the research findings, discusses the research contribution, and outlines the
limitations of this research. Finally, the chapter suggests possible extensions
and provides directions for future research.

6.2 RESEARCH FINDINGS

The main objective of this research work is development of multi

criteria decision models for the selection of body structures with optimal blind
 77
 
spot in heavy vehicles. A consolidated report, with the outline of each chapter
and the summary of findings, is given below:
 Chapter 1: In this chapter, the introduction about the research topic
is presented. It gives an introduction to the road safety, reasons for
accidents, role of blind spot in road accidents, need for this research
and organization of thesis. It briefly summarizes the need for blind
spot optimization and its importance in automotive industry.
 Chapter 2: This chapter deals with the literature review and
explains the background of the current trends in accident prevention
and the different literatures related to overview of road safety, blind
spot, tools and techniques, evaluation criteria, methodologies, and
their applications. It also provides an insight to the research works
of the various techniques with respect to road safety. The state-of-
the-art of the research and the gap of the research are also discussed
in this chapter.
 Chapter 3: The various tools and techniques used in this research
are presented in this chapter. Also the basic concepts, algorithm and
the limitations of the tools and techniques are presented in this
chapter. A brief overview about the concepts of grey relational
analysis, Complex Proportional Assessment of alternatives
(COPRAS), Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Fuzzy
Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) is discussed and presented in
this chapter.
 Chapter 4: Industrial case study used in the research work is
described in this chapter. It outlines the existing organizational
setup followed in the organization and the problems faced are
presented. The problem statement is also defined in this chapter.
 Chapter 5: This chapter explains the development of various
decision models for the selection of body structures with optimal
blind spot. The development of various decision models by using
 78
 
the tools and techniques discussed in chapter 3, are presented in this
chapter.
 By using GRA, two different models (model 1 and
model 2) are developed. In the first model, the grey
relational grade is calculated by using the relative
weights of the criteria which was computed by using
AHP. In the second model, the weight s calculated by
using FAHP.

 Two models are developed based on COPRAS (model 3

and model 4). Model 3 is developed by integrating AHP
and COPRAS. AHP is used to determine the weights and
COPRAS ranks the alternatives. FAHP has been
replaced AHP in model 4.
 Finally, the results obtained through the four models are also
presented in this chapter.
 Chapter 6: A summary of the research work, research findings, the
research contribution, and the limitations of the research are
presented in this chapter. This outlines the possible extensions and
provides directions for future research.

6.3 RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION

The major contributions of this thesis are summarized below:

 The findings of this research are important in the selection of
criteria that affect the selection of body structures with optimal
blind spot.
 It assists the decision makers to know the specific information
regarding the criteria used for the selection of body structures with
optimal blind spot.
 79
 
 The models developed by the various methodologies to be used by
organizations for the evaluation and selection of body structures.
 The proposed decision models will facilitate the decision makers to
make the correct decisions.

6.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH

Some of the limitations of this research study are,

 Industrial case study is confined to heavy vehicles with special
focus to passenger vehicles (Buses).
 For collecting responses, ideal drivers are chosen.

6.5 FUTURE SCOPE

The future scope of this thesis is as follows:

 A Decision Support System (DSS) can be developed to simplify the
decision making process in the selection of body structures in
automotive industries
 A DSS could be combined with other systems of the organization to
provide more features and flexibility to the decision makers.
 This can be extended to other kind of vehicles by considering
appropriate criteria.

6.6 SUMMARY

This chapter concludes with the research findings and contribution

in the area of selection of body structures with optimal blind spot in heavy
vehicles. The limitations of the research work along with the future scope are
also presented. The developed models are tested and validated that they will
have immense potential for direct application in the case study organization.
Thus, this research work can play the role of a catalyst in future research.
 80
 
Appendix – 1

TAMILNADU STATE TRANSPORT CORPORATION (VPM) LTD.,

TIRUVANNAMALAI TRAINING CENTRE
Driver Name : EDP No. : Age :
Branch : Experience :

1. More accidents occur in curves, why?

 Driver Negligence  Poor visibility of opposite vehicles
 Missing of sign boards  Over speed

2. More accidents occur in Junctions, why?

 Driver Negligence  Poor visibility of opposite vehicles
 Missing of sign boards  Over speed

3. Major Accidents occur while overtaking, why?

 Driver Negligence  Poor visibility of opposite vehicles
 Driver’s wrong Judgement  Over speed

4. Though it is brighter at Day time, accident occurs. why?

 Blind Spots  Driver Negligence
 Driver’s wrong Judgement  Over speed

5. Reason for the accidents due to defects in Wind Screen glass of the vehicle
 Poor Visibility  Not knowing the road condition
 Poor visibility of opposite vehicles  Over speed

6. More accidents occur during rainy days, why?

 Poor Visibility  Not knowing the road condition
 Poor visibility of opposite vehicles  Over speed

7. Reason for accidents due to scorching sun light.

 Driver’s fatigue  Due to dazzle
 Poor visibility due to mirage  Over speed

8. Reason for accidents due to strong winds.

 Driver’s fatigue  Due to dazzle
 Poor visibility due to eyesore  Over speed’

9. Which of the following is more contributing to accidents?

 Driver’s fatigue  Driver’s health
 Driver’s vision  Driver’s educational qualification

10. What is the reason for the accidents due to other vehicles?
 Not giving way to opposite vehicles  Not following traffic rules
 Over load blocking the vision  Negligence
 
Signature
 81
 
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LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
JOURNALS:

1. Pitchipoo P., Vincent D.S., and Rajakarunakaran S., (2016) “Development of

Fuzzy Based Intelligent Decision Model to Optimize the Blind Spots in Heavy
Transport Vehicles”, Traffic & Transportation, Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 1-16.
(IF:0.270)

2. Vincent D.S., Pitchipoo P., Rajini N. and Rajakarunakaran S., (2015) “Fuzzy
based optimization to reduce the blind spots in heavy transport vehicles”,
International Journal of Vehicle Structures & Systems, 7(4), 136-140.
(Scopus)

3. Pitchipoo P., Vincent D.S., Rajini N., and Rajakarunakaran S., (2014)
“COPRAS Decision Model to Optimize Blind Spot in Heavy Vehicles: A
Comparative Perspective”, Procedia Engineering, Vol. 97, pp. 1049 – 1059.
(Scopus)

4. Vincent D.S., Pitchipoo P., Rajini N., and Rajakarunakaran S., “Reduction of
Blind Spots in Heavy Transport Vehicles through the Optimization of Driver
Seat Design”, International Journal of Computer Aided Engineering and
Technology (In Print) (Scopus)

5. Pitchipoo P., Vincent D.S., and Rajakarunakaran S., “Hybrid Optimization

Model for Blind Spot Reduction in Heavy Vehicles”, International Journal of
Computer Aided Engineering and Technology (In Print) (Scopus)
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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE PUBLICATIONS

1. Vincent, DS, Pitchipoo, P, Rajini, N & Rajakarunakaran, S 2015,

‘Optimization of blind spots in heavy transport vehicles through the
optimization of driver seat design’, Indo-Brazil Bilateral International
Conference on Advanced Materials and Manufacturing (ICAMM 2015), Cape
Institute of Technology, Levengipuram,

2. Pitchipoo, P, Vincent, DS & Rajakarunakaran, S 2014, ‘COPRAS Decision

model to optimize blind spot in heavy vehicles: A comparative perspective’,
12th Global Congress on Manufacturing and Management, VIT University,
Vellore.

3. Pitchipoo, P, Vincent, DS & Rajakarunakaran, S 2014, ‘Analysis of prime

reasons for night time accidents in public transport corporations’, Second
International Conference on Advances in Industrial Engineering Applications
(ICAIEA 2014) Anna University Chennai, India.

4. Vincent, DS, Pitchipoo, P & Rajakarunakaran, S 2013, “Elimination of blind

spots for heavy transport vehicles by driver seat design’, International
Conference on Advanced Manufacturing and Automation (INCAMA- 2013),
Kalasalingam University.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE PUBLICATIONS

1. Vincent, DS, Pitchipoo, P, Rajini, N & Rajakarunakaran, S 2015, ‘Fuzzy

based optimization to reduce the blind spots in heavy transport vehicles’,
1st National Conference on Technological Advances in Mechanical
Engineering (TAME 2015), Vel Tech High Tech Dr. Rangarajan Dr.
Sakunthala Engineering College, Chennai.

2. Vincent, DS, Pitchipoo, P, Rajini, N & Rajakarunakaran, S 2015, ‘Estimation

of weights in multi criteria decision making problems - A comparative study’,
National Conference on Innovations in Engineering, Science and Technology
(NCIEST), Ramco Institute of Technology, Rajapalayam.

3. Pitchipoo, P, Vincent, DS & Rajakarunakaran, S 2014, ‘Hybrid optimization

model for blind spot reduction in heavy vehicles’, 2nd National Conference on
Research & Advances in Mechanical Engineering (RAME’14), P.S.R.
Engineering College, Tamil Nadu, India.
 95
 
CURRICULUM VITAE

Vincent, DS had his schooling at Aruppukottai , which is his native

town located near Madurai in Tamil Nadu , India. He completed his BE at
Sardar Vallabhai Regional college of Engineering and Technology at Surat ,
Gujarat ; and his ME at Thiagarajar college of Engineering at Madurai. He has
passed his Diploma in Labour and Administrative Law at Annamalai
University .He has obtained a certificate in Transport Management from the
Central Institute of Road Transport, Pune. He is also a member in Institute of
Engineers, Calcutta.

He is working as a top level executive manager (Managing

Director) in a Public Transport corporation at Tamil Nadu with a total
experience of 35 years in the Transport Industry. He has attended many
workshops and conferences at Major Transport Organisations in India like the
Central Institute of Transport, Pune and the Institute of Road Transport,
Chennai; and also at Major Indian Transport companies like Ashok Leyland
and JK Tyres.