Applicability of an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) for the Material Handling Equipment Selection Problem

Material Handling Equipment Selection (MHES) has a dynamic structure involving the constant flow of information, product, and funds among different participants. MHES is a complex model which has several parameters of different types, like numerical or categorized. Many of these parameters are most often characterized by uncertainty. Fuzzification is a well-proven method to handle the above properties. In the paper, a solution has been presented for the fuzzification of all the equipment, process, and environment specific properties. Based on this result, this paper has proposed the decision support system for determining material handling equipment selection using an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system model. This approach offers an effective way to address complexity and uncertainty within Material Handling Equipment Selection. The elaborated ANFIS model has been evaluated using a training set of the most common material handling equipment groups. Paper also includes an outlook for further research steps.