Purpose Ranking and comparing grey numbers represent a very important decision-making procedure in any given grey environment. The purpose of this paper is to study the existing approaches of ordering interval grey numbers in the context of decision making by surveying existing definitions. Design/methodology/approach Different methods developed for comparing grey numbers are presented along with their disadvantages and advantages in terms of comparison outcomes. Practical examples are employed to show the importance and necessity of using appropriate methods to compare grey numbers. Findings Most the available methods are not suitable for pointing out which number is larger when the nuclei of the grey numbers of concern are the same. Also, these available methods are also considered in terms of partial order and total order. Kernel and degree of greyness of grey numbers method is more advantageous than other methods and almost eliminates the shortcomings of other methods. Originality/value Different methods for ranking grey numbers are presented where each of them has disadvantages and advantages. By using different methods, grey interval numbers are compared and the results show that some methods cannot make grey number comparisons in some situations. The authors intend to find a method that can compare grey numbers in any situation. The findings of this research can prevent errors that may occur based on inaccurate comparisons of grey numbers in decision making. There are various research studies on the comparison of grey numbers, but there is no research on the comparison of these methods and their disadvantages, advantages or their total or partial order.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a method for solving multi-objective linear programming (MOLP) with interval coefficients using positioned programming and interactive fuzzy programming approaches. Design/methodology/approach In the proposed algorithm, first, lower and upper bounds of each objective function in its feasible region will be determined. Afterwards using fuzzy approach, considering a membership function for each objective function and finally using grey linear programming, the solution for this problem will be obtained. Findings According to the presented example, in this paper, the proposed method is both simple in use and suitable for solving different problems. In the numerical example mentioned in this paper, the proposed method provides an acceptable solution for such problems. Practical implications As in most real-world situations, the coefficients of decision models are not known and exact. In this paper, the authors consider the model of MOLP with interval data, since one of the solutions to cover uncertainty is using interval theory. Originality/value Based on using grey theory and interactive fuzzy programming approaches, an appropriate method has been presented for solving MOLP problems with interval coefficients. The proposed method, against the complex methods, has less effort and offers acceptable solutions.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the shortcomings and problems associated with the method proposed by Razavi Hajiagha et al. (2012). Design/methodology/approach A multi-objective approach is proposed to solve the grey linear programming problems. In this method, the grey linear problem is converted into a multi-objective problem and then solved. Findings According to the numerical example presented in the study by Razavi Hajiagha et al. (2012), this method does not have a correct solution because the solution does not satisfy the constraints and the upper bounds of the variables are equal or less than their lower bound. Originality/value In recent years, various methods have been proposed for solving grey linear programming problems. Razavi Hajiagha et al. (2012) proposed a multi-objective approach to solve grey linear programming problems, but this method does not have a correct solution and using this method in other researches studies can reduce the value of the grey system theory.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to survey and express the advantages and disadvantages of the existing approaches for solving grey linear programming in decision-making problems.Design/methodology/approachAfter presenting the concepts of grey systems and grey numbers, this paper surveys existing approaches for solving grey linear programming problems and applications. Also, methods and approaches for solving grey linear programming are classified, and its advantages and disadvantages are expressed.FindingsThe progress of grey programming has been expressed from past to present. The main methods for solving the grey linear programming problem can be categorized as Best-Worst model, Confidence degree, Whitening parameters, Prediction model, Positioned solution, Genetic algorithm, Covered solution, Multi-objective, Simplex and dual theory methods. This survey investigates the developments of various solving grey programming methods and its applications.Originality/valueDifferent methods for solving grey linear programming problems are presented, where each of them has disadvantages and advantages in providing results of grey linear programming problems. This study attempted to review papers published during 35 years (1985–2020) about grey linear programming solving and applications. The review also helps clarify the important advantages, disadvantages and distinctions between different approaches and algorithms such as weakness of solving linear programming with grey numbers in constraints, inappropriate results with the lower bound is greater than upper bound, out of feasible region solutions and so on.

Linear programming problems with interval grey numbers have recently attracted some interest. In this paper, we study linear programs in which right hand sides are interval grey numbers. This model is relevant when uncertain and inaccurate factors make difficult the assignment of a single value to each right hand side. Some methods have been developed for solving these problems. In this paper, we propose a new approach for solving interval grey number linear programming problems is introduced without converting them to classical linear programming problems. Numerical example is provided to illustrate the proposed approach.