Normalization of geotechnical sustainability assessment tool (Geo-SAT) using multiple criteria decision analysis for dams

Kainat Batool (), Badee Alshameri (), Faisal Raza (), Abbas Haider () and Majid Ali ()
Additional contact information
Kainat Batool: National University of Sciences and Technology
Badee Alshameri: National University of Sciences and Technology
Faisal Raza: National University of Sciences and Technology
Abbas Haider: National University of Sciences and Technology
Majid Ali: Capital University of Science and Technology

Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, 2024, vol. 26, issue 8, No 30, 19905 pages

Abstract: Abstract Geotechnical engineering, being preliminary in any construction project, is of paramount importance for achieving sustainability. One of the important domains of sustainable development in geotechnics is sustainability assessments as it is essential to determine the impact of engineering activities on built environment. An indicator-based sustainability assessment tool called Geotechnical Sustainability Assessment Tool (Geo-SAT) was developed in this regard. The indicators used in Geo-SAT are generic in nature and judged on equal weightages, hence create skewness. Furthermore, the essentiality of these indicators varies across different projects and their life cycle stages. So, the tool requires scale normalization to remove this exaggeration of results. In current research 32 technical indicators are sampled out of 171 indicators of Geo-SAT using Delphi technique. The weightages of these indicators have been then normalized using Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). Multiple Attribute Value Theory (MAVT), a sub-technique under MCDA, is used for analysis as it compares between different criteria (i.e., project life cycle stages, indicators, and expert’s opinion) and computes the weighted averages. For this purpose, a questionnaire has been developed and distributed among 52 relevant field experts having a predefined experience criteria set by authors, to record their opinion regarding the importance of indicators across project life cycle stages. 50 responses were accepted based on their reliability and completeness. As a result, the sustainability indices for all indicators are then calculated using MAVT based on weights of importance and relative weights attained from the questionnaires. Furthermore, it is established that the most critical indicators for the dam’s sustainability assessment are “quality control during construction”, “construction material wastage” and “feasibility reports”, with highest weightages of 4.8%, 4.3%, and 4.2%, respectively. It is concluded that inculcating these computed weightages to Geo-SAT will increase the reliability and reduce the skewness in the sustainability assessment of dam projects. The current research is an effort to develop a sustainability assessment tool for dams (as no such assessment tool exists for dams exclusively) by improving Geo-SAT in terms of scale normalization. The normalized version of Geo-SAT, which is based on weighted averages of indicators, is a way forward for future development of certification system.

Keywords: Sustainability assessment tools; Sustainability indicators; Geotechnical sustainability; Sustainable development; Geo-SAT; Multiple criteria decision analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10668-023-03442-3 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:endesu:v:26:y:2024:i:8:d:10.1007_s10668-023-03442-3

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/10668

DOI: 10.1007/s10668-023-03442-3

Access Statistics for this article

Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development is currently edited by Luc Hens

More articles in Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().