Selection of a sustainable technology for cutting granite block into slabs

Abstract

Over the last decades, stringent regulations forced the stone industry to take concrete steps towards cleaner production. Despite promotion in environmental friendliness through implementation of clean technologies, this sector still needs other efforts to minimize environmental impacts of production processes. It is generally known that the environmental and economic performances of the granite processing organization are greatly influenced by its block sawing technology. However, the selection of the sawing technology is commonly based on the experience and preference of the manager. It is complicated to select the most appropriate technology from a set of alternatives in a scientific way and therefore, this study focused on the granite block sawing process and used sustainability-based Multiple-Attribute Decision-Making (MADM) method to evaluate the performance and cross-media effects of alternatives applicable for this process. The method was illustrated by a granite processing firm in Shandong Province, China. The gangsaw technology was chosen as the reference technology due to its wide range of applications. Five sawing technologies were identified as the alternatives by considering several constraints proposed by experts. The performances of alternatives were expressed and compared using relevant environmental, economic and technical indicators. The decision-making algorithm was developed by integrating the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) model and the Technique For Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) model. The priorities of the five alternatives were achieved by the designed algorithm. The results showed that the Diamond Multi-Circular Saw with 30 blades (DMCS 30) technology had the largest closeness coefficient to the ideal solution. So it was recommended to be the most sustainable technology for the case firm. The case study illustrated that the method can reduce the environmental impacts, whilst providing the economic benefits to the granite processing firms. This research showed that the proposed method is helpful and practical in providing guidelines for the decision-makers to select the sustainable technology for cutting granite block into slabs. It also demonstrated the method can complement the technological approach in fostering the cleaner production mode in the granite processing sector.