A spatial criterion as decision aid for capital projects: locating a sewage treatment plant in Halifax, Nova Scotia
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A spatial criterion as decision aid for capital projects: locating a sewage treatment plant in Halifax, Nova Scotia HA Eiselt1, C-L Sandblom2 and N Jain2 1
UNB, Fredericton, NB, Canada and 2TUNS, Halifax, NS, Canada
This paper describes a decision tool based on a domain criterion originally designed for games against nature. We employ this technique to analyse the locational choice of a sewage treatment plant in the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Based on cost considerations and using the data at hand, we show that only two of the original six locational choices remain as serious contenders, both being within less than one percent of the least-cost decision for a wide range of reasonable parameter values. We then discuss the general applicability of the technique. Keywords: capital project selection; decision analysis; location; sensitivity analyses
Introduction While there are prominent counterexamples, mathematical models in operations research are traditionally associated with problems on the operational and lower tactical levels. The main reasons appear to be the rigid structure required by such mathematical models and the dif®culty to incorporate quantitative factors. In response to this de®ciency, some decision analysis models such as Electre1 and Promethee2 incorporate utility functions and other userspeci®c inputs. For a recent reference regarding the use of Electre III in the context of solid waste management, see Hokkanen and Salminen.3 One decision analysis technique that allows the ¯exibility of various inputs was designed by Starr4,5 and dubbed `domain criterion' based on its geometric representation. While the criterion as such never caught on because of the very strong assumptions it is based on and its mathematical complexity, we show in this paper that a modi®ed version is very well able to assist in making decisions regarding capital projects. The development of this technique was sparked by our analysis of the Halifax Harbour cleanup. In this paper, we illustrate this technique by using the example of the location of the sewage treatment plant in Halifax, Nova Scotia. We do so by ®rst introducing the situation faced by the Halifax planners, then describe the technique referred to above, and ®nally illustrate our method by using the cost ®gures used in planning for the sewage treatment plant. The twin cities of Halifax and Dartmouth are located in the province of Nova Scotia on the Atlantic Coast in Eastern Canada. With their combined population of about one-third million people, the newly amalgamated urban Correspondence: Dr HA Eiselt, UNB, Fredericton, NB, Canada.
agglomeration represents the main urban center in the Canadian Maritime Provinces. For the last 250 years, the Halifax harbour has been used as a repository for raw sewage. In spite of the continuous use of the harbour for such purpose, it still supports a remarkably healthy and diverse ecosystem with relatively few signs of serious degradation,
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