Projects aimed at smart cities: a hybrid MCDA evaluation approach

ABSTRACT

Project evaluation is a process that involves multiple decision criteria for different objectives and involves several specialists, becoming a complex decision-making process. In this sense, to reduce projects evaluation subjectivity in start-ups selection processes, this paper aims at structuring an evaluation model to select projects that present business models focused on strategies for smart cities. To test the proposed model, it was considered a smart cities project selection program in a medium-size city located on southside of Brazil. To do so, it was considered a multicriteria analysis method, in which relevant evaluation criteria for projects focused on intelligent cities were identified. Subsequently, Decision-Making And Trial Evaluation Laboratories (DEMATEL) method was used to weigh these identified evaluation criteria and, finally, TOPSIS method was instantiated to select the best alternative – the evaluated projects – among all alternatives. As a result, the multicriteria proposed model proved to be efficient in evaluating projects aimed at smart cities concepts, showing that the use of MCDA methods can minimise uncertainty and bias in evaluating projects in a quantitative approach.

KEYWORDS:

• Smart cities
• MCDA
• project evaluation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES).

Notes on contributors

Franciely Velozo Aragão

Franciely Velozo Aragão graduated in Production Engineering from the State University of Paraná UNESPAR/FECILCAM (2011), she also holds a Master's degree in Urban Engineering in the area of concentration of Infrastructure and Urban Systems, from the State University of Maringá – UEM (2014). She is a Doctoral student in the Postgraduate Program in Production Engineering at UTFPR – Ponta Grossa/Pr. She is an Assistant Professor in the Production Engineering Department at the State University of Maringá, with an interest in the areas of operational research and urban systems.

Pedro Fernandes de Oliveira Gomes

Pedro Fernandes de Oliveira Gomes graduated in Production Engineering from the State University of Maringá (2011), Specialisation in Industrial Management from the State University of Maringá (2015) and is currently a Master's student in the Postgraduate Program in Production and Systems Engineering at the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR). He is an Assistant Professor at the State University of Maringá. He has experience in the area of Production Engineering, with emphasis on Process Engineering and Economic Engineering.

Daiane de Genaro Chiroli

Daiane de Genaro Chiroli graduated in Production Engineering – Industrial Manufacturing at the State University of Maringá (2004). Specialist in Production Engineering with emphasis on Logistics from Faculdade Paranaense – FACCAR (2006). He holds a Master’s degree in Urban Engineering from the State University of Maringá (2011) and a Ph.D. degree in Production Engineering from the Federal University of Santa Catarina. She is a Professor at the Academic Department of Textile Engineering at the Federal Technological University of Paraná on the Apucarana Campus. He is a Leader of the Research Group on Humanitarian, Urban and Disaster Logistics Management, and participates in the Research Groups on Quality Engineering in Products and Services Processes (Researcher) and Technology Transfer Management – GTT.

Fernanda Cavicchioli Zola

Fernanda Cavicchioli Zola graduated in Production Engineering from the State University of Paraná (2008), specialisation in Six Sigma Black Belt from The University of Akron (2011), specialisation in Work Safety Engineering from the State University of Maringá (2013). She holds a master's degree in Urban Engineering from the State University of Maringá (2014) and a Ph.D. degree in Production Engineering from the Federal Technological University of Paraná – Ponta Grossa (2020). She has already taught at the State University of Maringá and the Federal University of Grande Dourados. She is currently a Professor at the Federal Technological University of Paraná.

Eduardo de Freitas Rocha Loures

Eduardo de Freitas Rocha Loures is a Full Professor linked to the Control and Automation Engineering and Production Engineering course at the Polytechnic School of the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná – PUCPR. He is currently a permanent researcher in the Graduate Program in Production Engineering and Systems PPGEPS, PUCPR. He is a Full Professor associated with the Department of Electrotechnics (DAELT) and collaborator of the Control and Automation Engineering and Automation Technology Course at the Federal Technological University of Paraná – UTFPR. President of ISA (International Society of Automation), District 4 South America, Curitiba Section. He is a Visiting Professor at the Center de Recherche en Automatique de Nancy (CRAN-CNRS), Université de Lorraine, France, 2012. He is an IFAC member and ABII member (Brazilian Industrial Internet Association). He is an Ad hoc consultant to funding agencies such as Fundação Araucária, FAPESC and FAPES.

Eduardo Alves Portela Santos

Eduardo Alves Portela Santos holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Bahia (1993), a master's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (1996) and a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (2003). He did a postdoctoral internship at the Technological University of Eindhoven (Netherlands) (2009). He is currently a Full Professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR) and an Adjunct Professor at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR). He teaches courses in Control and Automation Engineering and Production Engineering at PUCPR and in the Applied Administration course at UFPR. He is a permanent member of the Graduate Program in Production Engineering and Systems at PUCPR and the Graduate Program in Management of Organisations, Leadership and Decision. He coordinates and participates in technological development projects in partnership with companies in the metal-mechanic sector in the industrial maintenance area, applying data analysis techniques. He also works in the health area, applying techniques and tools for data and process analysis. He works as a researcher on the following topics: process mining, business process management, discrete event systems, information systems, maintenance decision-making support, process variability.

João Carlos Colmenero

João Carlos Colmenero graduated in Metallurgical Industrial Engineering from Universidade Federal Fluminense (1988), a Master’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Universidade Federal de São Carlos (1993) and a Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and Engineering from Universidade Federal de São Carlos (1999). He is a Full Professor at the Federal Technological University of Paraná campus Ponta Grossa. Has experience in Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, with emphasis on Microstructural Characterisation of Metals and Alloys. Currently, develops research in the area of optimisation in the Graduate Program in Production Engineering at the Federal Technological University of Paraná, working mainly in the lines of logistics and transport and mathematical modelling of diets