Comment on Smart mining policy: Integrating fuzzy-VIKOR technique and the Z-number concept to implement industry 4.0 strategies in mining engineering (by Poormirzaee et al.)

Abstract

Poormirzaee et al. (Resour. Policy 77 (2022) 102768) proposed a new approach for solving Z-number (ZN) based multi-criteria decision-making problems (MCDMPs) (MCDMPs in which the rating value of each alternative over each criterion is represented by a ZN). To show the applicability of their proposed approach, Poormirzaee et al. applied their proposed approach to solve a ZN-based MCDMP having five alternatives (A1-A5) and eleven criteria (C1-C11) for implementing Industry 4.0 technologies in the large-scale mines of Iran. Finally, based on the obtained results, Poormirzaee et al. recommended that the third alternative (A3) i.e., the investment of mine owners in providing the required infrastructure is the most appropriate alternative. In this paper, it is pointed out that Poormirzaee et al. have used incorrect arithmetic operations of triangular fuzzy numbers to solve the above-mentioned real-life problem. Therefore, the results of the real-life problem, obtained by Poormirzaee et al. are not correct. Hence, it is inappropriate to follow Poormirzaee et al.’s recommendations for implementing Industry 4.0 technologies in the large-scale mines of Iran.