A multi-criteria decision-making approach to rank supplier selection criteria for hospital waste management: A case from Pakistan

Abstract

To address environmental issues and cost effectiveness, waste management is necessary for healthcare facilities. Most importantly, segregation of hazardous and non-hazardous waste must be done as in many developing countries; disposal of both types of healthcare waste is done together, which is an unsafe practice. Waste generated in hospitals needs proper management to minimise hazards for patient and healthcare workers. At the same time, it is quite difficult for hospitals to find a systematic way to select appropriate suppliers for hospital waste management. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to identify, validate, and rank criteria that are essential for hospital waste management suppliers' selection. The analytical hierarchal process approach has been used and a survey from Pakistan's largest city (Karachi) has been considered to rank the most appropriate criteria that is necessary to select the supplier, especially in a developing country like Pakistan. Results show that waste management cost (45.5%) and suppliers' details (31.5%) are the top two main criteria for supplier selection; and storage cost (15.7%), waste handling cost (14.7%), and qualification of the suppliers (10.9%) are the top three most important overall sub-criteria for supplier selection for hospital waste management.

Proposal of indicators for healthcare waste management: Case of a Brazilian public institution

“…Data from the World Health Organization indicate that the rate of HCW generation varies depending on the country and the type of activity developed by the waste facility (WHO, 2014). In a Pakistan study, infectious waste of consultation clinics was around for 8% of the total generated (Ishtiaq et al, 2018). In the USA, hazardous waste represented 26.1%, 24.7% and 14.7% of all HCW generated in hospitals, laboratories and veterinary clinics, respectively (WHO, 2014).…”

“…Ishtiaq et al (2018) pointed out that in developing countries there is a lack of regulations and rules for management of effective and efficient hospital waste, which represents a problem to correct management of wastes by health services. Waste segregation is one of most important criteria selected by health workers, emphasizing the relevancy of the segregation (Ishtiaq et al, 2018).…”

A fuzzy evaluation and selection of construction and demolition waste utilization modes in Xi’an, China

“…Determine multiple typical C&DW utilization modes in Xi'an, China C&DW utilization modes are essentially combined technologies of crushing and recycling. Before C&DW is recycled and reused, it needs to be crushed by the strong external force generated by the crusher (Ishtiaq et al, 2018). The crushing of C&DW can be done either on the construction site or subcontracted to others after being transported to specified sites.…”

Occupational health and safety-oriented medical waste management: A case study of Istanbul

“…The difference in the results was attributed to the effect of the difference in the cost-based concerns of managers and regulation-oriented concerns of government officials, on the experts that completed the surveys (Ho, 2011). A similar work was performed by Ishtiaq et al (2018) in Karachi, the biggest province of Pakistan, for selection of hospital MWM service suppliers. In this research, waste management costs and service supplier selection were found to be the two most important criteria at 45.5% and 31.5%, respectively.…”