Human Factors Analysis by Classifying Chemical Accidents into Operations

Esra Yalcin (), Gokcen Alev Ciftcioglu and Burcin Hulya Guzel
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Esra Yalcin: Department of Occupational Safety, Institute of Pure and Applied Sciences, Marmara University, Istanbul 34722, Türkiye
Gokcen Alev Ciftcioglu: Department of Chemical Engineering, Marmara University, Istanbul 34722, Türkiye
Burcin Hulya Guzel: Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Ankara 06520, Türkiye

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 10, 1-16

Abstract: In the chemical industry, organizational and operational human factors significantly contribute to accidents. Chemical accidents occur in various operations of the industry due to a range of factors. Understanding the relationship between these factors and the accidents that happen is crucial in preventing similar accidents from happening repeatedly and promoting sustainability. Therefore, this study was divided into five operations: maintenance repair, process, loading unloading, storage, and shutdown startup of the chemical industry, to provide a more concrete, intuitive explanation of the interplay between causes and illustrate the routes to failure. The data were collected from 251 accident reports from various online data. The study was analyzed using the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) method as a conceptual framework. Each level’s frequency variables were obtained to define nominal and ordinal data. The chi-square test and Fisher’s exact test were used in the difference analysis of data in the model. The results show that the high-frequency accidents caused under the HFACS framework were organizational processes in the process (63.73%), in the storage (70.58%), and in the shutdown startup (91.66%), and skill-based errors in the maintenance repair (81.81%) and in the loading unloading (66.03%). Furthermore, resource management, technological environment, and personal readiness were significantly correlated with the operations. Human factors have differences in different operations in the chemical industry.

Keywords: human factor; human error; chemical accident; HFACS; accident analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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