Developing an Alternate Mineral Transportation System by Evaluating Risk of Truck Accidents in the Mining Industry—A Critical Fuzzy DEMATEL Approach

Binay Prakash Pandey and Devi Prasad Mishra ()
Additional contact information
Binay Prakash Pandey: Department of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad 826 004, Jharkhand, India
Devi Prasad Mishra: Department of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad 826 004, Jharkhand, India

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 8, 1-22

Abstract: The innovative transportation system is a pertinent need for the mining industry. Truck haulage is currently the most common mode of mineral transportation between the excavation sites and end use plants. However, besides being resource-intensive and inefficient, this mode of transportation accounts for a high number of accidents and injuries. In order to reduce the occurrence of accidents, it is important to first understand the primary contributors to truck-related occupational risks and then develop strategies to eliminate such risks. The available literature predominantly advocates for the use of statistical or probabilistic methodologies that suffer from considerable limitations. This paper utilizes the Fuzzy DEMATEL (Fuzzy Decision-Making Trial Evaluation Laboratory) approach to conduct an in-depth assessment of the critical factors that result in mining accidents involving trucks and the relationships between these factors, presented using a cause-and-effect diagram. The study also includes a sensitivity analysis for validating the robustness of the fuzzy model. The results show that high speed and aggressive driving is the most important causal factor behind accidents. The negative impact on socio-economic conditions of local community members is also discussed. Among other preventive measures, the paper emphasizes the pipe conveyor system as an alternate and safer mineral transportation system.

Keywords: mining truck accidents; risk evaluation; Fuzzy DEMATEL; mineral transportation planning; decision making; mine safety (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 (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6409/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/8/6409/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:8:p:6409-:d:1119246

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().