Establishing an adequate level of reliability in the overhead crane operations is an important and vital principle to avoid undesirable consequences. To do this, it is appropriate to have a comprehensive approach for risk and reliability assessment of the most probable failure scenarios during overhead crane operations. In this study, fault tree analysis (FTA) in combination with fuzzy set theory, Bayesian network (BN), and Markov chain was used to evaluate the probability of top event and reliability of overhead cranes. A total of 47 basic events were identified for ladle fall in overhead cranes. The results showed that the probability of the ladle fall in the FT approach is equal to 0.0523035 and in the BN approach in the prior event is equal to 0.0273394 which is less than the FT method. Based on the values predicted by Markov chain, the reliability of the system decreases over time by 67.9% after 60 months. This study showed that the plan for ladle fall prevention should consider all influencing parameters identified by proper risk assessment methodologies.

BACKGROUND: The structure of buildings is in degradation over time, monitoring their safety status and providing timely warnings is crucial. Therefore, an efficient visual inspection of the building’s safety has intrinsic value to give early warnings to owners and managers. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to provide an audit tool for evaluation of the administrative in-operation buildings’ safety status. METHODS: Factors affecting the administrative buildings’ safety status was determined based on the National Building Regulations of Iran (NBRI) and other studies. Checklist items and their guidelines were prepared. Face validity (quantitative and qualitative), Content Validity Ratio (CVR), and Content Validity Index (CVI) were calculated for the checklist. The Intra-class Correlation Coefficient (ICC) used for inter-rater reliability and Cronbach’s α was used to evaluate internal consistency of the checklist. RESULTS: Forty-seven items related to in-operation building safety were extracted from literature review. Based on the results of the psychometric analysis, 5 items were removed and 42 items remained. The values of different psychometric indices for the other items indicated their acceptable validity (α= 0.82, ICC≥0.75). CONCLUSION: The designed checklist had a good level of validity and reliability for inspecting architectural, technical services, and managerial safety aspects of administrative in-operation buildings. Stakeholders can use it for quick and comprehensive assessment of building safety. Use of this checklist are expected to give early warnings about the safety of buildings to the stakeholders.

Iran Occupational Healthhttp://ioh.iums.ac.ir