evaluation of human error in mining operations using the ATHEANA technique

Abstract

Background and Objective: The advancement of technology reduced the physical presence of workers in workplace. However, in many work places, man is still the most important and critical element. A human error due to unsafe acts in most of occupational environments can lead to a disaster. Materials and Methods: This qualitative case study was conducted to identify and evaluate human error in the entire mining tasks in 2016. In the first section of this study, all the tasks were studied using Hierarchical Task Analysis (HTA) method and then related possible errors were assessed using a technique for human error analysis (ATHEANA). Results: According to the results of HTA, there were nine major mining tasks and explosion was the main scenario. According to ATHEANA, the possibility of human error for each of basic events was calculated as 0.001. Because there were 13 base events and the occurrence probability of each of them was estimated at 0.001, finally, the total possibility of human error in mining operations was calculated as 0.013. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that explosion in a mine had five sub-tasks that sparked of cigarette wrappers, hand grasping, and inappropriate size and material, respectively, with the probability of defect of 0.004 and 0.003 were the most prevalent errors. Therefore, it is recommended to managers and authorities to take necessary measures to protect the health of them and reduce the risk of human error and environmental conditions.