Suzana Savić

SELECTION AND RANKING OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY INDICATORS BASED ON FUZZY AHP: A CASE STUDY IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES

This paper presents the factors, performance, and indicators of occupational safety, as well as a method to select and rank occupational safety indicators based on the expert evaluation method and the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (fuzzy AHP). A case study is done on road construction companies in Serbia. The key safety performance indicators for the road construction industry are identified and ranked according to the results of a survey that included experts who assessed occupational safety risks in these companies. The case study confirmed that organisational factors have a dominant effect on the quality of the occupational health and safety management system in Serbian road construction companies.

Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis in Occupational Safety Management Systems

Increasing the effectiveness of occupational safety increases the safety of an organization as its important performance. Safety performance indicators measure changes in the level of safety (related to accident prevention, preparedness and response) over time, which result from the actions taken to reduce appropriate risks. This paper presents the characteristics of basic types of safety indicators, the structure of safety factors, performances and indicators, as well as the multi-criteria decision analysis process and methods in safety management systems.

Designing a multimedia platform for emergency management

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to describe research, the objective of which was the development of models, methodologies, and tools for the realization of the multimedia platform for emergency management in technological systems.Design/methodology/approach – This objective was achieved through the operationalization of the following major tasks: the theoretical research on the specific characteristics of emergency management system structure and processes; definition of educational structures, processes, and subjects for emergency management; development of models and software tools for the analysis of emergency development; development of information (web) services to support the collaborative decision making.Findings – A model of multimedia platform for emergency management in technological systems has been developed, which defines emergency services with appropriate information infrastructure, the structure and characteristics of the interoperability system and their mutual communication.Resear...

Assessment of the key factors for ergonomic design of management information systems in coal mines

Using an analytic-synthetic model of ergonomic research of management information systems (MIS) in coal mines, we identified 13 elements which were used to define eight factors that impact operator’s performance. These eight factors were further reduced to five key factors after the application of expert assessment. We have defined 23 indicators for these key factors, ranked by means of the analytic hierarchy process method. This paper includes a detailed ergonomic analysis of the five key operator quality indicators, namely, shape and size of the control panel, functionality of the video display terminal, keyboard functionality, alarm response time and expansion of the MIS with environmental parameters. Based on the condition prior to and after the proposed changes, we were able to use this approach to determine and discuss the operator quality index.

Multi-criteria decision support for optimal distributed generation dispatch

The problem of optimal dispatch of distributed generation (DG) differs from the classical problem of generation dispatch in the power system, because of the specific criteria related to the DG interconnection. Most important goals are to maximize the renewable production and to minimize the total cost, while satisfying additional constraints related to the operation of a distribution network. When there are many DGs in a distribution network, it is very complicated to decide the optimal DG outputs to satisfy all the criteria and constraints imposed by the distribution network. Another problem is the lack of the dispatcher control over DGs, and very often, the only available action is to switch on or off the generator. Finally, network operator and DG owner perspective is often opposed regarding appropriate control action in the network. In this paper, a multi-criteria decision support based on AHP method is proposed for the choice of the dispatching action. The method is illustrated on the choice of the DG to be switched off in the case or reverse power flow.

Development and Application of a Decision Support System for Human Reliability Assessment – A Case Study of an Electric Power Company

This paper describes the human reliability assessment using absolute probability judgment (APJ) method in the Electric Power Company of Serbia (EPS). Taking into account conventional APJ approach, a new decision support tool EPS-APJ was developed. The EPS-APJ tool is intended for use by a group of experts for human error probability assessment. The basic goal of the tool is to facilitate the process of decision-making by experts, in the complex environment of the electric power companies. The usefulness of this new tool is approved in a case study of use of the EPS-APJ for the purpose of the analysis of a repair intervention on a 10/0.4-kV steel lattice tower ‘Nogaje’, in the EPS. For the purpose of this study, a database on work-related injuries, accidents, and critical interventions occurred over a 10-year period was created. The research comprised analysis of 1074 workplaces, with the total of 3997 employees. The case study performed at the EPS has confirmed that the EPS-APJ tool for quantification of human errors is highly applicable, comprehensive, and simple to use. Comparison of the results obtained by application of the EPS-APJ tool versus the basic APJ method has confirmed the accuracy of the decision support tool, and significant speed advantage in conducting an expert evaluation. Copyright

The analysis of human error as causes in the maintenance of machines : a case study in mining companies

This paper describes the two-step method used to analyse the factors and aspects influencing human error during the maintenance of mining machines. The first step is the cause-effect analysis, supported by brainstorming, where five factors and 21 aspects are identified. During the second step, the group fuzzy analytic hierarchy process is used to rank the identified factors and aspects. A case study is done on mining companies in Serbia. The key aspects are ranked according to an analysis that included experts who assess risks in mining companies (a maintenance engineer, a technologist, an ergonomist, a psychologist, and an organisational scientist). Failure to follow technical maintenance instructions, poor organisation of the training process, inadequate diagnostic equipment, and a lack of understanding of the work process are identified as the most important causes of human error.