Investigation of the Relationship among Human Factors in Mining Accidents Using a Systematic Approach

Background and Objective: Systematic analysis of accidents in sociotechnical systems, such as mining industry, is very important to reduce accidents. The present study aimed to analyze the relationship among human factors in mining accidents using a systematic approach. Materials and Methods: The accidents occurred during seven years in a large iron ore mine complex in the south of Iran were collected, and the most important events were selected subsequently. Afterward, all contributing factors in each accident were identified using an accident analysis team by Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) framework. A total of 154 accidents were collected, and the data were analyzed in SPSS Software (version 16) using logistic regression. Results: Skill-based errors were the most frequent among the unsafe acts. Furthermore, the deficiencies in physical environment, as well as inappropriate operations and organizational procedures were the most frequently identified deficiency in the selected accidents. Throughout the overall system, the existence of some deficiencies in upper levels predicted those in lower levels, which included organizational climate, inadequate supervision, organizational procedures and inappropriate operations, inadequate supervision and physical environment, as well as inappropriate operations and physical environment. Conclusion: Skill-based errors, supervision problems, and organizational procedures are the most common deficiencies in mining industry accidents. Analysis of the relationship among the causal factors at different levels of HFACS is necessary to adopt appropriate strategies to reduce the accidents.