Appropriate merhod selection for occupational health and safety risk assessment in a coal mine

Risk assessment is one of the most important steps in the occupational health and safety management system. There are many quantitative and qualitative methods used for risk assessment. Selection the appropriate method for the plant has great importance to carry out successful risk assessment. For this purpose, fuzzy TOPSIS was used to select the most appropriate method for Turkey Hard Coal Enterprises Kozlu Institution. In the study, four methods were discussed: L Type 5 × 5 Matrix, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Bowtie Analysis and Job Safety Analysis. These methods were evaluated in accordance with the seven criteria and the appropriate method was determined as bowtie analysis. The study was conducted together with two mining engineers in the risk assessment team of institution. At the same time, one labour and social security training expert participated as an observer. BowtieXP program was used in the case study. Methane gas and underground fire were analyzed under chemical hazards. Top events were defined as the formation of an explosive atmosphere and contact of the ignition source with the combustible material. For the first analysis, 11 threats and 9 consequences and for second analysis, 9 threats and 9 consequences were defined. In both analyzes, barriers for threats and consequences were determined and detailed analysis of these barriers was carried out. Risk matrices were used to evaluate the results. Generally, it was concluded that risk mitigation measures should be taken, and continuous improvement and monitoring were needed. The intolerable risk level is not defined.