Journal Article

Root cause analysis of accidents and examining their interrelations from the perspective of workers, supervisors, and safety officers

Halvani, Gholam Hossein, Eskandari, Tahereh, Molamehdizadeh, Neda, Kharghani Moghadam, Seyedeh Melika, Farshad, Ali Asghar, Ebrahimi, Hossein

2025

Overview

Identifying the root causes of accidents and analyzing their causal relationships is a fundamental step in designing effective preventive strategies. This study aimed to uncover the root causes of mining accidents and determine the interactions among them from the perspectives of workers, supervisors, and safety officers using a mixed qualitative-quantitative approach and the fuzzy DEMATEL method. The study was designed as a mixed-method approach (qualitative-quantitative). In the qualitative phase, a total of 69 interviews were conducted (23 with workers, 21 with supervisors, and 25 with safety officers) to identify and categorize the root causes of accidents. In the quantitative phase, 33 participants (11 from each group) took part in expert panels where the fuzzy DEMATEL method was employed to analyze the relationships among the factors. The qualitative phase results revealed that workers primarily pointed to operational deficiencies, equipment issues, and workplace conditions. Supervisors emphasized human behavior, psychological stress, and a lack of safety culture, while safety officers highlighted managerial weaknesses and inefficient communication structures. The quantitative phase results identified management as the primary and most influential factor, whereas other factors, including humans, machinery, environment, and materials, predominantly appeared as dependent factors. This study’s findings suggest that understanding and analyzing the causal relationships among factors, coupled with integrating diverse perspectives, can aid in designing effective preventive strategies and reducing mining accidents. This approach enhances safety, productivity, and job satisfaction.

• Publisher: Public Library of Science,PLOS,Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subject: Accidents / Accidents, Occupational - prevention & control / Accidents, Occupational - psychology / Accidents, Occupational - statistics & numerical data / Adult / Analysis / Biology and Life Sciences / Consent / Data analysis / Decision making / Engineering and Technology / Feedback / Female / Human acts / Human behavior / Human error / Human resource management / Humans / Industrial safety / Interviews / Investigations / Job satisfaction / Machinery / Magneto-electric machines / Male / Managers / Medicine and Health Sciences / Middle Aged / Mine accidents / Mineral industry / Mines and mineral resources / Mining / Mining accidents & safety / Mining industry / Occupational safety / People and Places / Preventive maintenance / Psychological stress / Qualitative analysis / Qualitative research / Root Cause Analysis / Safety / Safety and security measures / Safety Management / Social Sciences / Stress (Psychology) / Supervisors / Workplace - psychology / Workplace accidents