Identifying, classifying and prioritizing factors affecting human errors in the mine design process: A mixed methods research.

BACKGROUND: Mines are often home to many dangers with a high rate of accidents and occupational diseases. One of the most effective ways to prevent these adverse incidents is to identify and control the influential factors causing human error in design and the ensuing negative consequences. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore, categorize and prioritize factors affecting human errors in the mine design process. METHODS: The study has a mixed-method design combining qualitative and quantitative data. In the qualitative phase, the required data were collected by conducting semi-structured interviews with 12 surface mine designers. The causes of errors were extracted and categorized by the latent content analysis using MAXQDA2022 software. The identified causes in the qualitative phase were sent to expert designers in Q tables, and the data were analyzed by factor analysis. RESULTS: Of the identified codes in the qualitative phase, 40 main themes in five different categories (individual, organizational, external, task, and environmental factors) were determined as causes. The results of the quantitative phase suggest the existence of four different mental patterns regarding the causes of design errors (DEs). The data analysis also shows that organizational and personal factors, particularly supervision and inspection, experience, and technical knowledge, were the strongest causes of DEs and environmental (hotness, coldness, indoor air quality, and noise) and external (work-family conflict) factors being the weakest ones. CONCLUSION: This study not only identifies and categorizes the causes of design errors in the mining industry but also suggests some control strategies for these errors based on the mental patterns of the experts.

Association of Sick Building Syndrome with Indoor Air Parameters.

BACKGROUND: Energy crisis in 1973 led to smaller residential and office buildings with lower air changes. This resulted in development of Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). The objective of this study was to assess the association of SBS with individual factors and indoor air pollutants among employees in two office buildings of Petroleum Industry Health Organization in Tehran city. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The association between personal and environmental factors and SBS symptoms was examined by a reliable and valid combined questionnaire. Environmental parameters were measured using calibrated instruments. RESULTS: The results suggested that SBS symptoms were more common in women than men. Malaise and headache were the most common symptoms in women and men. Throat dryness, cough, sputum, and wheezing were less prevalent among employees in both offices. Light-intensity was significantly associated with some symptoms such as skin dryness (P = 0.049), eye pain (P = 0.026), and malaise (P = 0.043). There were no significant differences in prevalence of SBS symptoms between female workers of the two offices (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The main causes of SBS among the employees were recycling of air in rooms using fan coils, traffic noise, poor lighting, and buildings located in a polluted metropolitan area.